mine while Elise and Tate searched the small room-like space they were in.
After moving through the narrow tunnels that seemed to take about an hour—maybe it was only minutes—they came to another open space. “I take it this is no ordinary mine.”
“What makes you say that?” Rafe stood in the middle of the cave room.
“I don’t know. I thought mines had tracks for carts to roll down here to the surface.” She moved to a place in the wall that looked like it was blasted. The hole didn’t go all the way through, so either they didn’t use enough dynamite or something else broke the stone. “That place seems like a setup.”
“A setup?” Rafe faced her, his brows drawn. “Are you getting paranoid on me?”
She laughed. “I’m always paranoid. I like to be prepared.”
Just then, the ground under them began to shake. Tate’s voice echoed from the tunnel they just exited. “Get out. It’s unstable.”
Rafe rushed toward the tunnel, taking Luna’s hand on the way. A few feet inside the tunnel and the ceiling collapsed, blocking their exit. The ground was still shaking, knocking Luna off balance. She stumbled a few feet before another chuck of the ceiling fell, hitting her back and knocking her to the ground. Smaller rocks tumbled down, landing on her ankle. She cried out as pain exploded up her leg.
Rafe was at her side in a flash. “Fuck. Don’t move.”
He carefully moved the rocks off her leg, and she was thankful that the earthquake or whatever had stopped. Once the weight of the rocks was off her ankle, it throbbed. Before she could push herself to a stand, Rafe scooped her up and carried her into the cave room.
Luna's leg started to swell, but she didn’t think it was broken, just sprained. She rolled her pant leg up and pushed down her sock to get a look at it. That was when Rafe pushed her hands away and took off her shoe and sock. She hissed and gritted her teeth.
After easing her foot on the ground, Rafe reached for his backpack and pulled it to him. He took out a cold pack and placed it on her ankle.
“Thank you.” She relaxed her head against the stone wall, letting her eyes drift closed.
The sensation of Rafe’s fingers tracing the paw prints on the top of her foot made her open her eyes again. He said, “I noticed them a few times. When did you get them done?”
She shrugged. Royce hated tattoos. At least hated them on her and forbid her from getting any. “After I healed from power lust and the breaking of the bond. I needed to feel like my boys were always with me. Plus, I wanted tattoos since Royce hated them.”
They sat in silence for a few moments before Rafe said, “I thought I was doing the right thing by leaving. Royce said he'd kill you and the boys, then pin the murders on me if I stayed.”
He turned his gaze away from her. Sadness and regret flowed from him. She sighed and took his hand in hers. “He would have tortured both of us, mentally and physically.”
He squeezed her hand, then threaded their fingers together. “I thought he was your true mate, and you were happy. I didn’t have a right to take your happiness away. When I realized the truth, it was too late.”
“Royce had a lot of people fooled.” She stretched out her legs in front of her and leaned her against his shoulder. “My sons didn’t know half of what the bastard had done until the days leading to the attack on MoonRiver.”
Where she killed her mate and ended the life of every rogue and mutant there.
Rafe draped an arm around her and hugged her to him. “I intended to come back and expose the bastard. Royce knew I would, so he had Felix's Enforcers capture me. I endured years of torture until I escaped. By that time, MoonRiver had been destroyed, and you had aligned with Ashwood. It was too late to crawl back to ask for forgiveness.”
“You should have tried even though I might have kicked your ass out of the den.” One of the reasons she aligned with Ashwood, besides her friendship with Keegan, was because she feared she’d turn rogue, and she wanted her Pack secure with a good Alpha when that happened.
“It wasn't until I saw Jared at one of the rebel camps that I thought you might be looking for me.” Rafe shifted