Page 149 of Lifebound

The names came back to me—the golems and the shifters. Actualwerewolves.

“It sounds like howls,” I muttered, trying not to sound so terrified.

“Pretty sure the tunnel’s just open somewhere.” He must have noticed me shivering because he put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. “It’s okay, Wildcat. There’s no need to be afraid. Nothing comes through here anymore.”

And I believed him, but my instincts had a mind of their own, and the deeper we went, the heavier this feeling in my chest became.

We passed another two tunnels that Rune said would possibly lead to either Mysthaven or Bloomsridge. No sounds and no wind and no cold air, but that didn’t mean I felt any better.

We kept going for a long time, but when I sawlightcoming from ahead, I stopped automatically. The birds were there, flying over our heads, so they were not the ones making that blueish light. Every instinct in my body screamed that we were screwed, that it was over, that we’d been found, when…

“That over there leads to the Mercove,” Rune said. “Do you want to see?”

He wasn’t afraid in the least.

“But there’s light,” I whispered, and he nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Come on, let me show you.”

We went closer and closer, down the side of the main tunnel and to an opening that led to this round space glowing with blueish light. It wasn’t coming from birds at all—it was coming from glowing plants and crystals all around a tunnel that seemed to leadupward.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, mesmerized at the sight in front of me.

Patches of moss grew on all sides of the tunnel, and those plants were indeed glowing blue and green. Flowers and leaves and stems—and those crystals, too, that were on the smaller side, standing upright on the sides and only close to the mouth of the tunnel. The light they cast all around themselves was fucking magical. They were semi-transparent and cut into perfect rectangles, and they looked like they simplygrewthat way on the moss.

“Those are water plants. They usually glow in contact with oxygen,” Rune said. “Most are poisonous, but these aren’t.”

“And what about the crystals? So beautiful,” I whispered.

“Those are tempest crystals. Very dangerous—they can actually explode and burn underwater.”

I looked at him. “Are you serious?”Burn underwater?

“Very—and you only need to shake them or drop them to activate them. Not something to be messed with.”

“But…but I wanted to take one with me,” I said with a pout. They really did look so beautiful.

Suddenly Rune leaned in and took my lip between his teeth. “I’m gonna bite this off if you do that again.”

I grinned, a million butterflies exploding in my stomach. “Sure thing, Mr. Moody.” And I made a mental note to pout more often.

Rune shook his head as he looked down at my lips. “I still haven’t ruled out the possibility that you’re an incubus in disguise.”

Laughter exploded out of me. “Oh, boy. Just when I thought I was hiding it well…”

His smile was otherworldly—afullsmile, one I saw so rarely on him. He showed me all his teeth and his eyes crinkled and his cheeks gained a little color, too—how could I resist kissing his entire face?

“I’ll find out the truth eventually,” Rune whispered and kissed my lips again. My toes curled in my boots, and I was so fuckinghappyI could burst.

That’s it—that’s all it took. His arms and his lips and his affection.

“You sure, though? Absolutely sure that I can’t take a crystal with me? I’ll be careful with it, I promise,” I said, but he shook his head, still smiling.

“Very sure. Stay away from tempest crystals at all costs, Wildcat.”

Oh, well.I was still the happiest girl in all the worlds.

thirty-nine

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