Page 16 of Monstrous Hunt
NATALIE
Kroktl’sentire body vibrated with tension, and his palm cupped the back of my head, pressing my face against his chest.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice muffled against his giant pecs.
He pressed his mouth against my ear and whispered, “There’s another squad above, looking for us. Stay quiet. I don’t know how much they can sense.”
Gulp. I hadn’t had the chance to ask them what had happened with the other dinosaur soldiers that had attacked when Axxol grabbed me. I assumed they were dead—especially since he saidanothersquad.
Rizan’s and Axxol’s heads were close together, the bigger alpha almost bent in half. Rizan touched various spots on the other’s skull, almost like his fingers were flying over a keyboard. Axxol straightened, his head falling back. Eyes squeezed shut, his shoulders strained, his hands fisted at his sides, for several long moments.
I wasn’t sure what was happening. Kroktl’s chest flexed against my cheek, his fingers tightening on my hair. But no one spoke or moved for what seemed like an eternity.
Something exploded, a loud boom that whooshed down the tunnel carrying dirt and debris. Kroktl whirled to the side, pressing my back against the stone wall and covering me with his body. The cave rumbled, shock waves rolling through the stone overhead. More rocks tumbled down, the earth groaning and heaving like waves on the ocean.
My brain immediately leaped to cave-in.We’re trapped.
Weaving back and forth in a sprint, Kroktl dodged the falling rocks. I couldn’t be sure in the pitch darkness, but it seemed like he was taking us deeper. Every cell in my body sobbed for fresh air and sunshine, not hundreds of feet of earth and stone overhead. My throat ached and I tasted blood in my mouth from biting my own lip. I didn’t think anyone would hear me cry out over the explosion, but for all I knew, the other squad had technology that could pick up the smallest sound.
Did they know about me? Was that why they attacked? Or was this another attempt to bring Kroktl’s squad back?
That didn’t seem like friendly fire. Far from it.
I couldn’t tell how long he ran. It seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few minutes. He wasn’t winded, merely breathing deeply, and he wasn’t drenched in sweat. I worried about Lohr. Surely he couldn’t keep up with such a fast pace. I lifted my head, trying to see. Kroktl’s eerie eyes flashed like red lamps, scanning the rough stone walls quicker than I could follow. No one spoke, so I didn’t know if we’d left them behind, or if it wasn’t safe to talk.
Something soft touched my cheek. If I wasn’t already scared of making noise, I probably would have shrieked, though surely Kroktl would have reacted in some way if a giant, hairy tarantula was hanging over my head. Or a bat. Or—
:Can you hear me?:Snryx’s voice echoed softly through my face, making my cheekbone vibrate.
I nodded, relieved.
:Good. I wasn’t sure this would work. Riz is a genius.:
:You know it,:Rizan replied smugly in my head.
:Great,:Lohr grumbled.:Now he’s going to be even more arrogant.:
Their voices were slightly distorted, but I could hear and understand them. Amazing. Was this what being on their grid was like?
Kroktl’s voice vibrated through my face where Snryx touched me, adding to the rumble of his chest.:I don’t like it.:
My heart thudded heavily in the silence that followed. No one moved or said anything else, at least not that I could hear. He didn’t like what? Me listening in to their grid? I didn’t think that would bother him, and I didn’t have the feeling that he was speaking about me at all.
:They won’t track us.:Axxol’s tight, deep voice crackled with energy.
:Then explain how they tracked us here,:Kroktl replied.:They weren’t tailing us through the jungle.:
:Are you sure?:The crackling worsened, like radio static during a thunderstorm.:Or were you too focused on your human to notice?:
:Her safety is my number one concern. You fucking bet we’ve been fucking scanning constantly for any other squads.:Kroktl’s voice remained even and controlled, but his muscles flexed against me. Subtly, he shifted his weight, bracing for a fight.:Were you scanning for other squads to be sure your jump wasn’t traced when you stole her?:
The crackling went silent.
:That’s what I fucking thought,:Kroktl said.:Riz, how far away is the ocean house you secured?:
:If we travel exclusively at night at Lohr’s fastest pace, nearly three days.:
:I don’t like the prospect of Natalie being exposed to the elements for that long,:Snryx said.:She’s already healing from new injuries, and it won’t take much at all to cause a spontaneous abortion.:
