Page 44 of Monstrous Hunt
“I’ve also made some adjustments,” Axxol said.
Kroktl whipped his head around to glare at him, and I felt the tips of his claws against my skin. “You’ve been planning to take her back to that fucking nightmare of a cave all along?”
“Fuck no.” Axxol scrubbed his palm over his bald head. “I guess so, yeah. Not like before though.”
“It’ll be better this time,” I said firmly, trying to mediate before things escalated again. “I won’t be as scared. I’ll be safe. You can go exterminate the mrions without worrying about me, and I won’t be in the way.”
Kroktl sighed, and his claws retracted. Though I didn’t like the way the red died in his eyes. “You’re never in the way.”
Trying to wipe away the despair darkening his gaze, I teased, “I’ll wait until the baby’s born before I agree to take another ride on your raptor.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Rizan asked.
His eyes were just as solemn, and his feathers lay flat against his shoulders and head. I held out my hand and he came to us, wrapping an arm around me and Kroktl both. “If you suggest to your friend to meet us at the Creel site, we can make sure she gets to safety and eliminate the other human at the same time.”
“That’s a great idea. Though I don’t know how Holly will react when she sees you guys in your shifted forms.”
Something niggled in the back of my brain. It took me a few moments to recognize it as jealousy.
“I don’t like the look that just flickered across your face,” Kroktl growled.
“None of you would… uh…” Cheeks burning, I cleared my throat and tried again. “Would you find another woman attractive?”
Before I could react, he bent down, locked his arms beneath my butt, and hauled me up against him. “I think our mate needs to hear the probabilities that brought us together again.”
Lohr’s tongue wrapped around my forearm. “Computing,” he said, though the word was garbled.
“One in a billion billions,” Snryx finished for him as he joined our group hug.
Leaving Axxol standing alone. I turned my head to look at him, and as soon as our eyes met, he jerked his gaze away. I held my other hand out to him. “I haven’t forgiven you yet.”
He snorted and rolled his eyes and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Before he finally stomped over and seized my hand in a punishing grip. Squeezing too hard, crushing my fingers, but I didn’t react. He didn’t mean to hurt me. I knew that now.
Though I’m not letting him off the fucking hook that easy.
20
NATALIE
Holly agreed to convince Dr. Snyder to travel to Creel, claiming that I’d asked her to keep our location a secret. They left Guatemala City immediately, arranging flights to Chihuahua in a matter of hours.
I tried to imagine taking Kroktl and the guys on an airplane. Or walking down a public street in broad daylight.
Never in a million years. And I didn’t care. Not one fucking bit.
As long as we had this. Snuggled up against Kroktl’s chest with one of the guys behind me, warming my back. Anytime I woke up, they took turns feeding me, insisting I eat and drink as much as possible. As if I’d starve to death in a matter of hours when they left me.
Alone. In the dark, nasty, tiny cave.
What the hell was I thinking?
I pushed the nagging fears of the cave aside. It really would be different this time, though I wasn’t looking forward to the damp darkness. Rizan made a couple of rush orders to spruce up the place, earning a dark scowl from Axxol.
I wasn’t sure what was up with him. The fact that he’d continued improving the cave unnerved me. Had he contemplated kidnapping me again? I didn’t think so, but Kroktl still kept a wary eye on him every time he came near us. I hadn’t seen him around the beach house much, so he could have been going back and forth to the cave this entire time. But why? Wasn’t that risky? What if another squad had picked up on his frequent trips?
Axxol might be a lot of things, especially an arrogant asshole, but he wasn’t an idiot. As much as I disliked it, we were going to have to trust him. He was a part of this squad. We needed him. Even if I still didn’tlikehim.
All too soon, Snryx was giving me one last checkup before we started the jump. I’d insisted on putting on some clothes this time. I didn’t want to be shivering in the cave, naked except for a rough wool blanket again.
