Page 42 of Monstrous Hunt
Good. He fucking deserved every second of torture.
Besides, she reeked of us. Me, mostly, but the rest of the squad had added their scent to hers. All except him.
He had to feel that lack acutely.
“There are tons of cave systems all throughout this region. Whythatcave? There are deeper ones you could have used, so it wasn’t just because the stone would block Kroktl’s vision.” She sucked in her breath in a soft gasp. “You really did think it was a safe place.”
“It was,” he retorted, dragging his gaze up to hers. “Most of the caves in this area are cut through limestone, including that one. But the deepest shaft had a ten-meter layer of lead above it that would block anything DSC could throw at it.” His jaw clenched and he jerked his head to the side, averting his gaze. “I didn’t account for the darkness, or a human’s need for comfort.”
I watched as she stepped closer to him, barely breathing. Muscles coiled, prepared to leap up and defend her if he so much as twitched in a way that I didn’t like.
She laid her hand on his arm, and he convulsed under that small touch. “You didn’t know how strong the mate bond was.”
“I didn’t knowanything.” The proud alpha crumpled. His shoulders sagged, his head dropped, chin to his chest. His knees buckled, putting him on the floor. Head buried against her chest, he grated out, “And now you will never forgive me.”
19
AXXOL
Idespised my weakness for this pitifully delicate…
Deliciously sensual, intoxicating woman.
Who’d managed to seamlessly integrate herself into the squad, accepting each member’s unique—and likely disgusting to most humans—physical attributes without hesitation.
Most of all, I despised the fact that she didn’t wear my scent mixed with theirs.
I pressed my face to the rounded curve of her stomach, listening to the sounds of her body and the youngling she carried. Hearts beating strong and steady. A nudge, a firm kick against my cheek, as if even Kroktl’s unborn young despised my touch.
Though its mother didn’t recoil. Lightly, she placed her hands on my shoulders. Not pulling me in closer—but also not pushing me away.
“I haven’t forgiven you.” Her light voice crushed my heart beneath the massive weight of my beast. “Yet.”
That single word resonated through me, echoing endlessly. Yet. Maybe. Perhaps.
Someday.
I could live with that.
She turned away, and I fought every cell in my body to keep from grabbing her in my arms, shoving her beneath me, and thrusting into her savagely. Kroktl would have my head and rightfully so. I had no right to touch one silky long strand of her hair, let alone fuck her like a mate.
At least the rest of the squad didn’t know how much I wanted her, or I’d never hear the end of it. I kept a very tight grip on what thoughts I allowed to cross the grid, and what stayed in my own private prison. One of the few enhancements for which I was extremely thankful.
“If we’re right, and the Myrm are near Creel, how long would it take for you to eliminate them?”
“Hours,” Kroktl said at the same time that I growled, “Minutes.”
Eyes flashing, he cracked his mouth, baring teeth in what she might take to be a grin.:Touch her without her consent again, and I’ll dump you on Nyan Station in pieces.:
Perhaps my prison wasn’t so tight as I’d thought. Fighting back a scowl, I ran a diagnostic on my systems in the background. The last thing I wanted was for him to know the truth—that I didn’t want to acknowledge even to myself in the privacy of my own thoughts.
“It depends on how many species they’ve already infected,” Lohr said. “They’ve had weeks to come into contact with rodents, insects, and possibly birds or other carrion feeders.”
“I’m not finding any news articles of large die offs of any species in the area,” Rizan added. “Though the mountainous area is remote enough that it’s possible significant deaths haven’t been noticed or recorded by human media.”
“So the best case scenario is you find the crash site, locate a deposit of these mrions that haven’t spread, and destroy them. How likely is that, Lohr?”
He shook his head. “Impossible to determine without additional data. I need to sample the area to know for sure what lifeforms may have crossed path with mrions before I can determine if contamination has occurred.”
