Susan’s scent led up a flight of stairs. He paused at the base and spotted a pile of clothes by an unguarded cave. The exit? Shifters usually left leather kilts and dresses by the den’s main entrance so they could dress after shifting to civil form. It was considered rude to stride around naked, like he was doing. However, there were no guards protecting the area.
He wasn’t sure what that meant but it gave him a bad feeling. He’d been unconscious when they carried him inside the den so he hadn’t observed any of their defenses. This was another reason to find Susan.
What if she didn’t want to come with him? Would he knock her unconscious and carry her home like his father used to do? He sighed. Never. Not even to save his pack. He’d have to rely on his charm. Nausea rose in his gut at just the thought. His pack was doomed. He knew enough not to barge into her room naked though.
He went through the kilts as fast as he could before anyone noticed him out in the open. One of the troubles of being an alpha was size. Nothing fit well. He settled on a kilt that fit his waist but fell well above his knees and didn’t bother with a shirt. At a glance he could tell none of them would get past his shoulders.
As he dressed, he noticed a pale figure making her way along the balconies toward the ground area. Sorin slipped back into the darkness and went still.
Kele descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. She passed his hidden position, carrying fresh clothes and a drying cloth as if going to a bathing room. He noticed Susan was not accompanying her. Would they have imprisoned her? He somehow doubted it. Kele seemed to actually care about the human’s well being.
So did Ahote, but for other reasons. If that male laid one hand on her… Sorin’s heart screeched to a halt. Where had Ahote gone after locking him to the wall? Why was Kele leaving the human female by herself?
Taking the steps three at a time, Sorin followed Susan’s scent up two levels and across a hanging-rope bridge to a broken wooden door.
Susan blinked at the ceiling. Feeling sorry for herself wasn’t making her problems go away. She’d have to cope with being a stray until she could figure out a new plan. Maybe her skills as a scientist could give her an advantage? She could try to re-invent the light bulb.
Shit, she’d have to re-invent electricity first.
The door to Kele’s room shattered open again. Susan’s heart stopped as she stared at the opening, half expecting to see Chaska there once more, but found a silver-haired sex-god from her darkest fantasies standing in the doorway. He wore a short, leather, kilt-like skirt that bared enough thigh she’d be tempted to lean back and take a peek under it. A long, thin scar swept across his face from his forehead, over his eye and down his cheek with a matching small one across both lips. Sweat soaked his dirt-smudged skin and glittered in the candlelight. “Sorin?” Hot damn, she hadn’t really noticed his maleness until now. She’d been looking at this world through fear-goggles all day.
Ahote was sexy but Sorin was an untamed animal.
His chest heaved as he scanned the room. “You’re alone?”
She sat up slowly. “Yes. You just missed Kele if you’re looking for her.”
His piercing amber gaze met hers. “Why would I want her?” He shoved the almost-unhinged door closed behind him with one hand.
Why indeed? Susan swallowed a lump in her throat and glanced at the pallet she lay upon. “Last I saw you were chained up. Are they letting you go?” She highly doubted the pack would release a strange male within their den unaccompanied. “Kele should be back any minute.”
Sorin crossed the room with two long strides.
Her heart skipped as she scurried back against the wall. All the self-defense classes she’d taken in college vanished in a flash of girly panic.
He knelt in front of her and shook his head. “I’m doing this all wrong. I know I am.” He held out his hand toward her but didn’t touch. “There’s not much time before they discover I’ve escaped. Come with me.” He audibly grounded his teeth. “Please.”
“You’re escaping?” She stared at his hand, and a glimmer of hope bloomed. “And you want to take me?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
She reached for his hand, then hesitated. “The Payami will treat me like a stray. Why do you want me?” Not grabbing his hand was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She was a woman overboard, and Sorin was tossing her a life saver.
He made an impatient noise. “My people are sick. I have no healer. You falling almost into my lap in my greatest time of need—”
“Your Goddess didn’t send me, Sorin. I’m from another world, not Heaven.” She grabbed his hand. “But I might be able to help anyway.” Finally, something she could understand and do. “I’m not a healer but I understand things your people might not.” Like bacteria and viruses, disinfecting areas and quarantining the sick. “Let’s do this.”
A huge grin spread across his face, and it devastated her. The pure joy in his eyes made her realize how desperate Sorin was, and she’d just given him hope. He pulled her to her feet with one hard tug and stood to catch her in his solid arms.
Pressed against his bare chest, Susan couldn’t find enough oxygen in the room. “Th-thanks.” There wasn’t an ounce of fat under his flesh. All muscle. All male shifter.
His gaze softened, much like Benic’s had when looking at Kele, and he brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. “The Payami didn’t treat you well, but you have nothing to fear from me.” Slowly, he released her, then retreated a step, but didn’t let go of her hand. “I’m not familiar with this den. I think I found the exit though.”
She slapped the heel of her other hand against her forehead. “The maze. There’s a maze of caves we have to go through to enter or exit, and it’s completely dark.”
He nodded. “Together, we will find a way through.” Yanking her by the hand, he led her back to the ground floor. He held onto her the whole way, thank goodness, because she couldn’t see in the darkness of the night. The moon, wherever it was, didn’t shine within the den. Only a scattering of stars above gave her any light.
At the bottom, he shoved her against the wall and pressed his body over hers. “Someone’s coming.”
Her heart pounded so hard she was sure he could feel it against his chest. She heard footsteps approaching and glanced around Sorin’s huge bulk to watch the dark shifter climb the stairs with two females at his back.
“You want to change your mind?” Sorin whispered in her ear.
“Never.”
He brushed his fingertips along her waist under her coat. “Good.” Then he led her to the exit. Hand-in-hand, they entered the maze.
Chapter Eight
Benic strode across Temple lands, oil lattern in hand. He couldn’t wait for morning for proof of Susan’s story. This might be the most important encounter of his life. Sleep could wait and so could safety. He knew there existed shifters who would like nothing better than to get him alone and chew on his bones, but he wasn’t an idiot. He traveled armed with his well-used sword and wore his chainmail. It not only turned blades, but claws and teeth as well.
He waved the lantern back and forth over the foliage, looking for a plastic badge. Unlike shifters, vampires needed some light to see by. He didn’t even know what plastic looked like, but he imagined he’d know it when he saw it.
The Temple loomed above him, a shell of a species’ culture and religion. It was a shame what vampires had done to the shifters. They’d been such a strong and wild people; now most lived in the cities as tamed versions of their ancestors. Only the reserves held the wild packs, and there were rumors of vast lands with packs far out west.