Dangerous Mating (A.L.F.A., #3)(29)

He frowned. “I don’t have a coin, but I’ll flip you.”

Her eyes got big. “What?” She stepped in front of him, trying to hide her smile, and eased forward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t flip well.”

He took a step toward her. As long as he could get his hands on her body, he didn’t care what she did. He could push her against the wall, rip her clothes off, and claim her here and now. There definitely wasn’t anyone around to catch them. His wolf loved the idea. Its tongue fell out the side of its mouth with the thought.

He must’ve looked predatory because she squeaked out a laugh and took off running down a path. Oh, that wasn’t a great plan. He chased her. His wolf got all up in his business, wanting to play, too.

Quickly, he gained on her. “Kari, running ahead is dangerous. You could get hurt.”

She looked back over her shoulder, then abruptly stopped. “You’re right.”

He was going too fast to stop without hitting her. She cringed, seeing him coming, and he dove to the side of her, landing on solid ground. After a roll, the ground dropped out from under him. The torch he held showed him the location of his landing, twenty feet down.





Chapter Nineteen




“Bryon?” she called out. There was no response. Oh fuck. “Bryon!” She got on hands and knees, feeling out for his body. Did he knock himself unconscious? He was a shifter. The move he made wouldn’t even faze someone like him.

“Kari, don’t move,” echoed from someplace lower than her current place. She froze. She didn’t need to be told twice.

“Bryon, what happened? Where are you?” she asked.

“I fell into a pit a short distance in front of you.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Probably a silly question for a shifter, but that’s what humans always ask: even if the injured looks nearly dead, they say, “are you okay?”

“Nothing a shift won’t fix,” she heard. She climbed to her feet and backed toward the wall. She wasn’t stepping on any trigger this time. But a pit didn’t really have a trigger. It was just a pit.

When she leaned against the wall, she felt a rock behind her butt move back with her weight. She popped forward. Did she just push on something?

A rumbling sound came from deep in the cave and a slight tremor shook the stone under her feet. The shake became stronger and the sound of rock dragging over rock pierced the air. What was happening? She thought she heard a “well, fuck me,” but wasn’t sure.

“Bryon? What’s happening,” she asked.

“Don’t move, baby. The walls on each side of the pit are closing in.”

Oh, shit. She must’ve done that. Dammit. Next time she seriously wouldn’t move an inch. A few feet in front of her a light suddenly appeared. The torch Bryon had been carrying landed on the edge of the pit. She could see somewhat better, but the torch wasn’t blazing like it had been. She wondered how it got there.

Then she saw something pop into the air above the edge. It was dark and fell out of sight quickly. She scooted closer and realized what she saw was Bryon’s wolf jumping up, trying to get out. Then she saw the side walls closing in. They were giant squared-off boulders that ground over the ground and would end up smashing anything between them.

The wolf jumped again, but wasn’t close enough to get a paw on land. She couldn’t imagine how he even got that close. It was straight down twenty feet. He had to get a running start. The next jump started too close to the wall, and he slammed into the side halfway up. The rocks were feet from closing.

“Come on, Bryon. You can do this,” she yelled. The wolf looked up. She couldn’t see its eyes, but he could see her and she would send him confidence and courage. Power of positive thinking. He got a running start, but didn’t even reach the top. He was getting tired. The walls were closing. He had one more shot.

Kari leaned her head over the side. “One more time, baby. Give it all you got to get back here. You’re not leaving me alone.” He backed, prepping for the sprint. The walls were so close, it really scared her. It would be her fault if he died. It seemed to always be her fault something bad happened. Maybe she was cursed.

Bryon sprinted for the wall. He sprang into the air. Kari could tell from the angle she stood, he wasn’t close enough to get both paws and upper body onto the ledge. She panicked at losing him. Shit, she’d just met him.





Chapter Twenty




How did she get into this predicament? It seemed like days since she’d potty danced with Sheldon. Now, she’d fallen for an Adonis and because of her, he was about to die. Being squished between two boulders would probably be a quick death. Her heart broke thinking she would never see him again. He had one last chance to get out.

His head rose above the surface and her instincts kicked in. Her hands shot out and latched onto his ears, then she threw herself backward with all the strength she had. She landed on her back hard, knocking her breath out. The floor vibrated with a thud when the rocks slammed together.

She desperately wanted to see if Bryon was alive. Had she held onto him or had he slipped through her fingers? After she could breathe again, she’d check. But it turned out she didn’t need to. A slobbery lick up the side of her face told her he was fine.