Page 62 of Ruined Wolf

Lucas’s eyes flew open, and for a moment, he glanced around wildly, looking for me.

“I’m here,” I assured him, crossing over to him.

He got to his feet and wrapped his arms around me. “I thought you were gone for a moment,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine.

“I’m still here,” I murmured.

“Promise me you won’t ever leave me, Nova. Promise me you’ll stay with me always.”

I sighed. “I can’t promise that, Lucas. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Lucas opened his mouth, but another voice sounded before he could say anything.

“Lucas? Lucas, it’s Asher. Are you down there?”

Asher? I looked at Lucas, and relief swept through my body. Lucas smiled down at me, then tilted his head up.

“We’re here, Ash. You’re a sight for sore eyes, figuratively speaking.”

Another stone rattled down, and we moved sideways out of the danger zone. “What do you mean, we?”

I looked at Lucas nervously, and he smiled reassuringly at me. “Nova’s with me.”

“Nova? How the hell did she get there? I thought Ethan had taken her back to the mainland,” Asher called.

“It’s a long story, which we’d be happy to divulge after a hot shower, dry clothes, and a gallon of coffee,” Lucas yelled.

There was a brief pause, and then a quieter, “Yeah, fair enough. Hold on, we’re securing the ropes up here, and then we’ll be lowering them down. Make sure the harnesses are secure before we pull you up.”

More voices came from above, and I felt Lucas shiver a little. “Maverick told me they have a special coastal team now, trained in dangerous rescues,” I commented conversationally, though he knew what I was doing.

He pressed his lips gently to my forehead. “Yes, my sunshine, we do. Asher is one of them, and I trust that boy with my life and yours,” he added pointedly.

“Yes,” I murmured, looking up. “So do I.”

It only took ten minutes or so for them to get the harnesses and safety ropes rigged up, and Asher was there the whole time, issuing commands and occasionally calling down to ask if either of us were injured and how badly. We informed him that Lucas had a bump on the head, but nothing serious, and we were just cold and wet. After checking that we were well out of the way, Asher threw down a couple of glowsticks, and suddenly, the cave was lit up, the strange green light making it feel much smaller than it had before. I could see Lucas clearly for the first time, and my face dropped at the sight of the gash on his head.

“It’s fine, I don’t even feel dizzy anymore,” he reassured me. “A bit of a headache is all.”

“You’ll go get checked out though, won’t you? When we get back?”

“Anything for you,” he said.

“Everything okay?” Asher called down.

“We’re good, just hankering for breakfast. Get a move on, would you?”

“Dick,” came Asher’s voice, though there was a smile in it. “Is Nova okay?”

It was hard to tell with him shouting down a rock chute, but his voice was calm and clear with no hint of warmth beyond general concern, and my heart ached for some indication of how he was feeling, even though I knew there was no way he’d bring it up in front of his team. I was nervous about what kind of reception I was going to get when we finally got up there. Suddenly, the dark solitude of the cave seemed more welcoming than it had previously. Desolation indeed.

After a glance at me, Lucas looked back up. “She’s okay.”

I stayed quiet, not trusting myself to speak in case I broke down.

With more rattling, a harness finally came into view as it was slowly lowered down to us. Lucas reached out and grabbed it, pulling it down farther to make it easier for me to step into it.

“You should go first,” I said, both out of concern but also out of reticence.

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