Page 27 of Loki's Enemy Mate

“No. But with our clothes soaked and our flashlight gone, I think we’ll have to do it in wolf form. The fur will help keep us warm and maybe we’ll be able to see a bit better in the dark.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right.”

“The river continues on from here,” Loki added, staring off into the darkness. “It’s slower and there’s plenty of room to walk beside it.”

I turned my face up toward the small hole in the ceiling. It was the third one we’d seen since we’d fallen in this place. If there were that many, chances are there was another. I just hoped it was one closer to the ground that we could actually climb up to. So far all we’d seen were openings in the middle of the ceiling.

“Alright,” I nodded. “My wolf is feeling a bit antsy, anyway. It would probably be good to stretch all four legs for a while.”

“I guess we should get going then.”

I grabbed Loki’s hand before he could stand up, pulling him back down in front of me. I looked into those amber eyes of his, reaching up and brushing the dark strands from his forehead.

“You really are beautiful,” I said softly, cupping his cheek.

Some of the hard resolve in his expression broke, allowing a smile to peek through. I had a feeling Loki wasn’t the kind that got many compliments. Considering how standoffish he could be, I doubted he ever let anyone close enough.

“You are too,” he replied, placing a hand on my chest. “I never thought I could look at a man the way I look at you. But now I can’t imagine it any other way.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” I grinned. “That so much can change so quickly?”

He started to nod, but stopped, his smile fading away. “It’s too bad it won’t be enough.”

I knew what he meant of course, that we could never be together with our goals so opposed. That once we left this cave, all of this bliss would come to a screeching halt. I wished more than anything that there was some way to resolve this so we could both be happy. Try as I might, I couldn’t think of a way out.

“We should get going,” I said at last, giving him a small kiss.

“Right.”

Loki was the first to stand up, holding out a hand to help me to my feet as well. He picked through the wet shreds of his clothing, making sure there was nothing useful to be found. With the phone left behind and his pockets empty, it seemed like a desperate gesture. Not that I didn’t follow suit and do the exact same thing, holding out hope that I had something useful by accident. But both of us turned up empty-handed.

“We’ll follow the river that way,” Loki said, pointing into the darkness. “Let’s move slow and trust our senses. I don’t want to end up in the water again. With any luck, we’ll find another way out.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then we’ll turn around,” Loki said, a sad expression crossing his features. “And enjoy what time we have left.”

With that dire proclamation echoing off the walls, Loki closed his eyes and leaned forward, letting his wolf take over. I watched as black fur sprouted from his body, his bones cracking as he fell to all fours. In a matter of seconds, a large black wolf with golden eyes stood before me, staring up at me. I reached out a hand, ruffling the fur between his ears. He huffed in irritation but leaned into my touch anyway.

“Right behind you, Dinky,” I said.

The wolf came out as I fell onto four paws as well, bright white fur covering my entire body. My tail wagged as I took a step forward, licking Loki’s face. He returned the affection before nodding toward the river. Together we set out into the darkness, sticking side by side as we followed the water.

I was so happy to be beside him that my tail wouldn’t stop wagging. I knew together we’d be able to find a way out of this cave. But, in the back of my mind, I knew that the sooner we found an exit, the sooner we’d have to part ways. And as much as I had a duty to my father and the pack, I secretly hoped we’d never find a way out. Even if it meant we didn’t survive.

If only there was a way to have both Loki and a life with him. I’d do anything to have that.

Chapter Fifteen: Loki

The darkness was almost more than I could bear. Even in my wolf form, I couldn’t see jack fucking shit. Even my ears were made useless by the sound of the river beside us, burbling over the rocks and echoing through the cave. All I had left was my nose and my paws to guide my way. I felt like half a wolf.

But there was some comfort to be found in the dark, mostly in the form of the large white wolf beside me. Heimdall was always shoulder to shoulder with me, his nose giving me gentle nudges when I started to accidentally stray toward the water again. He made sure there was stone between me and the river at all times. I felt a rush of affection every time he did it, adoring the care and attention he was giving me. However, I had to remind myself it was only temporary. Falling in love with him would do neither of us any good. Not when that cave was going to come to an end eventually.

I pushed those thoughts from my mind though. There was no time to dwell on such things and I had to pay attention. Heimdall was always just slightly behind me, letting me lead theway. He trusted me to get us both out of there and I didn’t want to let him down. Besides, one slip up and I wouldn’t even get to enjoy what little time we had left together. As silly as it was, the thought of curling up against his naked body once more was what drove me on and kept my nose to the stone.

Even if we had to remain on opposite sides, I wanted him to live.

So, we traveled that way, making our way through the dark at a snail’s pace. After the pit and the raging river, I tested each step before I took it. Slowly but surely, we made progress, the light behind us disappearing until we’d been going for over an hour. My muscles shook from the exhaustion, but I kept driving us forward. There had to be something ahead. My nose continually caught whiffs of fresh air and wet leaves. The way out was close, I could feel it in my bones.

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