Page 11 of Loki's Enemy Mate

“He says they could be used to track our whereabouts from werewolf hunters. Or find our pack on the mountain. He’s gone through a lot of effort to keep us hidden.”

“He’s gone through a lot of effort to keep youstupid,” Loki shot back. “And your pack has suffered for it. There’s hardly any of you left.”

“It’s just the way things are,” I replied, feeling myself getting irritated all over again. “And I don’t give a shit what your opinion is about it.”

Loki shrugged. “Fine.”

He pulled out his own phone and hit a few buttons. A bright light appeared on the back of it, and he held it up, illuminating the cavern. The moment it pierced the darkness, I let out a small sigh of relief. I’d never tell Loki, but for once I was thankful that someone didn’t abide by my father’s rules. Getting out of the cave already seemed impossible. But without light, I’d never know what lay more than ten feet in front of me. And considering most caves were full of bottomless holes, the last thing I wanted to do was plummet to my death because of one bad step.

“We’re not getting out through there,” Loki said, pointing up toward the hole we’d fallen through. “The walls are too smooth and the ceiling is domed. There’s no way to reach it.” He turned in a slow circle, holding his phone flashlight high. He was facing the opposite direction when he stopped. “There! We’ll have to go that way.”

I forced myself up, using the boulder to support my shaky legs once I was standing. Some thirty feet past Loki I saw the cavern opening. From the looks of the stone and the stalactites, it was completely natural. There was no telling where it might lead of course, but considering there was no other way out, it was our only choice.

Loki limped a few feet, waving his arm. “Come on,” he urged. “This flashlight isn’t gonna last forever and I want to get the hell out of here.”

I followed behind him, watching him struggling to reach the mouth of the cave.

“Do you want to lean on me?” I asked, not really sure why I felt the need to offer assistance.

“Fuck off.”

I guess that was ano.

Keeping my mouth shut, I trailed behind the smaller Alpha as he led the way. When we reached the opening, he put his free hand on the wall to steady himself. He kept the light low now, pointing it at the floor. Apparently, he was just as aware of the bottomless pits as I was. Then, with a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and started into the darkness.

I followed behind, my racing thoughts taking over once more. Before I got out of this cave, I needed to figure out why the fuck I thought this annoying, irritating, and downright detestable man was attractive to me. Hell, I needed to figure out when the fuck I started thinking men were attractive. That alone was enough to make the anxiety press against my chest from the inside.

Maybe it was the fall or the pain or the broken bones. Yeah. That had to be it. I’d broken a couple bones and there were probably little chunks of them in my brain, messing up my mind. That was a totally normal thing, right? It had to be. Because nothing else could explain why I couldn’t keep my eyes off Loki’s ass as he led the way through this death cave.

Perhaps it was desperation. I didn’t really want to die a virgin and as far as I knew, we weren’t going to make it out of this place alive without a miracle. Still, that was quite a leap to take since I knew I was straight. Or at least I thought I knew. What if I gave into this urge? What if Loki said yes? What if the pack found out?

What if my father found out?

No. I shook my head. Nobody was going to find out because I wasn’t going to do anything with Loki. We were still sworn enemies and as soon as we were free of that cave, I was going to rip his throat out. I had to. If I didn’t, he’d kill my father, and I wasn’t about to let that happen, even if he had abandoned me.

He had to have a good reason, right? I hoped he wasn’t dead like Loki suggested. But at the same time, I wondered why he hadn’t come back for me. If he dumped me so easily, did I really owe him my unwavering allegiance? Did that mean I could give into this urge and allow myself to pursue Loki? Would Loki even want me to begin with?

Those and a thousand other questions raced through my head.

And I didn’t have an answer for a damn one of them.

Chapter Seven: Loki

I’d been limping along for about an hour, not going anywhere very quickly. Just keeping myself upright was proving to be a bit of a challenge. The healing powers of my race were a marvel, to be sure, especially when compared with humans. But they weren’t without their limits. As it turned out, resetting a bone and then walking on it a few hours later was one of those limits.

However, I didn’t want to show weakness. Not in front of Heimdall. Regardless of his promise, I didn’t trust him. I had a feeling that should I misstep or go down, he would try to take me out as fast as possible. In this particular situation, I was the one with the power thanks to my phone’s flashlight. But that only gave me more reason to think he might try to take it from me. Even in our weakened states, should he attack me, I knew I stood no chance of fighting him off. I could barely stand, and I was already limping something terrible.

And the worst part was, I could tell he was keeping an eye on me. Every time I glanced back, I caught him staring. He always quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be examining thewalls or the stalactites above. But I wasn’t a fool. I knew he was searching me out for weaknesses. Or, at least, I thought he was. Although I couldn’t quite understand why he was always staring at my ass. I figured it had to be the hurt leg, right?

For some reason, the idea of him staring at my ass made my stomach flutter. That, more than anything, was extremely disturbing. I recognized the feeling of course. The last time I’d had it was in high school when I’d seen a naked woman for the first time. It was a rush of excitement and nervousness all in the same instant. But why would I feel that way with Heimdall? He was not only a man, but my sworn enemy’s son.

Of course, my thoughts immediately shifted to Thor. Up until the moment he met Flynn, everyone, including him, was convinced he was straight. But once he found isfated mate, all that changed. Personally, I was convinced that Flynn had put some sort of spell on him. Whether it was charisma, training, or actual magic, I wasn’t sure. Everyone who met him seemed to think he was charming and sweet and wonderful. But I wasn’t convinced. He was just as much an enemy as Heimdall was.

Was Heimdall ensorcelling me?

I glanced back again, catching him staring once more. No. He was too thick headed and slow to be a magician. Besides, Tyr had mated with a werewolf. He didn’t approve of mixing the races. That’s why he despised Baldr so much. And as far as I knew, no full-blood werewolf had ever had magic.

So why did my stomach dance and twist when he stared at me? It was a frankly irritating mystery. For now, I was happy to chalk it up to pain and desperation. Both of them were probably making my brain do weird things. That had to be it. There was nothing more to it.

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