Page 2 of Land of Monsters

“Mine!” A roar rattled the air like an earthquake, her body lunging forward, her clawed fingers swiping out, nicking the muzzle of one.

Yips squealed in the air, the pack baying as if they had all been wounded before retreating into the forest. Their cries continued as they fled, growing fainter in the distance.

Her back to me, Raven heaved a heavy breath, the dark dweller retreating, leaving the petite girl standing there. Her clothes torn, her back curved over, her long hair tumbling in her face.

“Raven…” Her name was little more than a wheeze as I tried to sit up.

It was another few beats before she turned her head to me, blood trickling from her nose, the fire in her eyes draining back to green, revealing the girl underneath the beast.

“Ash.” She mouthed my name before she dropped, landing hard on the icy ground.

Painful grunts spit through my lips as I shoved myself up onto my feet. With a groan, I grabbed the pick from the snowbank and hobbled over to her, my blood marking the ice like a connect-the-dots puzzle. Her knotted strands fanned out over the snow, her body arched like a Michelangelo painting, dying the landscape a rich red and black with her own blood.

My body screamed in agony, but I turned off my brain. Running off sheer will, I scooped her up in my arms.

Fresh black blood dampened the crusted stuff under her nose and eyes. Her skin was so pale I leaned my head against her chest to make sure her heart was still beating.

“Don’t die on me,” I demanded. “Not now, not after all this.”

I was struggling to stay upright, dizzy from the pain and loss of blood. I had to get us out of the elements, away from the threat of more animals, the Russians, or even hypothermia. Raven was already trembling, her lips turning bluish.

Shuffling forward, I staggered toward the boarded-up stone ticket booth. The woodshed next to it was long depleted of kindling. The snow began falling heavier, freezing on my eyelashes, my breath billowing in front of my face. Placing Raven down again, my numb hands struggled to grip the handle of the pick. It weighed heavily in my palm as I hacked off thelock, clenching my teeth against the vibration as metal hit metal. The door swung open to a small hut that was dark and freezing, not much better than outside. At least it was some protection.

Zeroing all my energy into lifting her, I stumbled into the space. The only things left inside were a stool, an old calendar from before the Fae War, some maps of the cave and surrounding area, an outdated ticket machine, and a ratty rug in the middle. Placing Raven down on the carpet, I slammed the door behind us, putting us in almost complete darkness.

Fatigue was taking over, and I knew I couldn’t stay up and guard. We were protected from the wolves but couldn’t stop the Russians from finding us. Hoping they wouldn’t notice the busted lock if they came by, I collapsed next to Raven as throbbing bile bubbled up my throat. I needed to rest. Heal.

The moment I laid down next to her, Raven’s body jerked and trembled violently against mine.

“Raven?” I reached over, my fingers brushing over her skin. I was freezing, but her skin was ice. “Raven!” I gripped onto her, her body shaking so badly it was like she was convulsing. I couldn’t make her out clearly in the darkness, but I knew hypothermia was setting in. She was already weak and vulnerable, but protecting me, saving my life, tipped her over. She had no immunity against the cold, not while her system was fighting to regain any strength from what happened in the caves. Shifting again when her shields were down was like setting a newborn in a snowbank for hours. She couldn’t fight that too.

Small, pained cries gurgled in her throat.

“Fuck.” She needed heat. And there was only one way to achieve it in a freezing hut with no source of outside warmth.

After ripping off my jacket and sweater, I fumbled with my pants, kicking off my boots at the same time. My bones crackedas I stripped in the arctic room. “Fuck!” I hissed again. Turning to her, I didn’t hesitate, tugging off her ripped sweater. I rolled her over, undoing her cargo pants. They were damp from the snow, so I struggled to get them down her legs, finally peeling them off along with her boots. Leaving her in just tiny knickers and a sports bra, I lay next to her.

“I need to get you warm.” I spoke more to myself than her, lying behind her and pulling her into my chest, using our discarded clothes as blankets.

Her body jackknifed and shivered, and I tucked in tighter around her, using my body to fully cover hers, pinning her in place. My legs and torso were her blanket.

My backside was freezing, but where my skin touched hers, it started to unthaw, the heat between us melting me into her. It took a while, but slowly, her muscles relaxed under me. Her breath evened out, and her heartbeat returned to normal.

The ground was painfully cold and hard as the wind outside rattled the door, but all I felt was her. Curling around her until there was no separation between us, I dug my head into her hair, letting sleep snatch me from consciousness. Raven’s heartbeat was steady against mine, rocking me like a lullaby into oblivion.

?

Pale light stirred me from a deep slumber. Warmth ignited the front of my body, and I curled into it, wanting to drown in it. A deep-seated comfort I didn’t want to wake from dragged my head deeper into darkness, trying to ignore my body stirring.

But reality flooded in swiftly, reminding me of everything that had happened yesterday. And why my backside was an ice cube while everything else was nestled in heat, my face hiding in her hair, my mouth against the curve of her neck.

Awareness slammed into me when I realized that not only was my dick hard and tucked in Raven’s ass, but my arm was wrapped around her, my hand inside her panties, my fingers cupping her pussy like it was mine. My index finger pushed between her folds, curling inside her.

Holy. Fuck.

Jerking my hand away, I rolled over on my back, feeling her shiver the moment I moved. Scouring my hand over my face and through my hair, I could smell her on my fingers. As if they had been tucked inside her all night, saturated in her juices.

“Szar,” I groaned, squeezing my lids together. I needed the icy air to cool me down, to take away this constant need thrumming through me. What was wrong with me? Every time I fell asleep with her, I woke up nuzzled in, touching her, about a hair away from fucking her.

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