Page 32 of Unleashed

She plunged under the surface, and the water’s cold felt like thousands of thorns stabbing into her skin. The treeclaw released its hold on her. She heard its fearful cry in her mind as it thrashed in the water nearby.

Opening her eyes, she swung her gaze around until she found the light. She kicked her feet hard, battling the force of the current to keep from tumbling end-over-end, and swam toward the glow overhead.

Nina gasped for air when she broke the surface. Limbs flailing, she sought something to grab hold of, but the current swept her along. She turned her head just in time to see a massive log speeding toward her on the surface. Sucking in another quick breath, she ducked underwater, avoiding the log so narrowly that she felt it displace water above her.

Kicking back to the surface, she reached for the log, desperate for something to hold onto, but her clawing hands made the log roll, dunking her under again.

The powerful flow of the floodwater caused her to spin and tumble. Its sound became her entire world, a muffled rush that pressed ever inward, fought only by the pounding of her heart, which felt ready to burst from her chest at any moment. Her lungs burned. She needed air, but she didn’t know which way was up, didn’t know where to go, didn’t know—

A strong hand closed around her ankle. It pulled her through the water until another hand settled on the small of her back. The hands forced her upright, and her head finally broke the surface.

Nina sucked in a choking breath, kicking her legs to tread water, and found herself looking into Aduun’s face. His gaze searched Nina’s for an instant before he turned her around, drew her back against his chest with an arm around her middle, and started swimming.

Bits of debris battered their bodies — the leaves were negligible, but the branches and chunks of wood poked, and scratched.

Even his strength, bolstered by the motions of his powerful tail, was not enough to overcome the current. He pushed hard, but they were slowly moving in the opposite direction. After several seconds of struggle, he altered his course. Their speed immediately increased as he swam with the flow of water.

Nina twisted to look over her shoulder; Aduun was swimming backward, and they were rapidly approaching one of the huge trees. She turned in his grasp, clung to him, and hid her face against his chest, bracing herself for the impact. She could only hope he wouldn’t be hurt.

Aduun kicked and swung his tail, angling them toward the outside edge of the tree. She felt his muscles flex and stretch as he extended his free arm. His body jerked. The flowing water dragged them to the side, straining to carry them away, to claim them, but somehow, they moved no farther. She lifted her face to see Aduun’s claws buried in the tree trunk, anchoring them in place.

“Wrap your legs around me and hold tight,” he commanded.

Nina raised her knees and looped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles to lock them. She squeezed him tightly with her thighs as she slipped her arms beneath his. The undersides of his quills brushed her forearms as she clasped her hands together behind his back.

The sound of his low growl was drowned out by the water, but she felt it rumble through his chest. Biceps bulging, he dragged them closer to the tree. He released his hold on her to slam the claws of his other hand into the trunk. She clutched at him and clenched her jaw to hold in a scream as he climbed partly out of the water; her body weight reestablished itself, threatening to pull her back down.

Aduun’s powerful thighs rose and fell as he climbed higher, one leg always brushing her backside, serving as reassurance that she was caged in by his body, that he would not let her go. Soon, they were fully in the air, water pouring from their bodies, her soaked clothing strengthening the feeling of heaviness that had settled over her.

Shivering, she buried her face against his chest again; she didn’t want to see the violent water, didn’t want to see the treeclaws, didn’t want to see what her rash decision to go to Utopia alone had led her to.

But my decision to leave Bahmet led me tothem. It freed them from their cages…

I would do it again.

“Nina.” Aduun’s voice rumbled from his chest to flow through her, calling her back into the moment. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her close, and he was standing upright.

When had they stopped climbing?

She couldn’t bring herself to lift her head, couldn’t bring herself to let him go. She tightened her hold on him, pressing herself into his short, soft fur, welcoming the heat he radiated. Her awareness slowly expanded to the feel of the muscles of his back beneath her palms, his woodsy, primal scent, and his shaft extending and hardening against her lower stomach. Her breath quickened.

Aduun released a deep groan. One of his hands fell to her thigh, squeezing her flesh as it trailed to the back of her knee. His ragged breaths whispered over the top of her head, making her scalp tingle. His entire body stiffened when his hand reached her knee. With a shudder, he pried her leg off — firmly, but not painfully — and guided it down until her foot settled on the branch.

Her other leg slid down along his outer thigh until she had no choice but to drop it as well. He lifted his hands to her arms, and she knew he was going to pull them away, that he would break the embrace, but he hesitated. Instead, he ran his palms along the backs of her arms until they reached her shoulders and dipped his head. His nose brushed the side of her neck. He inhaled deeply and groaned again.

“You are safe now,” he said.

Nina curled her fingers against his back. “What about the treeclaws? Vortok? Balir?”

“Balir has nearly arrived, and Vortok is coming. The treeclaws have fled.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why did you save me now, when you wanted to kill me yesterday?”

He was silent for a long while, and though she guessed he was in deep thought, she couldn’t pick up anything from his mind. She didn’t dare delve deeper than the surface.

“Because the conflicts between myself, Balir, and Vortok are not of your making,” he finally said, tightening his fingers on her shoulders, “and you are part of my tribe.”

Nina tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Thank you.”

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