Page 55 of The Lands Defying
Which means someone else is in The Drylands with us.
Sixteen
Rhea
We move through the bottom of the mountains after we trailed down to be truly encased inside of them. We can barely see the smoke in the distance now, but we know the direction we need to head. The breeze is cold, and it makes me shiver as we silently round a tall rock formation.
Darius stays at my back, keeping me close at all times, with Leo and Jerrod in front while the rest of the guys stay behind us.
We trek around a small mountain and down a narrow path between stones. Darius says it will lead us to another opening, and I’m hoping it won’t take too long.
When we finally leave the tight passage, the barren earth in front of us opens out into a valley of sorts, with a body of water in the distance, the first I have seen. I feel like I can finally breathe again.
Damian heads straight on and we move down a small incline of rocky earth. Even with water nearby, no life can be seen or heard here either. Darius said there will be a cave to rest in for the night, and looking ahead, I can spot it a little ways in thedistance. But none of that matters when a growl sounds to the left of us.
I still, but then spin with the others as a pair of eyes lock on to us.
“It’s on its own,” Darius says, twirling his blade in his hand. “Interesting.”
“But they are never on their own,” I say, looking around to find any more as my heart beats painfully.
“The one in the memory crystal was alone,” he replies. “Leo, go ahead.”
Leo huffs as the rogure perched on top of a large rock puts weight on his back legs. I go to call out to Leo to watch out, but before I know it, he’s running head-on into the rogure just as it leaps and charges at him.
In the next breath, they collide. But it’s not rogure and Leo, it’s rogure and wolf.
Leo’s dark brown wolf snarls into the rogue’s shoulder, biting down with his teeth. The rogure whines, shakes, then spins roughly to shake Leo off. It works, and the wolf rolls to the side but quickly gets back on his feet.
The rogure lunges, teeth bared, dripping black foam, but Leo dodges to the left, spinning quickly, then his teeth are clamping down on the rogure’s neck. Leo bites into it, gnashing his teeth until the rogure goes limp, bleeding all over the ground.
Silence ensues, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I spot no other rogures.
Leo gets up, shakes his fur out and then walks toward us. In the next second, he’s a man, rolling his neck as he fixes his clothes. He has full control if he can keep his clothes on through the shift, Kade couldn’t the last time he went wolf.
“Fucking rogure bastard,” Leo says, continuing on. I look at Darius as he scans the surroundings, and I do the same.
Opening my senses more, I feel nothing but who we are with, and it makes me even more nervous that this lone rogure was out here.
“It was so skinny,” I say to Darius as I walk beside him. He grunts in acknowledgement.
“Stay close.”
We wander for a while. Around tall boulders, under stone archways, until eventually, Darius points to an opening in the side of a smaller mountain.
We head toward the cave with nightfall approaching. Wading through the small river to reach it, I make sure not to get anything wet higher than my boots.
Reaching a ledge that will get us into the cave, I’m about to lift my arms to climb it when hands at my waist lift me easily, letting my knees touch the top of the ledge before they let go. I look over my shoulder at Darius and he jumps, lifting himself up next to me, holding out his hand to help me up. I take it, rising to my feet as the others join us, raising a brow at him as he helps me.
We look into the darkness of the cave, and I swallow as nerves overcome me. Ihatesmall spaces. It reminds me of the time I was stuck in the fucking cage Charles and my family kept me in.
Lips touch my forehead, and I let loose a sigh at Darius. Comforting male.
Dammit.
It’s like he can feel my unease, feel my nerves and why I’m slow to move.
He’s always noticed the little things.
