Page 61 of The Lands Defying
Rhea
My shoulder jostles as a rough shake to my shoulder wakes me. My eyes spring open, seeing Darius looking at me intensely with a finger to his lips.
My brows furrow, and he moves his hand to his ear, indicating for me to listen while I calm my heart rate.
I tilt my head, opening my senses and hear nothing, until the sound of footsteps reach me. My eyes widen, and I sit up, my hand going to the blade at my hip to defend myself and the others.
Darius looks toward the opening of the cave as everyone rushes to pack up as quietly as they can. We join them, moving to our feet and gathering our things, putting them in our packs and making sure we have left nothing behind.
A sound reaches us, almost a groan with chuffing noises, and we all freeze in our movements. Leo slowly reaches behind him for his bow and notches an arrow, his aim on the entrance while Jerrod grips his axe in his hand, his stances ready. Darius moves me slowly behind them, nudging me along with Josh, Zaide, Taylor, and Damian.
Another sound, then a grunt, with what sounds like bark snapping. I tilt my head more, listening for any other sounds when another set of heavy footsteps reach us.There is more than one.
Holding our breath, our eyes pinned to the dark entrance, a shudder racks through the cave, bits of rock falling from the walls and then what sounds like a moan echoes toward us.
I raise my eyebrows, unable to believe what I’m hearing with the sound of skin slapping that comes next with groans and grunts following it.
I turn my head to Darius, my mouth parting while amusement glows in his light green eyes.
There is someone out there fucking.
Fucking…
Who in the ever loving Gods are they fucking in a cave?
Darius clicks his fingers softly, gaining the attention of the others and nods his head to the other passage.
He takes my hand, intertwining our fingers as he guides me over to the passage and we walk along the cave walls, the others trailing behind us. We’re silent, slowly listening to the moans fading the deeper we walk.
I wonder why we aren’t attacking them, why we are not gathering information but Darius seems intent on getting us out of here.
We round a corner into a narrow passage, and I squeeze Darius’s hand, once again feeling trapped. My breaths come out faster and faster and I clench my eyes shut, trusting him to guide us as he picks up his pace.
My head starts to feel fuzzy, and a bout of dizziness hits me before I’m hauled up into strong arms.
I keep my eyes closed as Darius palms the back of my head, moving me to the curve of his neck as I breathe in his scent. Alow, gentle sound comes from within his chest and I relax in his hold, knowing he’s trying to calm me.
“Good girl,” he whispers in my ear softly, nuzzling the side of my head before he picks up his speed once again.
I’m not sure how long he carries me for, but the sound of fucking is long gone, and my breathing turns steady by the time the soft light of morning hits me.
I peel my eyes open, noticing we are outside another entrance. The barren earth has a gentle river flowing through the middle now, and I watch as it seems to rise every second.
I lift my head to look around more, and see trees are dotting the area, grass sprouting through the once dead ground as I gape at it.
“How is this possible?” I whisper to no one in particular. There was nothing here before.
It’s Damian who answers. “The Drylands are known for being barren of anything, but what most don’t know is that it’s always changing. You could look at an area, and the next day it’s completely different.” He waves a hand at the small valley now full of life. A surge of water sprouts out of the side of the mountain to the right, steam rising from it.
“This is amazing,” I whisper, looking down at Darius as he still holds me.
“That’s Vrohkaria, little wolf,” he rumbles, his eyes tracing over my face, at the smile I have.
Then his eyes trail down to the side of my neck, and his nostrils flare, a deep rumbling sound coming from him. His eyes flash up to mine as I squirm under his gaze, dilating at my reaction as a smirk appears on those sinful lips.
“Behave you two, we have shit to do,” Leo grumbles, and I flush, wriggling until Darius puts me on my feet.
My desire for him is getting stronger and stronger and I don’t know why.
