Page 47 of Their Mate
Edward shook his head slowly, expression grim. “Too risky without specialized equipment. We’ll have to step over it carefully.”
I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my nerves, and moved forward with the others. We took turns stepping over it, each movement excruciatingly careful, our breathing shallow.
Just as we cleared the first tripwire, Logan cursed sharply, freezing instantly. “Stop! Another one.”
My stomach tightened painfully, my palms slick with cold sweat. Another laser stretched taut just inches from Logan’s boot.
Just one step further and he’d have triggered disaster.
“Bloody hell,” Jamie breathed tensely. “Too close.”
Logan exhaled in a long, slow breath, stepping back slowly. Edward moved meticulously, directing us in whispered commands, until finally, we’d safely navigated the deadly maze.
We stood quietly afterward, muscles trembling slightly, nerves frayed. Edward’s voice broke the tense silence, calm and decisive. “Stay focused. There’ll be more traps. Count on it.”
We pressed onward, our wary footsteps echoing ominously against the tunnel walls. Gradually, the corridor widened again, opening into a broader chamber where there were faint emergency lights that barely illuminated the shadows.
As my eyes adjusted to the sight before me, my pulse spiked violently.
Scattered across the floor were bones.
Humanbones.
They lay twisted grotesquely, half-buried beneath layers of grime and decay, hollow eye sockets staring upward, jaws hanging open in eternal, silent screams.
A chill crawled up my spine, icy dread pooling deep within my stomach. I’d faced death countless times, confronted monsters without flinching. Yet now, staring at those remains—bonespicked clean and abandoned in forgotten darkness—I felt a very real sense of fear.
“Human remains,” Edward murmured, carefully stepping around the bones. “These tunnels must have been their last refuge.”
Logan’s voice was rough with anger and disgust. “Looks like it was a slaughter. Maybe lycans… or worse.”
I knelt slowly beside a skull, fingers trembling faintly as I studied the damage, claw and teeth marks gouged savagely deep into the bones. My stomach twisted, nausea rising bitterly in my throat.
Aidan spoke from behind, his voice quiet and tense. “These people didn’t stand a chance. Trapped, alone in the dark, waiting to die.”
I closed my eyes briefly, breath shuddering as it escaped from my lungs. My mind flashed unwillingly to the past, to my brother, dragged away into the dark. The memory surged through me, raw and painful, shaking my carefully built composure.
“Sera?” Logan’s voice was gentle, concerned, drawing me back.
I stood abruptly, forcing steel into my spine, the mask of cold indifference back in place.
“I’m fine,” I snapped harshly, irritation rising exponentially at my momentary weakness. “Let’s keep moving.”
Jamie came closer, his usually playful expression uncharacteristically sober. “It’s alright to be scared, lass. Hell, I am.”
I glared back at him, pride flaring defensively. “I’m not scared.”
Edward studied me quietly, his calm presence somehow grounding. “There’s no shame in it, Sera. It keeps us aware.”
My gaze flicked away briefly, throat tightening involuntarily. As much as I hated admitting it, he was right. I was afraid, not just of the danger lurking ahead, but of the memories, the nightmares stirred by the sight of those remains. I’d been trained to hide fear, to bury weakness, but down here, beneath the earth, surrounded by death, my carefully built walls were beginning to crumble.
Logan moved forward again. “Stay together. We can’t afford distractions. Just because this happened a century ago doesn’t mean the danger has passed.”
Aidan nodded curtly, clearly shaken, but still just as determined as ever. “Agreed. Everyone be careful.”
We moved on, leaving behind the haunting remains, though their hollow stares seemed to follow us through the shadows. Unease wound through my ribs. Fear lingered stubbornly beneath my bravado, but I kept going, trying to ignore it.
Up ahead, a gentle hum vibrated faintly through the tunnel walls, soft but rhythmic, steady, growing gradually louder as we progressed. I raised a cautious hand as I gripped my blade tighter.
