Page 45 of Ragoru

“Why are you here?” Thral growled as he took a threatening step forward, surveying the scene in front of him.

Vrishna remained crouched, his head bowed, but Evie was nowhere in sight. A helpless fury filled him as he stalked forward. Why in the name of Ewa, the Great Mother, was Vrishna not attacking the Shining One and forcing answers from him? Was obedience too far ingrained? Thral had seen many Ragoru become conditioned toward obeying the Shining Ones because it saw to their comforts being met but would never have believed that about the male who escaped with him… until now.

Thral gave his pelt a violent shake and took another step forward, baring his teeth as he snarled. He had no such issues when it came to the Shining Ones. There was no desire to obey or defer to the golden male standing before him. All he felt was a violent desire to tear him apart if he did not produce their mate immediately. The Shining Ones had played games with the Ragoru for too long in their attempt to control their basic needs. He would never trust one of them.

“Where is she, Avareth?” he demanded with a loud snap of his teeth.

“She?” The infuriating male’s brows snapped up in surprise, and a look of pleasure that didn’t have any right to be there swept across his face. “You’ve found a mate? This is even better than I could have anticipated!”

“Do not play games!” he roared as he surged forward, throwing his massive body weight into the male, knocking him to the ground.

He didn’t follow him down with the intent to continue his attack. He didn’t even touch the male. Instead, he took a step back and stood over him snarling as Avareth gaped up at him, his head fur whipping threateningly in its wild, unpredictable patterns of movement. Thral prepared for a counterattack, but it never came. Instead, the male sat up slowly, wincing a little as he did so as he tipped his head quizzically.

“Must your kind always resort to violence? Or at the very least not strike so hard,” Avareth wheezed as he rubbed a hand tenderly over his chest where he had absorbed the majority of Thral’s impact.

He winced at Thral’s dour glower and sighed. “I am not playing a game with you, I assure you. I was returning from the human citadel when I detected a Ragoru signature beneath my flight path and landed to investigate. I was relieved to see that Vrishna had only received minor wounds from which he was already recovering but took the time to give him boosters to speed his healing process.” He gave them a critical look. “Something you and Sabol could obviously use as well,” he pointed out dryly as he stood up and carefully dusted himself off. “Vrishna had only just awakened when you arrived.”

“Was that what happened?” Thral’s gaze cut over to Vrishna, but the male dipped his head in agreement despite the look of misery that clung to him.

Vrishna grunted softly. “The Shining One isn’t responsible for this, Thral. The huntsman shot me as I was fleeing for the tunnels with Evie. She said that there was an access tunnel somewhere near here.” He dragged in a deep breath with a soft whine. “I let go of her when I fell.” His eyes locked with Thral’s. “I didn’t wish to crush her beneath me. I thought she would be safe but…” He swallowed thickly. “She fell through the rock,” he muttered miserably as he gestured to the crevice in the rock beside him.

“And the huntsman?”

Vrishna shook his head. “He struck so that I would be helpless while he searched for a way down to Evie. If she’s alive,” he added bitterly as he glared down at the crevice before releasing a pained sigh. “I do not think he could fit down there any better than I would have. He’s probably found the access tunnel by now, though.”

Avareth’s eyes widened. “So that’s why you asked for my help in locating the cave entrance!” Thral gave him a harsh look, and the male lifted his hands with a conciliatory smile. “Just to help, of course. I won’t interfere with your mate.”

Thral growled and took a menacing step forward as Sabol closed in on his right side, his own hackles bristling. “You will not so much as touch our mate.”

“Unless Evie’s injured,” Vrishna put in.

His anger burned so hotly that Thral wanted to whirl on him and snarl that Avareth wouldn’t touch her even then, but common sense interceded and reminded him that if she were injured, they would need the male’s help. Ragoru saliva could only do so much, and they didn’t have any supplies with which they could treat her injuries. What little they had went with her.

“Unless she’s injured,” he bit out in agreement as his eyes narrowed on the Shining One.

A thoughtful look crossed Avareth’s face. “Evie,” he murmured as he tapped his chin with one long, thin, claw-tipped finger. “Would that happen to be Evelyn Willocks?” he asked, a grin stretching across his face. “I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence and that there are that many females up here with that name who would be in the position to be encountered by the three of you in the woods.”

At the hostile look all three of them suddenly pinned him with, the male stiffened warily. “Don’t look at me like that. I was simply remarking on it because her name was mentioned to me by one of her superiors, as one in a position where she might more directly help our endeavor. She’s their expert in this part of the continent. Helping you locate her would be doing a significant service to helping all your kind on this continent.”

Some of the tension drained from Thral at the male’s words. As long as Avareth didn’t intend on taking Evie away and kept his distance then he would overlook his eagerness to get to her. In any case, Vrishna was right. There was no way any of them would fit into that narrow break in the rocks. He was honestly surprised that Evie had, though the force from falling might have helped her way through. Thral’s tail whisked in agitation. Since it was clear that she fell in the cave system, the sooner they found the entrance, the better. As much as he hated to admit it… Avareth’s help could be useful. The male had technology that would help them find a route to locate her.

“Very well,” he grumbled.

“Excellent!” Avareth pulled out a small hand-held device and smiled. “Does anyone have anything with a sample of her DNA?” They looked at him in confusion, and he sighed. “Hair, blood, skin.”

“She sleeps with us every night. At least one of us should have a hair on him,” Sabol grumbled as he attempted to crane his neck and peer at his own pelt.

With a grunt, Thral grabbed him and held him still while he worked with Vrishna to inspect him. Evie often pillowed her head on Sabol’s chest, so he was the most likely to have one as far as Thral was concerned. After a long span of carefully ruffling his fur to examine it, they finally located one of Evie’s red hairs and extracted it from Sabol’s pelt.

Avareth took the offered hair and opened a small drawer on his machine into which he placed the hair and closed it again. “While this runs and provides me with the results with which we can track her, I believe I can get my scanners working to find that entrance,” he explained as he unhooked another device from his belt and moved his fingers rapidly over its surface.

Thral’s muscles tightened with anticipation as he watched the scanner work, mapping the rocks in front of them. Although he understood a little of what it was doing since he’d seen the Shining Ones use them before when they first arrived to make sure that the ground was safe to build upon, he also had no idea what any of what he was looking at meant. It was this reason that his attention drifted from the machine to Avareth as he closely watched the male’s expression for any sign of success.

To his frustration, Avareth was just as inscrutable as he ever was and gave nothing away until he nodded briskly and turned. “It is right this way,” he called as he headed back down the hill and to the north.

The triad followed after him silently in a quick lope that took them flying down the hill after him. If Avareth felt any discomfort at being chased and surrounded by them, he gave no indication. Eagerness filled Thral in his anticipation to be reunited with his mate, and the dark rise of fury close on its heels with the knowledge that he would also be able to soon taste the vengeance that was denied him.

There would be no saving the huntsman from the attack he instigated or from whatever harm might have befallen their mate due to his actions. Thral would see the male’s life bleed out from him before the day was over.

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