Chapter 17
Itrembled with a heady concoction of emotions as we made our way into the darkened mouth of the cave. Anticipation, knowing how many weeks I’d searched for the cave’s entrance. Desperation, knowing I needed to find the knife to break my family’s curse. And hunger for the male walking beside me.
Because Axel had ignited a painful ache pulsing between my thighs.
“You’re sure this is the only cave on your property?”
“Positive, little witch.”
“What about the surrounding land?”
“Owned by the National Forest Service. Already explored it.” Since donning our packs, his words had only grown more clipped. Maybe he was feeling as sexually frustrated as me. “This is the only entrance into these caves on this mountain.”
Chills spread across my skin. Because if that was the case…this had to be it. I’d finally found it.
“Why haven’t you been in here before?”
“Don’t ask me that.”
I sighed. Broody as ever. My werewolf.
My steps faltered. He wasn’t my werewolf. Why was I thinking of him like that?
Our headlamps cast bright pools of light as the daylight behind us faded.
At first, there was only rough stone walls and packed earth underfoot.
Nothing special. But as we moved deeper, the walls began to change, closing in more tightly.
What started as ordinary limestone gave way to something extraordinary.
Lunarium crystals.
They started small—tiny clusters sprouting from cracks in the rock like geometric flowers.
But with each step, they grew larger and more abundant.
Pale silver formations jutted from the walls and ceiling in jagged spears, some as thick as my arm.
The floor was dotted with crystal clusters that had grown up from the cave bottom like frozen lightning. We were careful to go around them.
I stopped abruptly and pulled out my detector. The readings made my breath catch—the device was practically screaming with activity.
“Look at this.” I held it toward Axel, though he barely glanced at it. “The lunarium levels are incredible. We’re talking off-the-charts.”
I returned the device to my pack, gazing in wonder at the crystalline formations around us. They cast an ethereal silver glow that made our headlamps almost unnecessary, turning the cave system into something from a fairy tale.
I needed to get a picture for Elle. My cell didn’t get service down here, so I snapped a few photos of a nearby lunarium cluster to send later.
“Where’s the knife?” Axel’s voice was rougher than before. Impatient.
“Not sure. We’ll have to find it. Elle’s records dated back centuries ago.
They spoke of a ceremonial site deep underground, supposedly packed with lunarium formations—that’s why this site was chosen for the original ritual.
” I gestured at the glowing crystals around us as we kept walking.
“The werewolves who broke their curse needed that amplification.”
Axel grunted. He didn’t ask about the wolves. Or the curse.
“Ironic,” I added, glancing sideways at him. “A sacred site for breaking a werewolf blood curse, and you ended up buying the land sitting atop it. ‘Cause, you know, you’re a wolf and all.”
He grunted again, his jaw working.
Something in his response made me study his profile more carefully. Even in the silver-tinged light, I could see the sheen of sweat on his forehead. I frowned. Down here, the temperature was cool, almost cold.
“Axel? You good?”
“Fine.” The word was bitten out, nearly a snarl. I caught a flash of yellow in his eyes. Perhaps even a bit of fur sprouting on his skin.
When I blinked, it was gone. Perhaps only a trick of the light.
“Come on.” I gestured with my head and we kept moving.
The passage ahead expanded into a larger room. There were several narrow corridors leading away at different points, each disappearing into darkness beyond the lunarium’s glow.
“Well,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “since the original werewolf pack made it all the way to the ceremonial chamber, I doubt we’ll need all that spelunking equipment you brought.
Hopefully we’ll get lucky. Let’s try this one.
” I picked the nearest passage, heavily packed with lunarium deposits.
The crystal’s natural glow added to the light from our headlamps. It created an eerie atmosphere, making our skin silvery blue.
My foot clipped a lunarium deposit and I stumbled, gasping. Axel’s hand shot out, grasping my arm to keep me from falling. I half expected him to make a teasing comment. But he didn’t.
His breathing had grown more labored, and when I looked at him again, his face had gone pale beneath his tan.
“Axel…?”
“Just…give me a second.” He released my arm, leaning his back against the wall.
A bead of sweat dripped down his temple.
“What’s wrong?” Alarm bells began ringing in my head. I’d never seen him like this. Unresponsive. He looked…unwell.
“Do we need to turn back?” The thought made everything in me protest. I’d spent my entire life living with this curse. If I found the knife today, there was a chance I’d be free. Free of the drain on my magic. Free of Ambrose.
“Or… I can continue on alone if you need to go.”
“Not—alone,” he gritted out, eyes still squeezed tightly shut.
“I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.”
“No,” he growled. “Just…” He opened his eyes, blinking at the opposite wall. There was a vacancy there that made my heart race.
Axel leaned more heavily against the wall, then began sinking towards the ground.
“Good idea. Just sit for a moment. Here—” I pulled a bottled water from my pack, opening it. He brushed it away.
“You should drink,” I advised.
“Not…thirsty. Fuck.” His chest rose and fell more quickly. I immediately recognized the signs. Panic attack.
“I’ve got you. Come on.” I crouched closer, getting down on my knees. My pulse raced faster when I caught sight of his sharp claws, like he was fighting the urge to shift. Unpredictable wolves were dangerous, and yet, I trusted him.
“Please—just have some water,” I urged, desperate to make things better. I wasn’t sure what brought this on—the dark, the closed in corridor, the cave itself, being below ground?—but something had triggered him.
He pushed the open bottle away, sloshing some.
“Okay, how about we try some grounding techniques, yeah?”
“They’re trying to hurt me.” His voice cracked.
“It’s just me here.”
“They’ll hurt me,” he said again.
My brow furrowed. I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder. We were completely alone. But it was clear from his far off gaze that he wasn’t quite…present.
“Who’s trying to hurt you?” I kept my voice low, soothing, but I was starting to panic, too.
“The witches.” The word—accusation—came out a hiss. My stomach plummeted.
Witches.
“No one is going to hurt you, Axel.” I brushed a finger along his jaw.
“Yes. They will. You can’t take me to them.” His gaze remained empty. He blinked but looked at nothing. “They said they would fix me. Get the wolf out. But they…they…”
A sick feeling filled my stomach. Followed by a sour taste in my mouth. “What do you mean?”
“They brought me into the dark to fix me. They needed… They said…”
Oh, God.
I scooted closer, taking a gamble, knowing this could be dangerous, especially in such a volatile state. I climbed into his lap, straddling his hips, pressing my chest against his. His entire body trembled against me. “Is that what they told you? The witches? That they would fix you?”
“They said they would cure me.”
My heart broke open and tears filled my eyes. He wasn’t a born wolf, but a turned wolf. I was already piecing together some of his past. “They said this after you became a wolf?”
“Yes…” He growled, growing more agitated. He began slamming the back of his head against the cave’s wall. Hard enough to cause a concussion.
“Hey. Hey.” I reached for his face, trying to stop him. To keep him from hurting himself.
“They lied to me,” he cried. “They lied!” His voice changed, turning to a snarl. His eyes changed, turning yellow. One was beautifully whole, the other, damaged. And suddenly, I had a feeling I knew what had caused that damage.
“Witches—they lie. They lured me into the dark. Used their magic to hurt me. To take my blood while I screamed and screamed and screamed.”
“Is that how you got your scar?” I blinked the tears away, knowing I needed to stay strong. For him.
“My scar,” he repeated, still sounding dazed. “My scar.”
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, Wolfie. I promise. No more scars. No more wounds. Okay?”
“No more.”
“No more.” I caressed his jaw again. “That’s it. I’ve got you. Not a single witch will harm you.” I pressed a gentle kiss to his damp forehead. Then another to his nose. Then his temple, his cheeks, the corner of his mouth.
My quest for the knife was all but forgotten.
The only thing that mattered right now was calming him. I wanted to kill the witches who had done this to him. Who had harmed him so thoroughly that he carried these hidden wounds. Now I knew why he never came here.
Why he’d hated me on sight—for what I was.
Axel’s breathing slowed and he began to relax, his muscles losing some of their tension. “That’s it,” I encouraged. “Should we try some grounding techniques?”
He huffed. “Fuck that.”
I chuckled and pulled back. His gaze looked less vacant. More present.
“We need to get you out of here, okay? Where you’ll be safe.”
“Safe.” He blinked, like he was trying to bring me into focus.
“Yes. Safe. I’m going to keep you safe. Okay?”
“Safe.”
“Exactly. Come on, Wolfie. Can you stand up for me? Here—” I climbed from his lap. He made a keening sound of protest, reaching for me. “Come on.” I took hold of his groping hands, mindful of the claws, and pulled. It took everything, but I managed to get him upright.
He growled, the sound filled with irritation, and pulled me against him, possessively wrapping himself around me. “Safe,” he murmured. “Safe.”
“You’re safe. I promise. Come on.”
He didn’t want to move, his body still locked tight. But I used his desire to remain close to me as a way to spur him into motion. Taking one step, then another. It was slow, but we began to cover ground. I kept one arm around him, while he kept both around me. Clinging to me.
We emerged back into the smaller chamber. From there, it was an uphill slope. I continued to murmur encouraging words, urging him along. His grip remained tight.
I’d forgotten all about the knife by the time daylight appeared, so wrapped up in Axel’s panic. The sound of birdsong returned, sunlight filtered through the trees, the breeze tickled my skin. The world continued to turn as if nothing monumental had just happened.
Axel’s breathing evened out. He finally dropped his arms and simply stared off into the trees. He didn’t look at me.
Slipping my pack from my shoulders, I pulled his free, too. Then I shed my hard hat and did the same for him. When he still didn’t look at me, I placed myself in front of him.
His expression was a mask.
“I won’t ask questions,” I promised. “Whatever you went through, it’s not my business. But… I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
His jaw worked. It was clear he wasn’t going to take me up on my offer. Not yet, anyway.
“I just want to say one thing, then I’ll shut up.
” When he didn’t protest, I continued, “It means a lot to me that you would go into that cave with me. Not just because of what happened to you—whatever that was—but because I’m a witch, and you were hurt by witches, and now you’re trying to help me get my magic back. So…thank you.”
When it was clear he’d hidden the cave’s existence from me, I’d felt nothing but anger. That he could watch me search for weeks on end, seeing how desperate I was, only to come up empty handed, and say nothing to help. That had hurt. But all of it was forgotten, seeing him now.
His decision wasn’t fully justified, but I understood him a bit more. Understood where he was coming from. Besides, how could I be angry at someone who looked so…broken.
I closed the distance between us and went on my toes to kiss his cheek.
His eyelids fluttered closed for the briefest of moments.
I pulled away, then went to retrieve our packs.
He needed a minute, and I wanted to give that to him.
So I loaded everything into the UTV while he stood there, making sure it was secured.
It hurt. Seeing him like this. Knowing a little of what he’d been through. It also hurt knowing the knife was probably somewhere in the cave beneath my feet. The key to breaking the curse on my blood. My family. But I was choosing to walk away from it. For now. For him.