Chapter 3
Chloe Landry
The second my feet touch the ground, I get the hinky feeling that something is terribly wrong.
I glance around, my gaze going wide as I stare up at a huge rock face.
I turn in place and stare up into the sky, shielding my gaze from the hot sun beating down on me and piercing my poor eyeballs, and adjust my backpack.
I stand in a sandy canyon, walls of rock enclosing me, and I can barely make out the very tip of pyramids rising up over the high rocky terrain in the distant sky.
I look up, and then further still, at the gigantic slab of stone in front of me, obviously square cut and man-made, as nerves and fear starting to roil in my stomach.
“Where the hell am I?” I ask aloud, wondering if Delores made a mistake.
I hesitate, not wanting to bug her since she’s been so nice helping me get here, but I can't just sit here, stranded and useless. I reach for my phone and lick my lips, regretting it immediately when my tongue comes away coated in dust.
“Ugh, disgusting,” I mutter, lifting my shirt sleeve to my mouth.
The wind blows hard, coating me with dirt and sand. I hold my hand up to shield my face, suddenly wishing I’d been able to pack a bit better for this trip.
With how the bracelet kept getting tighter, neither of us wanted to chance waiting any longer. I didn’t have time to grab much from the shop, but luckily, I found a change of clothes consisting of a white blouse and leggings that will hold up.
“It’s okay. I’m not really stranded in the desert. I’ve got my passport and money enough to get home. This is fine,” I tell myself. What the hell did Delores see?
So far, I’m not seeing anywhere to get out of the scorching midday sun, and it feels like my skin is being charbroiled where I stand. A whimper leaves my mouth as I take a few steps and huddle close to the rock, facing away from the heat.
I’m not sure what it looked like in her vision, but there’s nothing here except this weirdly smooth wall.
The gold bracelet starts to glow at my wrist, and my eyes widen with shock. “What the shit?”
I bring it to my face to see better, and a bright blue light shines from the gem in the center. My arm rises on its own, jerking and pointing at the sandstone rock face.
Oh, my gods.
Jaw dropping, I watch in rapt attention as a doorway forms in the rock bed, giving way to a long, dark tunnel with old sconces lining the walls.
“Oh, nope. We aren’t going in there,” I announce, only to squeal in panic as I’m forcibly dragged inside, the bracelet tugging me along whether I want to go or not.
The second I cross the threshold, the stone door slams shut seamlessly behind me, locking me underground. Fear makes my hands tremble as the blue light of the bracelet casts shadows on the walls.
I guess I’m going in after all.
I take a step, and torches blaze to light farther along the path, but I can't make out an end. I glance down at my feet, and my brow furrows at the buildup of dust around the soles of my trainers.
There’s no sign of any other footprints, like no one has been in here for years. The air is damp and cool, but musty. A chill crawls up my spine, true terror registering as it dawns on me that I’m alone in a faintly lit tunnel.
Trapped.
“Hello?” I call out, cringing when it echoes ominously into whatever weird pyramid-like place I’ve found myself in.
I pull out my phone from my back pocket and tug at the collar of my shirt. No service.
I whimper, wincing when the sound reverberates.
Okay, don’t panic. I will get out of here. Someone has to be around, right?
I glare at the walls long enough to convince myself there aren’t any scarabs or scorpions, knowing full well that if anything moves in here, I’ll be needing a straitjacket as a companion for life.
“Okay, I can do this.”
I suck in a deep breath before I take another step. Except when I do, the bracelet jerks me forward.
I cry out, the thing pulling so hard I almost trip and fall, fighting to keep upright.
I have my phone in a death grip, praying I don’t drop it as I careen down the fire-lit corridor.
Deeper and deeper it leads me, almost forcing me to run through the smooth-walled tunnel like I’m in a maze runner game.
Please, gods. Let there be someone here.
Nervousness churns in my stomach so hard I want to vomit, as I envision a large stone ball on its way to flatten me. This passage is so narrow, it’s not that hard to imagine.
“Where are we going?” I ask the bracelet, looking like a ridiculous mummy doing a zombie power walk with my arm stretched out ahead of me, speaking to an inanimate object.
My neck begins to perspire and hot sweat trickles down my back as the weird shackle tows me deeper still down the tunnel.
Suddenly, it picks up speed, my chubby little legs really sprinting, and I wince, hoping I don’t chaff.
A sharp gasp leaves me when I notice the passageway ends straight ahead with a solid wall.
I pull back with all my might, and still the bracelet won’t let go. Whatever power yanks me along is far stronger than I am, the tips of my shoes scraping across the dust-covered floor.
My heart thundering in my ears, I squeeze my eyes shut when I gain momentum and quickly send up a prayer to the goddess.
This is how I die, I think. The next instant, hard hands snatch my waist, and I’m saved from being flattened against the wall.
My eyes snap open at the sudden escape from certain death. The smell of frankincense and the feel of a hot, hard male invades my senses.
“Oh, my gods. Thank you,” I whisper, my heart now pounding for a whole new reason.
Blonde tussled curls, a rugged jawline, piercing blue eyes, and lashes a girl would kill for look down at me in shock.
The man stiffens, his hands biting into the flesh of my hips and abdomen where he still touches me, and my stomach gives a flutter.
His hand trembles as he reaches out to touch my face, like I’m something precious and, when the pads of his fingers meet the skin of my cheek, his features morph into the most handsome grin.
My mate.
“You finally came,” he says, the deep cadence of his voice sending tiny shivers down my spine.
Delores wasn’t kidding; my mate is fit and breathtakingly handsome. I also think he might be a human. Not that it matters to me if he’s not a warlock, since I’ve lived all my life without magic.
He’s at least six feet tall, much taller than my five-foot-four frame, dressed in a buttoned-down white shirt, khakis, and brown boots.
I back away, putting some distance between us, even though everything in me protests at the movement. A want to claw at him lustily rises within me, but warmth spreads instead as he chases me and cups my face before tucking my hair behind my ear.
Just like that, I’m in love.
I meet the stranger’s gaze, and my heart skips a beat at the soft smile he gives me. I fist his shirt, wanting to bring him closer.
“Please tell me you can you feel the bond between us?” he asks, gaze worried.
Maybe he is a warlock after all.
“I can tell you’re my mate,” I answer, forcing myself to remove my hands from him. It’s so hard to pull away, I’m almost disturbed by the raw power of my attraction, and my pulse quickens with longing.
“Thank the gods.”
I admire the planes and contours of his chest, arms, and shoulders, while I feel myself go slippery inside between my thighs. “How did you get in here?” I ask, the sound a bit garbled when his hand suddenly wraps around my waist again.
A delicious shudder shoots through me at just the thought of his palms running all over my body.
“I’m an archaeologist, and I’ve been here a while.”
He touches my injured arm, and I wince hard, the pain pulling me from the sensations clouding and overloading my mind.
“What’s this?” he asks, his expression the picture of puzzlement as he stares down at my wrist.
“It’s this bracelet that latched onto me this morning,” I hiss with discomfort while the man who saved me looks on in horror as it tightens.
He touches the bracelet, and a magical light emits from his palm as it unlocks. It loosens so it’s no longer hurting me, but I’m concerned it’s still attached to me.
“Oh my gosh, thank you! That was hurting so bad.”
I gasp as a faint blue glow rises in the air and floats around us, wanting to bind our bodies and spirits together.
We just need to complete the mating ritual.
A sharp flame of desire kindles between my thighs as soon as the pain at my wrist lessens, the pounding need for him almost blotting out all reason.
I glance up into the wide eyes of my new mate and almost want to chuckle at how stunned he looks. Desire unfurls deep in my belly as I recognize the bond heightening, trying to bring us together.
Witches are warned at a young age of what happens when you discover your mate.
The bond creates a haze of lust that seeks to bring the supernatural link together, like a magical force that entices the couple to breed.
I knew it was potent, I just didn’t recognize how powerful it would be.
Heat unfurls low in my belly, an undeniable pull of desire so intoxicating it can’t be denied. I need him now.
“This is not how this was supposed to happen,” he says.
“It’s supposed to happen. Just maybe with a bit better lighting and a bed,” I joke, and start kicking my shoes off and undoing my pants, letting them fall to the floor, needing them off my skin.
I want his hands on me. I want to touch him, taste him, while the ache between my thighs grows more and more insistent.
“I don’t want our first mating to be in a dusty tomb,” he bites out, his jaw popping in his mouth as he stares at my underwear.
His expression grows apologetically pained but lust-filled all the same, echoing mine.
His palm reaches for my waist, yanking me in while his body moves to pin mine. “I will make this up to you.”