“Yes. We’re here, and it’s amazing.” He couldn’t keep the pride from his voice. “Everyone is going to want to cover themselves before they come down the chute, but it’s well worth it. You are not going to believe what Nayla has to show us.”
A growl sounded behind.
Grif spun. Four massive silvery creatures with long twitching trunks and a mouthful of sharp teeth rose from the water, making their way onto the sandy bank, their six giant eyes each locked on him.
“No move.” Nayla’s voice was a strained whisper. “Walrhinots. They scent your blood. Make them hungry.”
That didn’t exactly imbue him with confidence. Especially with his crew on their way down the chute, and more bangs and scraps likely.
“Stay where you are.” He reached for his ax. “I’m coming.”
But Nayla shook her head. “Better not to move.”
More growls.
Followed by a deafening squawk—and an all too familiar blur of movement.
Then, things got ugly, and Nayla’s pet was right in the thick of it.
36
“Am I crazy or is the current starting to pick up?” Grif’s words reached Nayla over the roar of the rushing water.
“Always fast here.”
They bobbed along, lashed together by Grif’s rope. The tie was cumbersome, but comforting—since separation was next to impossible.
Which, Grif had explained as he wrapped it tight around her waist and his, was exactly why he’d refused to allow either of them to enter the water without it.
The incident with the Walrhinots had definitely placed him on the alert.
On the plus side, his fondness for Sharluff appeared to have grown astronomically.
Her pet had ripped apart the slow moving, silvery beasts with ease. There were few creatures in the river as fierce as her Sharluff.
Still, Grif was not as relaxed as before.
She’d seen the others exchange a look when he’d insisted on the tether, but she didn’t mind. In all honesty, his concern warmed her.
They were a team. How…astounding.
Carried by the churning waves, she was lighter than she’d been in a long time. The fate of the missing females weighed on her, as did her responsibilities to her pack, but her sense of hope was growing. The affection in Grif’s stare was genuine.
“Something’s moving beneath.” Concern roughened his voice.
“Dofels. No danger.” A school of the yellow and orange striped swimmers, each one the length of her leg, flashed beneath the water at a lower depth, hitching a ride on the swiftly moving currents.
“They’re beautiful. Do they taste good?”
She laughed, inhaling a lungful of water. Apparently, an obsession with their next meal was universal in all males, pack or Other. He’d already been disappointed to learn Walrhinot meat was too tough to eat.
“Yes.” One coughing spell and a worried look from him—he was already paddling closer—and she was finally able answer. “They taste good, but too fast. Grif can’t catch.”
“We’ll see about that.” But his focus was all on her. “You still okay? Need a break?”
His body was wet, making his muscles glossy and smooth. Droplets clung to his dark eyelashes, too. She shivered, longing a burning need inside her.
She realized with a start that it was unlikely the instincts he’d roused would ever go dormant again. He’d awoken something inside her that only multiplied in strength with every passing heartbeat. Lust, he’d once called it. She suspected it was something more.
“Not too tired?” he persisted.
A number of the crew were weak swimmers so Sharluff was, albeit reluctantly, ferrying them along, while she, Grif, and a few others braved the currents on their own.
“I’m fine.” She kicked as far away as the tether allowed, wanting to prove her words. “We take a break soon though. The current gets stronger and we enter pack territory. Better to rest for the night before we go more.”
“Sounds good.” Treading closer, he scanned the tunnel.
She knew what he saw. There was no place to pull themselves out of the water yet, the flowing water skimming the sides of the cavern. It wouldn’t stay that way.
“Don’t worry. Good place coming soon.”
He nodded. “Got it, boss.”
Another slight shock. Pack males never would make such a concession, even in jest. Grif did so easily. Probably because he was wholly confident in his dominance. He didn’t have to lord it over her. They both knew how easily he could make her submit if he wanted.
A slow shiver. Ancients help her, she liked that about him. She might be finding her voice and refusing to cower, but a part of her was pack female and would always be inclined toward obedience. Craved it, in fact.
“Are those the same kinds of symbols you had on your skin and spear?” His excitement shook her from thoughts. He was eyeing the golden swirling splashes of color high up on the walls of the cave.
“Rani, yes. They are drawings from the first pack, those that discovered the waterways and make it possible for us to survive. Their blessings and warnings help keep us alive. They also tell of rest spot up ahead.”
“Amazing.”
It was curious to see everything from Grif’s perspective. To notice things she had always taken for granted. He seemed shocked by so much.
It pleased her to think she had given him a first as well.
“I see it.” He paddled closer.
“Good.” She’d traversed this path many times. “We go to the side now. Swim hard. The river does not like to let go.”
Her arms cut through the water. Grif followed right behind, matching his stroke to hers.
Sharluff passed them, a host of crew clinging to his sides. One of them was the male Malin who did not like her. He glared as they passed. Was it wrong that she hid a smile when the splash from a fellow passerby slapped him in the face?
Soon, she didn’t care either way as the currents picked up and she had to focus on keeping her own lungs clear of water.
She and Grif were both panting by the time they made it to the shore. He jammed another small blue marker between two rocks for his people to find. The stop-off point had provided her people with refuge for generations. This beach was wider than many, allowing travelers to spread out. The rocky walls beyond the beach were pockmarked with tunnels, a number of which led to the surface. Others that twisted deeper into the bowels of the planet.
A firepit filled with whalh rocks and danashe crystals was at the center of the beach, surrounded by boulders, worn down over time, that served as seats.
The rest of Grif’s crew stood close together, in various stages of drying off, taking it all in. She wondered if she looked as wide-eyed as they did right now.
Sharluff was already back in the water, happy to be free of his human burdens and presumably on the hunt for his dinner.
“You weren’t kidding about the river’s grip.” Dropping his pack to the ground, Grif sucked down another deep breath and stood tall to survey the area. His hair was slicked back, the inky wet of his lashes making his green eyes even darker, while water sluiced over every muscle, making his skin glisten.
Her exhaustion disappeared, lust roaring to take its place.