Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“She wants to be with me,” I grit out.
“Did you ask her? Or did you just demand it like you did with Li-lah?” His expression is incredulous. “Hassen, your exile is light because the tribe needs all its hunters. But we do not need you harming the females. Do I need to exile you completely? Must we shun you entirely?”
Anger flares in my mind. He will not listen. “It is not the same. Mah-dee is not the same as Li-lah—”
“So you will not steal her?”
“Maybe I should,” I snap. “If you will not give me a cave so I can take her as my mate, maybe I should steal her and go far away for the brutal season!” Even as the words tumble forth, I know they are a mistake. Vektal’s expression grows dark and angry.
I know I have lost. I know he will not listen to me now. Maybe not ever. Mah-dee is slipping from my grip and I am helpless to do anything about it, all because I was an impatient fool who stole away a crying female I did not even like.
“You must leave,” Vektal snarls, gesturing at the cave entrance. “I do not wish to see your face until—”
Nearby, Rokan staggers backward, and he nearly crashes into us. That is the second time in the last few minutes, and I grab his arm to steady him.
He jerks away, and his eyes are wild. His face is bleached of color and he stares past me. “Out of the cave! Everyone out of the cave!”
9
HASSEN
Everyone turns and stares at Rokan, confused.
“Out of the cave!” Rokan roars. He surges forward, stumbling through the center of the cave and heading for his mate. Li-lah has her back to him and is still hand-talking to Shorshie, unaware. As I watch, Rokan scoops her up and races for the entrance.
A second later, Maylak staggers out of her own cave, her kit at her breast. Her hand is at her brow and there is pain in her eyes. “My chief, I am worried—”
Her words are drowned out by a loud pop. Then another. Then it is like an endless stream of pops, and it becomes a roar so loud that I clap my hands over my ears. I can hear one of the humans screaming, but the pressure in my head is so bad I cannot tell who. Then there is a deafening boom, and I can hear nothing but a ringing in my ears. The world has gone silent.
We stare at each other in surprise, shocked. A few others are emerging from their private caves, confused and startled. I see Vektal’s lips moving, but I cannot hear his words. He gestures at me, speaks, and then points at the entrance. Then he races for his mate, who is getting to her feet by the fire, holding a crying kit who makes no sound I can hear.
Does he wish me to get everyone out of the cave, like Rokan said? Rokan with his strange sense? Who knows everything? But what does a loud sound mean—
The ground shakes beneath my feet.
No, it’s not shaking as much as it’s shifting. The entire cave is shifting. I see Vektal reach out to brace Shorshie, Talie held tight in his arms. He shouts something, then gestures at the entrance.
Out of the cave, Rokan had bellowed.
Something is wrong with the cave. The ground continues to shift under my feet and I look down to see cracks forming in good, solid rock. Impossible. The rock shifts beneath my feet again, and I nearly lose balance. It is not safe to stand. As I look up, the walls of the cave seem to shake around me. A loud rumbling grows through the ringing of my ears and then I see the ceiling buckle. A chunk of rock falls from overhead.
Out of the cave.
It is all happening so fast. There is no time to think.
Mah-dee. She is in here somewhere.
Through the roar of the shaking cavern, I can hear people screaming. Kits are crying. Rocks are tumbling through the air to land at my feet. Nearby, I see a rock slam into Jo-see, knocking her to the ground. Haeden bellows in fear and scoops his mate up, his expression wild-eyed. Vektal throws a blanket over the fire, smothering it, even as the others race for the entrance. The need to escape is overwhelming.
The cave—our home—feels like a trap.
Mah-dee must be found. I stagger forward and a falling rock hits my shoulder. A sharp stab of pain moves through me, but I ignore it, just like I ignore the stone under my feet that is shifting and moving apart, and stumble forward.
Where is she?
I crash into Farli as I head down the back tunnel. She’s sobbing, trying to carry her pet dvisti. Its leg is at an awkward angle and the creature is biting her. She says something to me, her expression devastated and full of fear, and cringes when the entire cave shakes even harder, debris raining from above.