Drooling

Once again Lyle stopped. She turned her head over her shoulder. Masking her apprehension, she said, “I am merely stating a fact. Besides, I am not afraid of you.” That was a big, fat lie. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as if a drummer had gone crazy while drumming. What if he actually attacked her? 

“I did hear about how you were thrown out of your pack,” he said in the same feral voice mixed with mockery. “You deserved it. If I knew it earlier, I would have never allowed you to travel with the group.” 

Lyle gritted her teeth. Her hand went to the dagger she had strapped on her thigh. “What if I stab you here and leave you to rot?” she scoffed. Amongst all these brutal and savage men, all she had to do was maintain the façade. For the first time she regretted wearing ladies outdoor shorts and a tank top. 

Ryder raised his eyebrow and stared at her with amusement for a good long time before saying, “Walk.” 

Lyle jutted her chin out, turned and started moving forward. She knew she was inexperienced but she would never lose her brave face. Jericho and Mila’s life depended on the success of her quest. 

The pathway ended at a semi-circular arch that framed an ancient and rust-stained, heavy iron gate with grills in a checkered pattern. Lyle flashed her torch light inside it. She saw a small space, which converged into darkness into a tunnel. Which idiot would have installed this iron gate inside a dormant volcano cave? It looked thousands of years old.

“Do you think you can move that, Ryder?” she asked, waving at the heavy, rusted gate. It was as if it hadn’t been moved in ages and had caught roots in the ground. 

“That’s Alpha Ryder for you, pup. Only my friends can call me Ryder,” he said with irritation in his voice. 

“How about ‘Lame’? That name suits you.” She never backed down from challenges. “Or just—”

“Quiet!” he replied curtly. 

She wasn’t going to show how riled she was, so she shrugged. “Fine, just open the gate.” 

He grunted and walked in front of her. “Move aside.”

“All yours,” she said sluggishly and stepped aside.

Ryder lifted the gate as if it had very little weight and screeched it to open partially. He waved at her, “After you, unless you are afraid.” 

“I am never afraid!” she retorted and then stomped inside. The small pathway ended in a narrow, dark tunnel. “I think we should take another route. How can a tunnel lead to the volcano bed?” 

“We are going to take another route only if this one comes to a dead end. It would be stupid to come till here and not explore it till the end.” 

She blinked her eyes at his reasoning. He was right but… She steeled herself to enter the tunnel, hoping there weren’t snakes out there. She hated them to the extent that Blake had to get a pest treatment done around the perimeter in the places where she had patrolled. And on that thought she said, “I think you should lead the way.” 

“And let you strike me with that dagger?” he pointed to her strap on the thigh. He crossed his arms across his chest and stood stubbornly. 

“Why do I feel that your thoughts are lascivious when you say that to me? You will be literally looking at my...” she stopped pursing her lips. 

“Like I said, you are not my type.” He sized her up. “There’s nothing in you that enthralls me.”

She laughed in a humorless way. “As if I am dying, but just for the record, I have—” Why was she sounding desperate?

“Shall we go?” he cut her off, his hazel eyes flickering a black as if seething with frustration. 

She huffed and tied her long black braid in a bun on the base of her neck. She was sure she would crop them when she reached back home… with Nyter. She knelt down and then crawled inside. The place was broad enough to have just one person at a time. He followed her closely behind. Once again a damp and musty smell floated in the air. Suddenly a cold gush of air came in and she shivered. In order to not feel alone, she asked, “Why do you want Nyter?” She was thankful that he was with her. Otherwise...

“To give it to my lover,” came a curt answer. “She is a human, and Nyter will immortalize her.” 

“Lover?” she whispered. That word stirred negative emotions in her. “Is she your mate?” Her breath hitched. She wanted to feel pity for him, for her, but all she felt was… anguish… jealousy? 

“Mates are rare. But I heard that your lover found his mate," he smirked.

The coolness in the air helped soothe her anger. “I’d rather not talk about that bastard.” She started crawling ahead with greater speed. The dagger in her thigh abraded her skin. “Ah!” She couldn’t even turn back to remove it. She tried to put her hand between her legs when she met with his hand. He opened the buckle and took the dagger in his hands. She became still, heating up like a thousand suns. “Give my dagger back!” she said.

“No chance!” he replied as he tossed it behind him. “Now move.” 

“I am going to get it back,” she grunted as she clambered forward. Somehow without her dagger, she felt insecure, especially with the giant werewolf behind her. 

“Highly unlikely,” he said, biting a grunt. 

Lyle became aware that perhaps the Alpha was watching the movement of her hips. As a way to threaten him, she thumped the toe of her boot in the ground. 

Understanding her gesture, he gave a low derisive chuckle. “I told you pup, you have nothing that is going to hold my interest… ever! So just focus on the mission at hand.” 

In order to give tit for tat she said, “I wonder what your lover sees in you. But then what can you expect from humans? Werewolves are supreme as compared to them physically.” 

He laughed. “Have you been eyeing me, pup? Humans find us scary if we show our true forms. So if my lover is a human, she loves me despite seeing my true form.” Though he had never dared to show his true form to her. 

‘Gods, he has such a rough and sexy voice,’ Grisha poked her. 

‘Stop drooling over him!’ Lyle scolded her. ‘We are going to use him and throw him.’ 

‘We don’t have to throw him,’ Grisha muttered. 

In order to quiet Grisha, Lyle changed the topic. “I heard you belong to the Silver Moon pack. Where do you people live? In deep jungles or are you nomads?” She had heard numerous rumors about them. “Is it true that you people live up to a thousand years?” She had also heard that they are the most beautiful and intelligent werewolves species. “Why do your people stay hidden?” 

The tunnel’s damp and musty smell were irritating her. 

Something thin and cold slithered next to her back and she halted. Goosebumps lined her skin. “Is that a snake!” she gasped as sweat appeared in her palms and her heart thudded against her chest so hard that she started trembling. “I can’t— can’t br— breathe!” Bile rose in her throat and felt she was going to gag. 

“Shhh." His hand went near her thigh. As soon as he was near the snake, he caught it and thrashed it against the wall so hard that she heard its flesh splattering. 

Feeling shaky, Lyle simply slumped down in her place with a numb mind. After what seemed eternity, she gathered her wits, had water from her bottle and started to crawl again. “Thanks,” she said. 

“I am yet to see a werewolf getting scared of snakes,” he commented. 

She didn’t answer, her limbs still shaky, her mouth still dry. When she was feeling a little better she came back to her bluffing mode. “I am not scared of snakes. It’s just that I wasn’t prepared for its attack. And this place is kind of spooky. I mean look at it. Nyter flowers grow in this god-forsaken dormant volcano and lo and behold—it grows once every hundred years. How stupid? Next you are going to say that we will find dragons here!” 

As if gods were against her, yet another snake slithered over her legs. He caught it and dangled in front of her. “That’s another one for you!” 

Seeing the green dead snake in his hand, shock flitted through. With a scream, she stumbled back into him. The man stopped moving. A low rumble vibrated his chest. She felt a muscular arm stopping her at her waist from further bumping into him. She could feel his swelling member. 

“Pup, stay where you are!” he said, as if trying to placate her fears, but in an irritated voice.

“How can I stay where I am? That's a green dead snake!” she said in a shaky voice, her phobia kicking him. She pressed further in him and her breath became shallow. Her body trembled like a dry leaf barreling in summer wind.

“Stay still,” he growled, irritation spiking up. Between her fear and his thoughts, he was having a hard time. So he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck to stop her from shaking.  

His erection—