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Chapter Twenty-One

Vail

“Stop!” Cali ordered a second after the white wolf loping ahead of us skidded to a less than graceful stop.

“What is it?” Samara called out even as she tugged on the reins, drawing our mount to a halt. Draven and Kieran did the same.

I leaned to the side a little more so I could scan the ground but didn’t release my hold on Samara.

She’d stopped crying half an hour ago, and we’d both been content to ride in silence.

Not the tense kind of these past couple of weeks, but a strangely comforting one.

I didn’t think everything between us was resolved, but for the first time, I had hope that I could actually fix them.

I just needed more time to do that, which meant we needed to make it to that damn temple alive. Cali and Rynn had both sensed something—even if I couldn’t see it. I grimaced. If it wasn’t on the surface, then it was below.

Trapper spiders.

Most of Lunaria was covered in forests, ranging from tropical to snow-covered; it was impressive how quickly the climate changed between the northern and southern ends of the continent.

Then there were the badlands, a unique ecosystem that contrasted sharply with everything else.

They were flat and arid—so much so that the ground cracked and faint lines scattered out in every direction, as if the earth itself was begging for rain, which it rarely got, as the storms seemed to always bypass it.

Cali landed in front of us, wisps of red hair plastered to her face where they’d slipped free from her braid. We were lucky it was overcast, but even without the sun beating down on us, the heat was stifling. The horses were sweating but so far seemed okay with our steady jog.

“Spotted a trapper.” Cali’s mouth twisted in distaste. “Where there’s one . . .”

“There’s more.” I grunted and tightened my grip around Samara’s waist. “If it’s a colony, their tunnels could extend for miles.”

“Or it could be just a few that split off from the group,” Draven said, but he sounded doubtful.

It seemed unlikely we’d get that lucky.

“I fucking hate spiders,” Alaric muttered.

“Same,” Samara echoed. “I had nightmares for a solid week after the cave.” A chill seemed to run through her, and she leaned further into my embrace—something I greedily accepted as I inhaled her delicious scent.

I’d never admit it, but even I’d had a nightmare or two after we’d encountered those arachnid-like starfish in the cave outside House Harker.

The creatures themselves had been nightmare-inducing, but what really terrified me was remembering Samara dangling off the ledge with a tentacle wrapped around her leg while a monstrous starfish waited beneath to devour her.

Those things had been unexpected. At least trappers I’d unfortunately dealt with before.

There weren’t as many predators in the badlands because of the harsh terrain and climate, but the ones that dwelled here were crafty.

Trappers were spiders as large as Rynn in her wolf form that lived in tunnels beneath the ground.

They’d earned their name because they built pits hidden beneath trapdoors in their tunnels.

When they felt the vibrations of something walking by, they leapt out and dragged the unsuspecting prey underneath, where the walls were lined with their sticky webs.

Thanks to all the cracks in the ground, it was difficult to tell where the trapdoors were.

To make matters worse, their breeding season was coming up, and they were stocking up on food to feed their young, which meant there were probably twice as many traps as usual and the spiders would be extra aggressive.

Because Lunaria was the gift that kept on giving.

Reluctantly, I let go of Samara and slid off the horse. Cali was clearly stressed, because she didn’t even bother giving me one of her death stares when I moved to stand beside her.

“You’ve been in the badlands more than any of us.” I kept my gaze locked on the ground in front of us. “What do you think we should do?”

“Throw your body out there, wait for the trappers to jump out, run real fast,” she replied without missing a beat.

I laughed darkly, drawing Rynn’s attention from where she was also seeking out the trapdoors. Fangs that were several inches long flashed at me as she snarled before going back to trying to find a path.

Remorse hit me hard. I’d always respected Rynn. She was smart and clever, and while she could be blunt at times—she lacked Samara’s ability to speak honeyed words—she’d always spoken the truth. I liked her no-bullshit approach to things.

It wasn’t just Samara I’d lost when I’d taken that crown and handed it over to Carmilla. It was Rynn . . . and the Velesians too.

Samara, I hoped to win back, but I wasn’t sure if Rynn would ever trust me again—and the Alpha Pack would be out for blood.

“As delicious a snack as Vail is,” Samara said as she swaggered to Cali’s other side, “I don’t think he’ll be enough to distract all of them. Not if they have a large colony.”

My dick instantly hardened at Samara referring to me as delicious, and I had to subtly adjust my pants.

“Won’t know until he tries.” Alaric shrugged before half falling, half leaping off the horse he’d been riding with Kieran.

I didn’t bother hiding my smirk at his ungraceful dismount.

“Knock it off.” Samara gave me and then Alaric a warning look. “Both of you.”

“Could you fly us across, Cali?” Kieran asked from behind us, where he and Roth were holding on to the three horses.

I looked around, trying to spot where Draven had gone, and tried not to be envious of how quietly he could move.

It didn’t take long to find him, crouching down with his hand flat against the earth a short distance away from us.

“Possibly,” Cali answered Kieran. “It’d be easier if we backtracked and climbed up one of the mesas so I could glide and not waste energy just trying to get off the ground. Even then, I’m not sure if I could carry Draven or the asshole.”

I assumed I was the asshole.

Fair.

Samara chewed on her bottom lip. I wanted to reach out and brush my thumb across it to get her to stop, but I wasn’t sure if my touch would be welcomed.

Despite what had transpired when we’d been riding together, I didn’t think we were there yet—and I didn’t want to fuck up what progress I’d made.

So instead, I had to watch as Alaric brushed his thumb across her lip and Samara gave him a small smile in return.

Cold, green eyes cut to me as soon as Samara turned her attention to where Rynn was nimbly trotting back to us, then Alaric arched a dark brow at me.

Out of all of Samara’s lovers, he seemed to be the one who had the biggest problem with me, which I found interesting because he was also the one who had been the cruelest towards her.

Sure, I’d tried to kill Samara a few times, but Alaric had spent his teenage years delivering perfectly crafted insults that cut right through her armor. He’d picked that habit back up as soon as she’d returned to House Harker. One day, they were at each other’s throats—the next, he was in her bed.

I didn’t get it, which was probably how he felt about me and Samara.

Figuring out how this would all work long-term would be challenging, and I suspected there might be a little bloodshed. Samara clearly wasn’t going to choose between us. I just needed to make sure she chose me at all.

Which meant I couldn’t punch that arrogant expression off Alaric’s face.

Rynn finished making her way to us and shifted back to her human form. I almost rolled my eyes at how Alaric suddenly found the ground so interesting. Clearly, he hadn’t spent much time around Velesians because nudity was nothing to them.

Unless mates were involved and someone was being disrespectful, but while the Alpha Pack had claimed Rynn, there was no mate bond between them—and likely wouldn’t be, given the way things were going.

“Thoughts?” I kept my gaze on Rynn’s eyes.

Velesians were comfortable wearing nothing, but leering was still considered rude—or an invitation.

Neither was of interest to me. I only had eyes for my dark-haired, curvy beauty, but I hoped to mend some bridges with Rynn, so I waited respectfully for her to answer.

Rynn glanced at me, a cool distance in her gaze, before she sighed. “I suspect this colony goes on for a ways. There are a lot of trapdoors, and from what I could see, they don’t decrease in any direction. So we could walk for miles and still be in it.”

“We don’t have that kind of time.” I frowned.

It was past midday. We’d traveled a good distance, but we still had a ways to go before reaching the temple.

Dealing with trappers was difficult but doable—we just had to avoid those damn doors.

If darkness fell and the wraiths came for us though .

. . we wouldn’t be able to fight them and avoid the trappers.

“Can you sense anything?” Kieran called out to Draven.

The former prince shook his head and rose, dusting off his hands as he walked back towards us.

“Yes, but it’s not all that useful. I’m pretty sure I can feel the tunnel system, but I can’t differentiate between what are tunnels and what are traps.

My magic only senses the spiders when they move; otherwise, I just kind of have an awareness of them but not an exact location. ”

He ran a hand through his long hair, causing the silver strands to shimmer as they caught the few rays of sun that peeked through the clouds. I tried not to roll my eyes as both Kieran and Samara practically drooled.

“Well, you’re doing better than me.” Samara wrinkled her nose. “I can’t sense anything.”

Draven gave her a small smile. “You only found out you had magic a few weeks ago. It takes practice to draw it out and then manipulate it to your will. Even I struggle with it, and I’ve been practicing a lot longer than you.”