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T he stalker’s pulse throbs beneath my palm, but I don’t dare let up my hold on him. It was weird enough that he appeared from out of nowhere, diving into the cave-in like he was fucking Indiana Jones or some shit. But then I got a whiff of him and saw red.

This is who was in Cora’s tent, the owner of the bandana that was left in her damn bed. His black licorice smell is so unique and potent, it's unmistakable. A growl leaves my throat when he doesn’t answer.

“ Answer me! ” Even though I barked the command, the alpha just raises one eyebrow and flashes his eyes down to where my hand grips his neck.

Cora’s small, delicate fingers land on my forearm.“Roman. I don’t think he can talk while you’re cutting off his air supply.”

Bear steps forward, gently pulling her behind him as I reluctantly loosen my grip. Not completely, but enough that he can speak if he wants to. And he better want to .

He clears his throat and hits Cora with an adoring smile. “Goddess, you’re so beautiful.”

She sucks in a breath and pushes in tighter to Bear. I slam the stranger back into the wall again. “Don’t speak to her! Don’t even look at her, asshole. Answer. Me.”

The interloper sighs as if I’ve laid the heaviest burden on him. “Fine. My name is Jax Whitlock, treasure hunter extraordinaire, at your service.” He says that last part to Cora despite my orders.

“Whitlock? Are you related to Cora?” Archer asks.

“Not yet. But I always planned on takin’ my mate’s name, so I figured why not start now?”

Mate? This psycho thinks he’s Cora’s mate? If that were true, Cora would have said something when she scented that bandana. Instead, she seemed fearful of it.

When I turn to see how she’s responding to all of this, she’s staring at this Jax guy with wide eyes.

“Cora, what does he mean, ‘mate’ ?” I ask, barely avoiding a growl.

Her guilty eyes lock with mine, and it’s suddenly clear Jax is telling the truth. A heavy weight settles in my stomach, a chill working up my spine. My hand flexes on his throat.

“I…I think he’s my mate.” Cora stammers. “That’s why I was so freaked out over the bandana. Well, that and the whole stalking and trespassing thing.”

“What’s a little light stalking between mates? It’s only because I’m obsessed with you.” The way Jax says that so nonchalantly has my mouth gaping. Is he for real? Did he just fess up to stalking her like it was a good thing ?

“What do you want us to do with him, Cora?” Bear asks her gently.

“I think it’s safe to let him go? I mean, we’re all trapped here together, and he was in my tent already and didn’t hurt me, so…” She trails off with a shrug.

Reluctantly, I comply, removing my hand from the newcomer and stepping back to join Bear. Jax rubs his throat and smiles, swaying almost giddily even after I nearly choked him to death.

Cora studies him like he’s a puzzle she can’t figure out, then her eyes widen. “Wait, were you the one who killed the jackal?”

Jax takes off his cowboy hat in a swooping motion and gives her a bow. What. A. Jackass.

To my utter surprise, Cora steps forward and kisses his cheek. “Thank you.”

What the fuck? “You’re thanking him? He’s stalking you!”

This just proves how illogical people become around a scent match.

“He saved my life.” Her eyes glint with fire in the low light. “Which is more than you can say. You know better than to pound a shovel down deep like that, and?—”

“Hey, let’s not pass blame.” Bear steps between me and the little hellcat. “We’re here now. Nothing we can do about the past.”

Archer suddenly speaks up. “When you say treasure hunter… what exactly does that mean?”

“It means I hunt treasure.” Jax chirps in response. This fuckin’ guy. I can’t tell if he’s trying to mess with us, or if he really is this out of touch. My fists clench. We don’t have time for games. We’re currently stuck underground with no supplies and no way out. The whole fucking team is gone for another two days. No one’s coming for us anytime soon.

“So, if you’re used to exploring, does that mean you have something useful in that backpack?” Archer asks Jax. “Like maybe a shovel or a phone?”

Jax pulls a satellite phone out of the side pocket on his backpack. “Doubt it’ll work down here.” We all hold our breaths while he looks at it. “Nah, no service.”

“Anyone else?” Archer asks.

My phone is back in my tent, since I don’t like keeping it out in the heat and the dirt. Bear shakes his head. Cora pulls her phone out of the little bag she always keeps on her. But I know it’s a futile hope. She immediately shakes her head, looks a little deflated. “I forgot to charge it.”

I have the sudden urge to comfort her, but I manage to get it under control before I do something reckless like hug her. Archer gives her a soft smile.

“We can’t just wait here,” Bear says.

Cora wanders a few steps away, her little pen light trailing the dirty stone wall. Fuck, this is no place for an omega.

“Does anyone have a lighter?” She asks.

“I do.” Jax jumps into action faster than I’ve ever seen a man move.

He pulls a lighter out of his pack and runs for her, but I stop him with a hand on his chest. “Don’t go anywhere near her.”

The smirk he gives me is cocky as hell. “She’s my mate.” He leans forward. “I’m gonna get a lot closer to her than this.”

“Would you two stop it?” Cora snips from somewhere behind me. “I need that lighter.”

I rip it from Jax’s hand and take it to her. She struggles the first couple tries, the flint sparking but not igniting. I’m about to step in and help her when she gets it, and the flame flickers to life. Determined, she reaches up toward a torch on the wall. She’s about two feet too short, but it doesn’t stop her from trying. Of course Cora Whitlock won’t ask for help.

When I take the lighter from her, I have to work to ignore the way my skin prickles as my fingers brush against hers. The moment the torch lights, a chain reaction occurs that doesn’t make any sense. One after another, torches blaze to life until the long corridor is lit by flickering flames.

“H-how—?” Cora’s gasp draws my attention to her enamored face. Childlike wonder radiates from her eyes, her cheeks soft under the bright torchlight. There’s something more there, though. Something wild. She may be in awe of what she’s seeing, but she doesn’t realize she’s just as commanding as the newly lit landscape before us.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.

“Not as beautiful as you, little mate,” Jax swoops in beside her, breaking the moment. Or rather, tries to. I step between them, shouldering him out of the way.

Archer studies the torch on the wall, shaking his head before stepping back. It’s clear he can’t figure out the mechanism that make all the torches light. Currently, I’m more concerned about getting out of here than solving that mystery.

“What do we do now?” I ask.

“If this is the temple, like we suspect, there’s got to be a way out, stairs that lead up to the surface or something, right?” Archer speculates.

If there weren’t so many bones above us, I might argue that this could have been the top floor of the temple before sand covered everything. All the historical texts hypothesize that Lunara’s temple was several levels, though none could confirm how many. But the lack of windows, the bones—the hypothesised orgy—and the structure of the temple surrounding us, indicate it was always underground. Which makes sense, omegas often seek closed in areas for comfort or safety, and Lunara’s sacred animal was the jackal, an animal that’s been known to burrow.

Archer’s probably right, there has to be an entrance. We just have to find it.

“Okay, so we find the original way in, and we’ll find our way out.” Bear rubs his hands together.

“Unless it’s buried in sand.” I tip my head back toward the cave-in we narrowly escaped.

“Do you have a shovel in there?” Archer asks Jax again.

“Nah, but I got enough food to get us through a few days. If no one minds protein bars.”

“A few days?” Cora gasps. “We can’t stay down here for a few days.”

“Place looks big.” Jax stares at the endless corridor that curves slightly to the left. “Might take a while to find our way out.” He almost looks excited by the prospect.

“And what if the original entrance was back there?” I point to the caved-in passageway we just escaped.

“Let’s hope it’s not,” Cora says quietly.

“Well, we best get walking, then.” Bear marches forward, taking the lead.

If it’s a choice between standing here next to Jax or following Bear, I’m choosing Bear. Even if I’m not thrilled by what may lie ahead.