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T his is a test, and I know it, but every part of me still fights against letting Cora go into the dark crevice in the wall. My alpha wants to protect her, tuck her away somewhere safe, but my more rational mind knows I’ll lose her if I keep trying to lead the way I always have before. I’ve always been stronger than the other alphas around me. Intelligent. At the top of my field. In charge.

The urge to demand Cora stand back pulses through my veins, but I know I’ll give in.

“Okay, we see where this leads. But! We get dressed, supplies, and a torch first,” I say. We’ve all gotten way too comfortable walking around naked.

“Fair,” Cora replies with a sweet smile.

“On it,” Jax calls, already bounding back through the foliage toward our camp.

Within minutes we’ve packed up, and we’re back at the secret opening in the wall the jackal showed us. I don’t have a lot of hope that this will lead out of here, but wherever it leads, I won’t be caught without supplies again.

Before stepping into the dark, Cora grabs my hand. My heart does a little flip. Her touch feels so right, so natural. I want to hold her hand every day, through every dark passage life might throw at us.

“I trust you, hummingbird, and will follow your lead. But, will you let me go ahead of you? Everything in me is fighting to protect you. Please.” I let her see my alpha’s need in my pleading eyes. Her face softens, and she gives me a small smile before nodding.

“Let’s do this.” I lift the torch in my free hand while keeping a tight grip on Cora at my side, then I carefully lead the way.

We take our time, looking out for any signs of traps or danger. But apart from a few spiders, we don’t see anything alarming. The path is narrow, barely big enough for us to walk single file.

“I think this might have been like an emergency exit,” Archer muses, running his hand along some runes on the wall. “A way for the priestesses and acolytes to escape if the temple was ever attacked.”

“So you think it might lead to the surface?” Bear asks.

“If it hasn’t caved in,” Cora says.

The ground begins to slant upwards, and the space gets narrower and narrower until we’re crawling on our hands and knees.

“Do you hear that?” I ask.

There’s a soft patter, or tapping coming from somewhere .

“Is it getting lighter in here?” Cora’s head bumps my backside, and she sputters as I slow down unintentionally to observe the sound.

I’ve still got the torch stretched out in front of me as best I can while crawling, but I think she’s right. There’s a light somewhere up ahead, dim and grey.

As we get closer, the noise becomes louder and more recognizable.

“Rain,” Archer says, and we all move a little faster.

Relief floods through me at the realization. We’re gonna get out of here. “I can’t wait to take a shower.”

“I’m going to drink a gallon of cold milk,” Archer says, laughing.

“I just want a real bed,” Cora sighs. “And chocolate. Oh, I want chocolate.”

“Don’t worry, love, I didn’t forget my promise,” Jax says. “You’ll get all the chocolate you want. And you can stay in my bed. It’ll be a hell of a lot better than those cots they set up in your tents.”

“You have a bed out here?” I try to look over my shoulder, but can’t see Jax past Cora.

“Nah, I was living out of my pack even before we got stuck in that temple. But I’ll get you a hotel with a real bed, a shower, a bath, a tub full of chocolate, anything you want.”

“Oh, that sounds so good right now,” Cora moans.

It suddenly dawns on me that once we’re out of this, there’s nothing keeping us together. We could all go our separate ways. The university’s excavation contract will be up in less than a week, and with what we found, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ekdoti government wants to take over themselves. Sure, we’re scent matches, but that doesn’t mean that Cora will still want all of us around—that she’ll want me around.

Before I can react to that thought, we hit an alcove. A dead end. Well, it looks like a dead end until I look up. There’s a small hole above us, light shining through, droplets of rain sneaking in to hit me in the face.

“That’s a tight squeeze.” Bear comments behind me. I can tell he’s worried he’ll fit.

“Why don’t we boost you up first? If you can make it, the rest of us can. Plus who knows what’s waiting up there.” I suggest.

Bear nods, Archer grips his hand roughly before letting go.

“Here, take this.” Jax digs in his pack and pulls out the rope. He helps Bear secure it diagonally around his shoulder and waist. Cora rushes up to the big alpha, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“For good luck.” She states shyly.

We all maneuver so Jax and I can lift the biggest of our crew through the hole. Each of us position ourselves near a foot, forming our hands into a step like we’re a rag tag cheer team. I look at Bear. “On three?”

“On three.” He agrees.

“Wait, wait! Are we doing one, two, three, boost? Or are we boosting him on three?” Jax asks.

Cora stifles a giggle behind her dirt-covered palm. I sigh.

“One, two, three, boost.” I pinch my lips, fighting my irritation. For a brief second I imagine using the rope to wrap up our treasure hunter, leaving his ass here. But Cora wouldn't like that. And much as I hate to admit it, I think I might miss the jackass.

“Okay, ready? One. Two. Three. Boost!” The last word comes out as a grunt as we lift Bear, pushing him as high as we can. My muscles burn, weak from days underground without proper nutrition or sleep. “Urrgghhh!”

I give one last shove and Bear grips the stone near the lip of the hole. He grunts and huffs, scrabbling with the rocks and sand, but he manages to pull himself up and out of sight, sand and pebbles falling on our heads in the wake of his exit.

Jax and I turn our heads, coughing and blinking dust out of our eyes. When we look back up, a bearded face is peeking over the edge. “Y’all ready to bust outta there? Who’s next?” Bear hollers down.

“Cora.” Jax and I say simultaneously. We all agree when it comes to our omega’s safety.

We line up in the same position, boosting Cora up to Bear’s waiting arms. She’s much easier to lift, and Bear quickly pulls her through to the surface. Archer follows. Bear drops one end of the rope to me, and I look at Jax.

“Go ahead, professor. Our omega is waiting. I’ll be right behind you.” He crouches down, in position to give me a boost up next. After a nod of respect, I’m being hauled out of the hole, untying the rope from my waist and sending it back for Jax. Except, by the time I toss the rope down, the treasure hunter has scaled the cavern walls and is hurling himself out of the hole. Show off.

I can’t help but be relieved he’s out safe, though. These men drove me crazy at first—still do sometimes—but I can’t imagine doing life without them anymore. Somehow, in the course of our time stuck down there, we became a family. A pack. With or without official bonds.

The rainfall gets heavier, all of us taking a moment to soak in the moment, relish in the fresh air. Cora turns her face to the sky, closing her eyes and letting the droplets cleanse her. A demure smile graces her pretty lips. Fuck, she’s truly the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.

The rain picks up, pouring down in sheets of water, a monsoon, making rivulets form across the top of the sand. They turn red, the rusty color of blood—the reason the locals gave this place the moniker “the sands of blood.” I’ve heard of the phenomenon, but seeing it brings a sense of wonder to my chest. How many people can say they saw it happen this close?

Because of the red sands, I know where we are. An area roughly two miles from camp. I hate that we’ll have to make the march in a thunderstorm, but after everything we’ve been through, it’s manageable.

“Well, better get hiking,” Jax says. He pulls a compass from his pack, studying it to find which way to go. A straight march north should do it.

As we walk back in near silence, I’m forced to think about everything that’s happened. I’m not the same man who fell into that cave several days ago. I was content being alone before. No, not content. Resigned. After spending time as part of this impromptu pack, however, I don’t want to stay solitary. I want Cora and her kind spirit. I want Bear with his stoic wisdom, and Archer’s brilliant mind. I even want Jax’s insane ass. By the time we climb the final dune and the white tents of camp come into view, I know what I need to do.

“There’s camp!” Cora cries.

“Wait,” I say, placing my hand on her arm. The rain is finally dying down. Storms like this are intense in the desert, but they never last long. “I need to say something.”

None of them look impatient with my statement, despite the rain still falling or the exhaustion we all feel.

“Look, I know I’m not an easy man to live with. I’m cantankerous at best, but I…” Swallowing the thickness in my throat, I take Cora’s hands. “We’re a strange group.” I look over at the men who’ve saved my life this past week, men I’ve grown to respect and care for. “We shouldn’t work, but somehow we do. The five of us work together. And I’m grateful for you.” I look from one man to the next. “There’s no one I’d rather have been stuck down there with than the four of you. And there’s no one I’d rather share a scent match with either. I hope we can… explore this, now that we’re out of there.”

“Damn, look at the professor, getting all sappy.” Jax gives me a shit-eating grin before grabbing me in a fierce hug. “Maybe our omega’s right about you after all.”

I look over his shoulder at Cora. “Right about what?”

“That you’re ours.” Jax releases me, grabs Cora’s hand, and charges down the hill toward camp, leaving me to hope he’s right.