Episode 14

Raelynn finally looked up at me with mist still haunting her eyes. Those chestnut brown eyes with flecks of gold now with tears threatening with just enough weight to fall free. I always loved those little specks, but not like this. Not with tears drowning them. She looked and smelled of fear still. It rolled off her and hit me in waves. This made me very uneasy. Ryn was the overconfident one, always looking for a fight. She was braver than most men I knew, but here she was, a puddle before me on the cavern floor. At least the despair I felt from her was gone. At least I am capable of that much.

"What are we going to do, Lark?" She said quietly. Expectantly. I was the sound mind. The "left" brain of the bunch. The voice of reason where many had none. Her voice came out louder this time in a croak, "What have we done?" There it went. The dam broke, and her tears began to fall. I needed to be the rock now more than ever. We can assess everything else later. Okay. Prioritize and motivate. Move.

"Ryn... It's just a dumb story to scare kids. Just like you said!" She scoffed at me and looked down to the floor again. I could feel her starting to sink into herself. With a finger beneath her chin, I lifted her gaze to meet mine. I needed to keep her here in the present with me, "We need to get her and our asses up out of here before the patrol gets here and I lose my job!" Not that I was apprehensive about it. She knew it was the only thing I had to keep me out of trouble and motivated to finish senior year. I had been saving up as much as I could for the past three years, ever since I got the job. It didn't pay glamorously, but I was perfect for it. Must be in my blood. I could do these tours without Rich with my eyes closed. I'm eighteen now, so I could finally go without Rich and prove my metal, but I'll survive without ever running a solo tour. Ryn doesn't need to know that right now, though.

"Right, Alaric!" The use of my full first name startled me, and she said it so loud the echo reverberated through the cave system. No one uses my name unless I'm in trouble or shit is serious. She said in a lower tone, "You're in denial, Lark. I know, you know. I know you felt what I felt." She hugged herself tighter as she stood, a visible tremor washing over her body.

"Look, Raelynn," annoyed, I returned the use of first names to her. I gave as much attention and emphasis to the word as possible, to which she glared daggers at me. I ignored her and continued, "I don't give a fuck right now. I don't care what the hell is going on here, but we need to leave. NOW!" I didn't need to reach out to find their current position either. They would be right on time, as usual. If anything, the patrols of Moaning Caverns were extremely punctual. Pain in my asses. "Let's get her out of here."

"Wait, Lark. You're not seriously thinking about bringing her with us, are you?" Her look of disbelief irritated my soul. "She's not even a Pale. She's a full White! She'll be set and taken care of for life. Now, let's get the hell out of here."

"We can't just fucking leave her here. Are you serious right now? Do you see a chip anywhere? Because I don't." She was out of her damn mind. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard come out of her mouth. Very unlike Ryn. She seems tough, and she is, but she cares about people. Truly. More than they deserve. More than I've deserved on many occasions. "You know what happens to the unregistered. She'll be sold, Ryn." Not only were they a hot commodity for the Global Alliance in their protection efforts, but they were also sought after by scientists for genetic research, sometimes unsavory. Then, of course, there were the creeps and collectors. Unchipped meant untraceable.

To this, Raelynn didn't put up much of a fight. Instead, she started gathering our evidence. The empty beer and wine cooler bottles. Our snack trash. The condom was lying open and unused. I openly sighed about that last one as she threw it all in her messenger bag. I gently picked up the mystery lady and held her over my left shoulder as we started hauling ass upwards. Looking at her, she couldn't have been any older than her early twenties. Hard to tell in this underground lighting. She was surprisingly light, so I didn't need to hold the rail. All of that soft, bright skin wrapped around soft curves that went on for miles. I licked my lips. I expected her to be a little bit heavier. She was very... endowed.

Distracted by my thoughts, I lost my footing and stumbled a bit. I reached up to grab and secure my passenger as I felt her sliding off my shoulder. My hand went square on her ass, and even with the blanket in the way, I could hear an audible thwack. She let out a soft groan. Her rear seemed to clap my hand back with a soft ripple. The moment activated a tingling sensation in my core. Fuck. I shivered as I quickly readjusted my grip and my waist belt. I felt the heat flush across my face as I saw Ryn scowl at me from above. Shit.

Ryn has been my rock since my parents ditched me roughly fourteen years ago. No note. No warning. The assholes just dropped me off on Granny Phil's porch one night around dinner time. They told me to knock and ask her if she had some salt we could borrow, and they sat in the driveway watching. I remember distinctly looking back as I walked the long path up to the door because something felt off to me. They were acting weird. We had cake for dinner that night. It wasn't even my birthday yet. They just smiled, nodded, and made waving hand motions to signal 'go on' or 'it's all right.' That was the last time I ever saw their faces. Not even five years old yet. I can't even remember their faces anymore, for real. Who does that to a kid? Bastards.

Ryn was there. She'd always been there though, since the first day of kindergarten. A short little squirt came right up to me, auburn hair wrapped up into some pigtails that swayed when she walked, and she kicked me right in the shin. I got angry and kicked her right back. The teacher noticed the interaction and began to walk our way. This pipsqueak chirps up at me, big brown eyes blazing with excitement, "I like you. Let's be the best friends!" She shot her hand out in front of her as she cocked one hip to the side. She smiled so huge her eyes closed. We shook hands, and the deal was sealed--two little kids, inseparable and bonded by brute force. I was always shy, quiet, and reserved, so our personalities came together nicely. Do not mistake it for weakness, though. I will still kick your ass.

Many times in my younger years, I had hoped that I would be blessed with a gift, and it would be her. That Ryn would be my gift from the Moon Goddess herself. We were a pretty great team. She was a bit more domineering, which fit my go-with-the-flow rather nicely. Tonight was supposed to be the night I finally gathered enough of my balls to take it further. We were supposed to take each other's 'cards'. We'd talked about it before. She'd always made it sound like a last-minute "we better do this with each other before we go off and fuck the world" kind of thing. Like she wanted the experience or something, but I'm sure she would do it gladly. She was never secretive about it. She was kind of all over me. Sometimes, a lot of people already thought we were together. We weren't, though. Not really. It's not for lack of me asking, either. Granny always said that she was just a free spirit. She didn't want to be 'tied down' yet.

A mate bond was said to be the strongest. You would do anything for one another. The pull and draw from one another washed and waned like the moon and the sea. It would cause you to climb mountains and rivers to get to one another. I would have loved for that to be Ryn. The stories of that type of bond were just that, stories. Fairytales told to put kids to bed. Just stories. I was a baby back then. I don't believe in any of that shit anymore. There's never been anyone else, even though I haven't ever felt any particular way for Ryn. She was great, but there were no sparks or lightning. Still, I would've hoped to get lucky with Ryn for my birthday, at least.

My thoughts were once again intruded upon by this woman I was carrying. What even was that? The way she looked into my eyes... Not having any control over my own body is not a sensation I wish on anyone. When she looked at me, it felt like she was staring straight into my soul. The thoughts washed over me as quickly as I felt another chill fall down my spine. I shook it away and quickened my ascent up the staircase. "Just stories..." I whispered as the soft caress of fresh night air hit my face and eagerly entered my lungs.