Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Her stomach twisted. “You mean you—”
“Well, no,” he said lazily. “I fucked the shit out of her a few times. She got knocked up. Wanted to get married. Wanted to get mated. I wasn’t ready.” He shrugged one shoulder.
Nadia’s jaw dropped. “That’s… terrible. What happened to her?”
Bulwark looked away briefly, then back. “Apparently, she had mental problems. She killed herself.”
The words landed heavy in the stale air.
He turned, sweeping his light across the stone until it caught on two openings in the rock ahead. Both tunnels were narrow. Both vanished into black. “Which way?” he asked. “Left or right?”
“That’s it?” Nadia snapped. “You talk about a woman you both cared about killing herself, and you want to know which way to go?”
Bulwark’s expression hardened. “Like I said, she made her choice.”
“Man,” Nadia said, her voice shaking with fury now, “I hope he kills you.”
Bulwark snorted. “He has that in him, that’s for sure.” He stepped toward the right-hand tunnel. “You think I’m a killer?” he went on. “That guy was a mercenary for decades. Decades. He kills easily, but I’m better. He won’t get to me.”
Caidrik killed easily? She didn’t believe that. “I bet he never knifed anybody in the back.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Bulwark muttered. He moved decisively toward the right-hand passage. “We’re going this way.”
Nadia hesitated, casting one last look over her shoulder at the tunnel they’d come from. It felt farther away than it should’ve been, the darkness already swallowing the path behind them.
She turned and followed.
For the first time since this nightmare started, she was glad this fight was to the death.
Because Bulwark McGregor really needed to die.
She comforted herself with the thought just as he turned and started to drill, taking several samples and studying them.
Finally, he stood. “Got it.” He handed a long sample to her. “Put that in your backpack, and I’ll bring the others.”
“Good.” She turned and shoved it into her pack. Taking a deep breath, ready to get away from Bulwark, she pivoted and headed back toward the way they’d come, just as a loud pop echoed throughout the entire tunnel. The earth started to rumble. Her legs shook. “What—”
The ceiling dropped in massive sheets of slate. Yelping, she ducked, covering her head with her arms.
Chapter 9
The sound increased in volume and seemed to surround her. What was happening? The entire ground rolled, and she dropped to her knees.
A loud series of sharp pops and grinding rumbles blew through the space with enough force to hurt her eardrums.
Run. She had to run. So she jumped up and forced her legs to move. Now.
She didn’t think about how she ran or where. She just moved. Her boots slipped on the wet stones, and her balance deserted her. Dust sucked into her lungs, and she coughed out as many particles as she could. She gagged and kept going.
Her light bounced everywhere. Walls. Floor. Ceiling. Nothing steady. Nothing helpful.
Another crack erupted overhead.
She slipped, her arms windmilling, and a shard of slate slammed down where her head had been. The material shattered and exploded outward. Shards sliced across her sleeves, shredding the material. Pain blazed through her arms and vanished under the rush of adrenaline.
“Go, go, go,” she muttered, trying to get her legs to move faster. She could hear Bulwark ahead of her, barreling through rocks with the power of a machine. “Bulwark!” she yelled. Her voice sounded small in the tunnel. “Slow down.”
He didn’t.
The ground dipped and she nearly went down. Her knee slammed into rock and white-hot pain shot up her leg. She screamed and pushed herself back up, limping now. Where was that staging area? She needed more space than this to shift into a wolf.
The mine shuddered harder.
The supports gave way behind her with a roar so loud it punched the air out of her lungs. She stumbled forward, gasping, her hands flailing until she hit the wall. The skin burned on her palms, and she let the pain ground her. Focus her. She had to survive this.
Her breath wouldn’t come right.
Too fast. Too shallow.
She forced it. In. Out. In—
The entire world tilted around her.
“Oh no.”
The tunnel narrowed and real panic roared through her. She had to get out of there but could barely see Bulwark ahead. Her foot slipped in water. Her arms windmilled, and she barely caught herself. Panic roared through her, and her heart hammered so hard she thought it might actually break her ribs.
She heard water running now. Somewhere close. Was that bad? She couldn’t remember. “Where are we going?” she shouted.
“Left,” Bulwark said, not even turning.
Of course.
She followed because stopping meant dying.
The left tunnel felt worse immediately, like the walls were closer and the ceiling lower. She tripped again and this time went down hard, trying to catch herself with both hands. Pain ripped through her palms, and she sobbed once before shoving herself back up.