Chapter 43
1378 Words
====
Kris
====
If he didn’t know the Cleric Cavern was a wasteland before, Kris certainly knew now. At best, the ground held the combined thrill of both his and Renee’s scents, like a sponge. Their heavenly combination was giving him a headrush. Standing in his werewolf’s form didn’t make it any easier either.
She was saturated on himself. His Alpha purred internally, blissfully aware that he held her so well.
For hours!
And now? Entire pathways smelled like them. What once would have been an easier path to find began eluding him.
It was awful and fantastic all in one! Well, not that fantastic. Being trapped within the cavern was one thing. Tempting a rut was another; especially after finding his soulmate.
Kris begged for a breath of fresh air. He begged for sense and his senses to return. He begged to know Renee was safe; that the demon was slain, and there was a true path out into the Hallowing shift. He begged like a little b!tch all throughout the halls.
Kris whined, hurt and injured calls as the time passed but not one living thing came to his rescue.
“You’re n-not s-sleee-epying,” he heard mumble in his ear.
“N-no?” he answered, worried.
“… there! That’s my spot.”
The message came in clearer, although Kris couldn’t be sure just who it was.
“Who?” Kris trailed, wide eyed and searching the cave around him.
What if it was Colla?
She had to know how to get him out of this. She was practically born from stone…
“Oh my goddess,” he muttered to himself before shouting out her name in the cavern.
COLLA! ricochet around him, sharply.
Each echo’s bounce made him feel like he needed to dodge them; like it wouldn’t hesitate to cut him on their pass.
He clutched his matted fur, clinging to it for sanity.
Note to self: do not holler in here!
Several close calls later, another sound ebbed the first.
“After today, I just…” wafted around the space. “I just want to sleep.”
A grumbling, close to the way thunder rolls overhead, halted Kris’ attention. He knew that energy, but from where?
“Thank you, by the way…” the female voice wavered.
Kris frowned, still unsure of what he was hearing. For a second he thought his subconscious was playing games on him. There was no reason to be able to hear a monologue… Colla’s crystal didn’t exactly hold up on the regular. Why would it be able to out here?
“It’s nice to be full for once,” the lady sighed into slumber.
… metaphor. It has to be a metaphor.
How long ago was something else here? Kris wondered, cautiously heading forward. Was he the food the cavern consumed?
A chill ran up his spine at the thought.
Was this place even alive or at the very least, considered so?
His alpha snickered inside of him.
“Don’t even start,” he grumbled. “You’re as lost as I am.”
Kris’ unease quickly resurfaced, pulling at his nerves.
“What if we lost her?” Kris’ lip trembled.
He can’t remember the last time he cried or felt the need to but here, lost in the darkness of this place, Kris welled up.
“I’m sorry, little mate,” he whispered into the void. “I have wandered in circles following our trail and gotten nowhere.”
Kris’ exhales grew emptier with each inhale. The lump in his throat grew while his lungs begged for air. Coos whined out of him as he hit each internal hurtle.
“I don’t know where I am,” he huffed. “Or how to get to you,” his first tear spilt over his cheek. “I’ve waited so long only to lose you…” he wallowed in his sadness. “Some mate I am…”
Once the first fell, so did the next. It felt unmanly, un-alpha like.
It felt…
“Cathartic…”
Kris frowned at the intrusion.
“It felt cathartic…” his mate repeated somewhere in the depths of his mind.
“Renee?” Kris choked out. “Renee? Sweetheart, is that you?”
“K-Kris?” Renee sounded surprised. “Can you…re-eally hear me?”
“You cut in and out,” Kris wheezed while his tail wagged.
He stayed perfectly still, afraid he’d lose her again.
“Are yo—u okay?” Renee’s voice echoed softly around him.
“I’m upset,” he answered truthfully, trying desperately not to sniffle.
“But you’--re okay?” she tried again.
“Physically better,” Kris reported. “Took a while.”
“Oh, thank–Goddess you’re ok–ay!”
She wanted him to be okay. Good little mate, he fought the need to wail in response.
“I was-so worried. Neve-rseen him do that… bef-ore,” she struggled to reply.
Kris frowned at that.
“What is the demon to you?”
He had to know.
“S… hard to ex-plain.”
“Did you choose him?” Kris worried.
“Choose him?” she asked, unsure.
… Breathe.
“Did you pick him as your mate?”
Kris’ lips felt numb after he’d asked. It felt like he’d crossed a line in her silence.
“Kris, ‘m not ol–denough…”
What didn’t she understand? She didn’t have to be old enough to pick something that doesn’t age.
“No.”
“No?” he choked on his tongue.
“Just want to be… done.”
Kris gritted his teeth. That baztard better not be keeping her against her will. There would be hell to pay. The demon’s life would end in ruins, pinned in an ever-pained cage to be picked apart for all eternity.
“You’re not a hostage, right?”
“School. Can’t leave. Their rules…” Renee’s messages became choppier by the moment.
“Where are you now?” Kris worried.
“Coming up wi--ith a plan.”
“Plan? Plan for what?” he searched the darkness in front of him, begging it to strengthen their connection.
“Coming fo-r yo-u,” she sighed, sounding drained.
Kris frowned.
“Stay… please stay…”
Renee had no business in the cave. Not to find him. Not to get lost… she couldn’t be serious!
“Stay…” she repeated him softly.
Her energy dissipated like a soft exhale around him. Before long Kris knew his mate was gone.
It wasn’t fair, he fought back his emotion. How could she go, just like that?
Maybe it was an unfair thought. She did struggle… but if it was because of that demon again, he was going to lose his mind!
“Please be safe,” Kris murmured out into the dark as if he could reach her once more.
… But nothing came back. Not even a spark or energy in the stale air around him caught his attention.
She was really gone…
The memory of her messages, how hard she tried to continue, held a special place in his heart. Her kindness. Her want. Her worry. It all emboldened her presence on his skin. Oh, how she would feel against him again. She’d never have to worry again.
He’d return to his pack with her, he dreamed. He’d give her the life she deserves.
His tail wagged at the thought. He could give her so much. Kris’ thoughts trailed. Going home meant facing some of his own hypothetical demons, but he’d do it. He’d do it for her; for their future.
Kris took a step forward, ready to start his journey once more.
“Okay, new plan…” Kris said to himself. “I’ve spent however long searching the ground, bathed in you…” he spoke mostly to the memory of his mate. “I have to focus to get out of this unforgiving hole in the ground. Kris frowned, dipping his chin to his chest.
“Give in to me,” his alpha commanded. “We’ll find our way out.”
Kris nodded, agreeing, “If she comes here, it will be her death. We have to make it out before she tries.”
- Writer
