Reclamation (Book 3 The Ravening Series) (6 page)

Cade's body seemed to fairly vibrate with tension as he stood before me with his arms folded over his chest, his jaw clenched and his eyes hooded as he listened to Arlene. "There is only one way out," Arlene was explaining. "Unless you would like to go back into the tunnel above. About ten miles from here the line splits. You're going to have to go to the right; the left is blocked after a mile. The line used to go above ground again, but that way is also blocked now."

"Then how do we get out?" Lloyd asked.

"There's a ventilation shaft." My heart pounded out a rapid staccato against my ribs as my breath rushed out of me. It was bad enough being down here, but to be trapped within a
shaft
. Just the thought of being in yet another small, confined space made me break into a cold sweat which was now trickling down my back. "It leads into a manhole. You can access the street from there."

"How do you know this?" Cade inquired.

"We've been up through there. Some people have chosen to move on, and we send out a scouting party once every two weeks for food and supplies. It's taking longer each time to find things."

"Why do you stay here?" I asked.

"Why not? We're safe here; we have shelter, running water and a shower. It's not ideal, but nothing is ideal anymore. Why do you want to go so badly?"

I glanced at the people surrounding me but no one seemed to have an answer other than living beneath the earth wasn't exactly the life that any of us aspired to. However, neither was being sucked dry by one of those monsters either. I couldn't embrace this world of shade, tunnels, walls, and rats. They may have security, no matter how temporary, but they had no freedom, no sunlight and no
air
. The last thing I wanted to do was stay down here, but I could tell that some of the others would like to.

"We're sending a scouting party out again next week; if you would like we can show you the way then, or you can go today. You are also welcome to stay, we could always use help with gathering supplies and defense. Things some of you appear to be very good at."

Looks were exchanged as muffled conversation filled the air. "Winter
is
coming," Justin said.

"We'll wait the week and then go up with you," Darnell suggested. "Perhaps we should at least stay for the winter, but we'll have to decide what we want to do together."

Cade's hand slipped into mine. He stepped closer to block me from everyone in the room as I fought to retain control of myself. I took a deep breath as my fingers clenched around his.

"There's no rush," Arlene said.

Cade nudged me toward the doorway. Neither of us was eager to stay in there and listen to what else was being said. He led me down the tunnel and into the smaller hall that housed the separated rooms. "Would you prefer to stay down here?" I whispered when we arrived at our sleeping area.

He took a deep breath as his fingers wrapped around my wrist. His thumb brushed over the mark the knife had left there as he pressed closer to me. Memories of him within me last night, touching my body and soul, came rushing back as I swayed toward him. I was suddenly frantic to have him enshroud and embrace me once more.

"It does seem safer," he said as his hand slid up my arm.

I had to force myself to pay attention to the conversation as his fingers trailed over my cheek. "They'll come here eventually. We can't stay hidden underground forever. Cade..."

"Not forever Bethany, but winter is coming and we have nowhere safe to stay right now."

He was right, I knew he was right, but I couldn't quell the panic rising up in me. "I want to go up with them."

His hand stilled on my cheek; I knew he didn't like the idea of me going, but I couldn't stay here when others were going to crawl to freedom in a week. I shuddered at the reminder that I would have to crawl through a vent, but I had gone through worse things before.

"We'll see..."

"I'm going Cade. I'll be fine," I added when he looked like he was getting ready to argue with me.

"Don't you think you're in enough danger with me around without throwing yourself into even more?"

I was taken aback by the question. "You're not a danger."

He rested his hands on either side of my head as he leaned closer to me. "I know what happened, Bethany. I know what I
did
. Do you honestly think I wouldn't know that I tasted a part of your soul?"

My heart raced as chills swept up and down my spine. I could barely breathe I was so spellbound and excited. "I'm fine."

His lips almost brushed against mine as he leaned closer to me. "You
know
what I did and yet you show no fear."

"There is nothing to fear, I wanted you to take a piece of my soul Cade. I offered myself to you and I wanted to know what it felt like."

He frowned severely at me as he moved back a little further. "I could kill you Bethany. I could drain you dry and there is nothing that you could do to stop me."

My hands fisted as I glared up at him. "You haven't hurt me Cade; it was nothing like when Ian had hold of me." I wrapped my arms around myself as I attempted to ease the sudden chill that crept through my bones at the memory.

I was so swamped with my own memories that I didn't notice the wrath that had crept over Cade until I felt the edges of it against my skin. I took an involuntary step back as my gaze landed on him. The veins in his face stood out starkly as they filled with black. It seeped down his neck and disappeared beneath his shirt only to reappear on his arms and the backs of his hands.

"That
never
should have happened to you. He never should have been able to touch you in such a way."

The snarled words caused the hair on the nape of my neck to stand up. "Cade..."

A gasp escaped me as he clutched my waist and lifted me against him. I barely had time to take a breath before his mouth claimed mine and whatever it was inside of him slipped into me. I arched against him as he filled my cells and seemed to pulsate through my blood. Warmth pooled through me and my toes curled as I felt part of him slither through my muscles and heat every atom it came in contact with. I drifted into him as I lost myself to his possession of me and the pleasure that came with the swirling combination of our souls.

His breathing was ragged as he pulled away and dropped his forehead against mine. "No survival instinct," he groaned.

My fingers drifted over his beloved face as I traced the contours I knew so well. "You didn't hurt me, you wouldn't."

"Bethany..."

"You didn't even take anything from me Cade."

His head shot up. "How do you know that?"

"I felt it when you did last night, here." I pressed his hand against my breast bone and held it near my heart. "I could feel that small bit you took..."

"I didn't mean to," his fingers curled in my hair as his lips brushed over mine.

"I was happy you did. Why doesn't it hurt with you when it did so badly with Ian?"

His muscles tensed at the reminder of Ian. "Because you're so damn willing to let me inside of you," he grated. "You don't fight me."

I shuddered, not from dread but from a burst of pure excitement. I took pleasure in the scent and feel of him as his arms slid possessively around me. "You're so easy to let in," I breathed.

I melted against him as I lost myself to the miracle that was everything about him, even the darkness that lured me forth like a clear pool on a hot summer day.

***

I couldn't see anything when I woke later, it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the little bit of light filling the tunnel. I shifted and reached for Cade but my hand came up empty. Bolting upright, I clutched the blanket against me as I rapidly searched the shadows.

Cade was sitting on his heels by the doorway. If it wasn't for the gleam of his eyes I never would have been able to pinpoint him amongst the gloom. There was something feral about him that caused me to grasp the blanket more firmly against me as he watched me through the shadows.

"Cade?" I was ashamed by the small squeak of my voice.

His mouth parted as he leaned closer to me before quickly moving backward. "I can't," he croaked.

"Can't what?"

His head bowed, his shoulders trembled and though I didn't understand why or how, he seemed to be in pain. "So tempting," he whispered.

Realization hit me like a knockout punch and I almost laughed but the sight of his hunched shoulders froze the sound in my throat. I pushed the blanket aside as I moved toward him. "Then take more. It's fine, I'm fine. You haven't hurt me and I don't feel any different."

"No!" I couldn't stop myself from recoiling as his head snapped toward me and an inhuman snarl curved his mouth. "No more, I can't take anymore from you without taking the chance of hurting you. Stay away!"

I opened my mouth to protest but before I could even inhale to start speaking he shoved aside the blankets, lurched to his feet, and bolted out of the room so fast that I wasn't entirely certain he'd been there to begin with. I sat, speechless and immobile as I gaped at the spot where he'd been.

I grabbed my clothes to follow him but sat back with them crumpled in my lap. Something hadn't been right, his face, his eyes... I knew the death that lurked beneath his surface, but I'd never seen him look like
that
. For a heart stopping minute I'd been certain that he was going to launch himself at me and drain me of every ounce of blood and soul I possessed.

I hastily threw my clothes on and scrambled from the makeshift shelter. Cade had vanished as I'd already known he would. A sheet at the end of the hall swung slightly back and forth but there was no other movement within the tunnel. Grabbing a flashlight, I cautiously made my way forward but I had no idea which way to go or where to begin looking.

I may not know which way he had gone but I refused to give up as I turned toward the right. He had fed from me but it hadn't been enough, a fact that he'd kept hidden well until tonight when he seemed to have lost all control. I wasn't sure there was anything that I could do to help him, but I couldn't leave him out here all alone. Not when I
knew
that I could handle him taking more from me.

"Bethany."

I turned and lifted the flashlight to reveal the tunnel behind me. I'd heard Aiden approaching before he'd spoken but I'd hoped that he would go away. I turned back around and focused on the tunnel before me. When I hadn't found Cade by what I could only assume was morning judging by the single watch hanging in the larger tunnel opening that had been designated as the meeting room, I had volunteered to take over the position Dan had been holding when he'd opened fire on us. The idea of disappearing into the tunnels had actually been appealing for a change as my chest felt as if it were being squeezed by a boa constrictor whenever I thought of Cade.

"Aiden," I greeted as he stopped beside me.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine."

He removed the rifle from his back and placed the butt of it on the ground before him. "Where's Cade?"

His guess was as good as mine but I wasn't about to say that to him. He already didn't trust Cade; a snippy retort wasn't going to help with that. I knew Cade would come back to me, I just didn't know when, and I was scared that it may be days if not weeks before he felt he was in control of himself enough to be around me again. The thought made me feel like crying at the same time that I wanted to punch a wall and scream against the unfairness of it all.

I wish he had listened to me before he took off, but what difference would it have made really? I already knew what he was going through, what he was frightened he would do to me. There was no changing what he was. I just wanted to relish in the joy and beauty of everything we had shared, instead I was sitting here wondering when he would return to me.

"Bethany?"

I turned toward my brother and managed a dismissive shrug. "Around."

"Is he coming back?"

I turned away from him again. I didn't know how to answer that but I knew Aiden wouldn't leave me alone unless I gave him some solid answer. "Of course."

"When?"

My jaw clenched as I grappled with the same question. I could lie to myself about when, but I couldn't lie to Aiden. "I'm not sure."

Aiden released a loud sigh and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. In that moment he looked so much like our father that I was rocked by the realization that though both our parents were gone they would always live on in us. I blinked back the tears that filled my eyes as Aiden continued to question me.

"What is going on with him Bethany?"

I swallowed heavily as my mind searched for a possible escape from this line of questioning. "I don't know what you mean."

"Did he kill Ian?"

I felt like I'd been dumped in an icy pond as my mouth dropped. "Why would you ask that?" I managed to choke out.

"Bethany something is not right with him, I can clearly see that."

I forced myself to maintain eye contact as I uttered my next words. "Cade is not a cold blooded killer."

At least it wasn't a lie. Cade may be a killer but he'd done it to save me, he hadn't planned to kill Ian and he hadn't enjoyed it.

"You really believe that?"

"Yes."

"Because you're sleeping with him?"

I didn't think there was anything that could have shocked me more than his question about Ian, but I realized now that I'd been completely wrong. Like a trapped animal, I came back fighting as indignation filled me. "That's none of your business!" I hissed.

"I know," he muttered as he focused on his shoes and his face started to flush. "I just... ah... I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know," I assured him as I tried to regain control of my indignation. He wasn't trying to be nosy, he wasn't trying to be mean; he was simply trying to care about me. "He loves me."

"I'm sure you think he does." He held up a hand to stall my angry retort. "Hear me out. You're young Bethy, and you're trusting. I don't know if mom ever talked to you..."

"I had the sex talk with mom Aiden."

"Uh... ah... yeah, yeah sure." He nervously ran a hand through his disordered hair again as he shifted uncomfortably. "I mean... um yeah. I'm sure mom told you things, but she wouldn't have understood how men are."

I folded my arms over my chest as I stared at him. If I wasn't so annoyed I probably would have laughed at the look on his face. "Is that how you are with Molly?" I retorted.

His eyes came back to me as some of the color drained from his face. "No, absolutely not. Molly and I are just friends."

"I have eyes Aiden."

His shoulders slumped as he nodded. "Yeah, ok you're right. I like her, a lot, and she likes me." I couldn't help but melt at the smile that tugged at his lips. "She's a good person."

"She is," I agreed.

"But we're not as serious as you and Cade..."

"
Yet
."

"Ok,
yet
, but Molly is a lot more open and easier to trust than Cade."

"We've known Cade since we were kids," I protested.

His eyes were so forceful that I felt pinned to the spot. "We don't know him though, or at least I don't. I still don't even know where he was or what happened to him when the aliens took him."

"I do."

I could sense his growing frustration with me as he inhaled deeply and let it out in a low rush. "Ok, but..."

"If you can't trust him than trust me. He would never do anything to hurt me or anyone I love, please believe me. I love him Aiden and he loves me."

"Then where is he?" Aiden demanded. "Where did he go? What did he
do
to you!?"

"He didn't do anything to me Aid," I assured him.

"You're young, you're innocent, you don't even know..."

"Stop it Aiden! Just stop! You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know that he took advantage of you!"

I shook my head as I tried to figure out how to proceed. He was completely wrong but to stand here and butt heads with him would only irritate the situation more. We were both stubborn and bull headed, this would only spiral into both of us not talking to each other, and him resenting Cade even more if I wasn't careful. However he couldn't continue on in his beliefs when they were so wrong.

"I'm not as weak or gullible as you insist on believing. I survived watching dad die; I lived through losing mom, and this whole awful mess. My heart was broken when I thought I'd lost Cade, but I still managed to pull myself together and continue on. I'm stronger than you think Aiden and
no
one is taking advantage of me."

I was worried he would continue to fight me but he finally gave a grudging nod. "You're right," he admitted. "It's difficult for me not to see you as a little girl, but then you haven't been a little girl in years. Not like Abby."

I smiled at him. "Abby's not a little girl anymore either."

"No she's not," he said sadly. "Are you sleeping with him Bethany?" I couldn't look at him. This wasn't a conversation I'd ever expected to have with my brother, just as I knew it wasn't one he wanted to have with me but for some reason he felt like he had to. "I know you love him, but you have to be careful. The world may be upside down but there is still the risk of pregnancy..."

"I'm well aware of the consequences Aiden, I won't get pregnant," I interrupted briskly.

"Diseases." Jesus, he was determined to have this big brother, protective speech with me no matter how red the two of us turned. "We don't have the medicine that we used to have, or the tests."

"There's been no one else," I said before he could steer this conversation into even more embarrassing waters.

"I know there hasn't been, for you," he gushed.

"For either of us," I whispered around the lump in my throat. I felt like I had the worst sunburn of my life as sweat began to bead on my forehead and my cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Aiden did a double take as his mouth opened and closed and he tried to assimilate what I'd just told him with everything we'd always believed about Cade. In school, Cade had been rumored to be unruly and dangerous and all the girls had chased him around. His air of mystery and aloof persona had only fueled the gossip that had run rampant through the halls. Rumors of Cade having lurid affairs with everyone from college girls to married women had been spread around but none of them had been true.

I forced myself to meet Aiden's astonished gaze in the hopes that he would finally believe what I was saying. "He's loved me since the first time he came to our house, loved me years before I even realized how much I loved him. There's never been anyone else, for either of us."

Cade had first appeared in our home as Aiden's friend, but he had continued to come back because of me. I hadn't known the true depth of his feelings for me until all hell broke loose with the aliens though. Feelings he hadn't even known he could be capable of experiencing until he met me all those years ago.

He would be back soon
, I told myself fiercely.

"I see," Aiden said after a lengthy pause.

"I hope so."

"There is still pregnancy Bethy," he pressed. "You have to be careful; a pregnancy now could be devastating."

"I know Aiden."

There were more extenuating reasons why I couldn't get pregnant but there was no way I could go into those with him right now. He couldn't possibly know that Cade wasn't human, and I couldn't bring myself to think about what a baby we created might look like. Cade didn't have scales, but it was suddenly all I could picture covering our child and I shuddered at the thought.

"He scares me Bethany."

I tilted my head to study Aiden. "Why?"

Aiden shook his head. "There's just something about him that frightens me. I'm concerned about you."

"He would
never
hurt me."

"Maybe not
you
, but I can't shake the feeling that he would hurt someone else, especially if they were a threat to you."

I couldn't bring myself to lie to him by denying that. Cade
would
hurt anyone he thought was a threat to me, he
would
kill them. I had already seen that, and Cade was far more treacherous than Aiden could even begin to imagine.

"You wouldn't be a great big brother if you didn't worry." I tried to sound light and airy, but I could hear the tension in my voice.

He snorted softly and managed a small smile. "I suppose not. Do you think you two will get married?"

I laughed as I gestured around the tunnel. "I don't think marriage has much place in this world anymore, do you?"

"No," he admitted. "I suppose it doesn't."

I nodded as I turned my attention back to the tunnel. I'd never really thought about marriage to Cade. To me, our bond was solid and impenetrable already and I didn't need the added bond of being married on top of it. Until a few months ago though it was always something that I had pictured in my life, always something I'd assumed would happen one day. I didn't feel like we
needed
to be married, but I'd also like it if we were. It would be something so normal and wonderful in a world that was neither anymore.

"I would marry him though," I told him. "But I don't feel like we need it. We
are
committed to each other."

His smile was small and fleeting. "That's good to know. Do you mind if I join you or would you prefer to be alone?"

I had come here in order to be alone, but I found that it was the last thing I wanted now. It had been awhile since we'd spent any time alone together. "I'd really like it if you stayed."

We settled onto the ground beside each other, our shoulders touching and our heads bent close as we stared into the impenetrable gloom.