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So if you want to eat, I suggest you stay put. Lonny took the lantern
with him, and Cecil watched the light slowly dim away. He was in
total darkness. Cecil tried to let his eyes adjust, but there was
absolutely no light to adjust to.
He scrambled to his feet, yelling for Maverick. His voice bounced
off the dirt and died. No one was going to hear him. A noise shut him
up. Cecil stopped and cocked his head, listening. Something ran
across his bare feet, and he jumped back and screamed. Rats?
He knew if he didn t make it out of here he would die. Waiting on
Lonny wasn t an option.
With his hands still tied behind him, he used his shoulder to feel
his way along. Jagged tree roots and rocks cut into his arm. He felt the
sting of broken skin. Sticking one foot out further as he slunk along,
not wanting to fall over a cliff, if there was one. He had seen the
movies and screamed at the screen as the idiots fell to their deaths. He
wasn t going to be one of those idiots.
With such extreme caution, it would take him forever to find a
way out. His lungs hurt from the thick, dirt ridden air. Sweat ran
down his face from anxiety and fear. He couldn t even wipe it away
with his hands. He had to use his shoulder, and then the sweat stung
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the open cuts on his skin.
He fell forward, having no way to cushion his fall without the use
of his hands. Cecil felt the air leave his lungs as his chest cracked
against the hard earth. He laid there, tears falling from his eyes.
Giving up wasn t on the table. He had to see his mate again.
* * * *
Maverick punched a hole through the wall. Where the hell was his
mate? Tank said he saw him several hours ago trying to locate
Johnny. Maverick and the rest of the Sentries combed the entire
house.
Nothing.
He knew Cecil wouldn t leave without at least leaving a note and
taking one of the Sentries with him. Something foul was going on.
Did the person who tried to poison him kidnap him? How? How did
his mate disappear from his own home?
FIND HIM! Maverick roared out. He was becoming desperate.
What if his mate was being harmed right at this moment, calling out
for him? Maverick tore the house apart, tossing beds and tearing
closets apart. This was getting him nowhere. He barked at three of his
warriors to follow him.
Tank, Remi, and Cody followed him out back. Search for track
marks or any sign that he may have been taken outside. I want him
found. Do it now!
The three wolves scrambled to find anything that would help.
Timber wolves didn t have the best sense of smell, but Mother Nature
compensated them by giving them superb hearing, night vision, and
tracking abilities that superseded any other species. They could hear a
leaf fall to the ground in autumn. They were the largest of the wolf
breeds and were extremely territorial. They fought to the death to
protect what was theirs, mate or land.
Cody found signs of disturbance in the grass. Broken blades,
82 Lynn Hagen
something no other would have seen. The grass was only bent the
slightest, but enough for Cody to recognize the signs. Alpha, over
here.
Maverick studied the area that Cody had pointed out, noticing the
same signs. The track led off toward the heavily wooded area. We
hunt.
All four men shifted into their wolf forms, heading into the night.
* * * *
Cecil was exhausted. How long had he been down here? A couple
hours? Days? Time was not something that could be tracked in this
darkened prison. He had been walking for what seemed like forever.
Dehydrated, hungry, in pain, and urine soaked, Cecil couldn t go
on. His feet were stinging and sore. He couldn t even feel his hands
anymore. The earthen wall had become his crutch. His muscles turned
to jelly. Cecil feared stopping he may not get back up again. His
wrists felt like blades were cutting into them. He had tried for the
longest to free his hands, only to do more harm than good.
Cecil tripped again, this time hitting his head against the wall. He
felt a warm trickle down the side of his face. Trying to push himself
back up, his body wouldn t cooperate. Rest for a moment. He lay on
his side, slipping into a fatigue filled sleep.
* * * *
Maverick found an entrance. It was well hidden behind years of
overgrown foliage. He used his teeth and claws to clear the brush
away. It was located on the side of a high rising hill. How had he
never seen this before? More Sentries had joined them in their
tracking until there were eight in all. He howled to the sky, alerting
his pack of his discovery. He heard them racing toward his call.
When all had gathered, Maverick entered with his search party at
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his flank. They came into a chamber that branched into four different
directions. Maverick shifted back into human form. I want every
wolf to pair up. It seems we are in some kind of catacomb. No one is
to venture off by themselves. If you find anything, howl. Maverick
took Cody with him, one of the best trackers he had.
All four entrances showed signs of use, so they didn t have a solid
lead to follow. Maverick and Cody took the tunnel to the far right,
their night vision making it possible to see in the pitch blackness.
Maverick could feel them descending, going further down into the
bowels of the earth.
He felt a ripple of pain throughout his entire body. He knew it was
his mate, lost down here somewhere, hurt. He concentrated on the
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