Well shit.I groaned, pinching the fur between my eyes in the way humans liked to pinch the bridge of their noses.
“Is he okay?” She asked, her bottom lip trembling as she looked up at me. Was this his plan the whole time; make me look like an ass in front of our girl? I was trying to be understanding but he wasn’t being fair. He groaned and started to lift up on his hands and knees.
“Looks like he’ll live,” Brandon grumbled apathetically. You know, I sort of liked the human. Caspian sat up on his legs, rubbing his head. His eyes flashed to me. I expected retribution and vitriol but I got none. Nor did he act smug when Ava was worried about him, which made me think hehadn’tbeen trying to make me look bad.
My head tilted to the side. What was up with him? He stared at me blankly, thinking whatever the hell fish-men think before he finally scraped his sorry ass off the ground and told us that it was fine, let’s keep going.
Caspian brushed past me, shoulder checking me on the way. I shoved my gun back in my pocket before I did something stupid that made Ava hate me.
2
We were currently sliding on our butts, slowly inching our way along as our heels dug into a descending slope. Mothman was already waiting at the bottom with the lantern set next to his feet. He looked deeper into the tunnels and then slowly meandered further in to check it out.
Where was he going? I didn’t like him walking out of sight. It made me feel nervous. It made me think about men with guns barreling in while he was out of sight. I was distracted with that when my shoe slipped.
I started to gain speed, dragging downwards as my shoes kept slipping, getting zero grip. My heart rate kicked up and I leaned back before flipping on my belly. One moment it was a small mistake, the next moment I was heading to the edge of this rock at an alarming rate. My fingertips pressed into the smooth rock as I tried to grab on.
“Ava!” Caspian called out, his voice echoing in the cave. I heard scratching as if claws were scrambling across the rock. I was alarmed until I realized it was Caspian in his true form, his razor-sharp talons scratching the rock as he tried to get to me.
I looked over my shoulder and saw the edge racing toward me. There was a small drop and the ground was littered with rough boulders. If I slid off, the chances of breaking something were high. I’d be stuck underground with at least an hour and a half of climbing and no way to walk.
My stomach pinched as my fingertips continued to slide on smooth rock. I tried to dig my shoes in, find some small lip but now I was moving too fast, momentum propelling me past all the little divots.
Strong arms wrapped around my waist at the last moment. I felt air beneath my body and was momentarily distressed, thinking I was about to hit the rocks. Then I realized I was moving up, not down. The breeze of Mothman’s great wings filled the cavernous room, making my hair blow around in my face as he flew with me. His wings fluttered, the noise a deep purring hum.
When he set me down on my feet, my heart was still beating too fast. I turned around and gripped his jacket, waiting until the adrenaline wore off. My head pressed to his body and I felt him still in shock for the briefest moment before his sharp-tipped fingers dug into my hair and gently scratched at my scalp. I closed my eyes and relaxed into him.
He felt safe.
He’d saved me, saved me more than once. Even when I hadn’t been aware of the danger and was absolutely terrified of him, he had saved me. Now I was clinging to that sense of safety with a hard grip, the worn leather of his duster a welcomed sensation against my hands.
I could hear Caspian and Brandon sliding on the rock, slowly making their way down but I didn’t want to step away from Mothman. I realized I was almostafraidto let go of his leather duster as if I was still falling off that bridge over the New River and my only hope of surviving was holding onto Mothman with all my strength.
I inhaled the scent of him and let it settle me, let myself feel the safety he represented in my mind.
Perhaps when the trauma of the hunters was in the distant past, I wouldn’t feel this desperate need to cling to Mothman. Right now though, Ineededit. His claws kept pushing through my hair and teasing my scalp. I reveled in the feel of it, pushing more of my weight against him.
The guys got to the bottom, carefully lowering themselves to the boulders. Mothman’s fingers moved out of my hair and trailed lower down my back. I felt his claws brush the top of my ass. When I didn’t pull away his hand moved lower, long fingers spreading over the globe of my ass. I sucked in a breath as he gripped it tightly, pressing me hard against his body and shuddering in delight.
Did touching me really bring him that much pleasure?
Caspian moved over to me, suddenly pulling me away from Mothman and into his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around me. He was still in his true form—fins, pointed ears, gills, razor-sharp talons and teeth, blue-tinted skin, and hair that was textured like blackish-green water grass. I wondered what exactly he was; if there was a name for it.
How was there so much I didn’t know about him? How had he hidden so much from me? I sagged in his arms, realizing he was only partly to blame for that. I’d had my head in the dirt for so long, purposely ignoring any and all signs of things not being normal.
I needed to adjust to the new normal.
“Are you okay?” Caspian murmured to me as he pressed a kiss into the top of my head.
“Yeah,” I sighed, my cheek resting on his chest. I looked down at his feet, seeing the taloned tipped toes and blue-tinted skin. My fingers teased the fin at his back and his breath came shuddering from his mouth, his body trembling as I touched the protruding spines.
“Thomas!” Brandon called out, picking up the lantern from the ground and moving towards the back of the room where it tunneled off again. There was no response for what felt like minutes.
“Yes!” The climber finally called back. He sounded right around the next bend… the same as he had the entire time. His loud voice had us going deeper and deeper. He kept assuring us it wasn’t far, just a little bit more. It wasalwaysa little bit more and we were all finding it very frustrating despite trying not to.
“Why does he sound so close if he’s not?” I asked. Brandon turned around and shrugged without concern. Mothman shifted closer until I could feel the heat of him at my back while I was still wrapped in Caspian’s arms. Mothman’s hat dropped back on my head. It had fallen when I was sliding down.
After readjusting the hat I saw Caspian eyeing Mothman, his shoulders tight with tension as he looked at him. He didn’t move us away though and didn’t complain at all about the way Mothman had been touching me a moment ago.
