AARYN

As soon as they'd walked into the clearing he'd had a bad feeling. He'd asked himself if it was possible, but everything looked wrong and it seemed so unlikely. He'd been uneasy though. He should have listened to his instincts.

The moment he stepped into the cave and the previously dark depths were revealed, he knew, and he froze mid-step, cursing himself.

He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized it. He should have known! They were in the right region. But the last time he'd been out here was the year before he was Alpha, when he was still considering taking the training. It had been winter and the snowbanks changed the shape of the land. Plus, they'd approached from the trail—and stupid Gar had been badgering him about becoming Alpha, he'd been so wrapped up in everything he was thinking, he really hadn't paid enough attention.

Gah! He was an idiot. He should have recognized that smell the moment he caught it. But it had shifted slightly from what he remembered, and the truth was he hadn't wanted to think about what it would mean if he and Elreth had stumbled into this place.

"El, we need to get out of here." His conviction was absolute, and only barely selfish—it really wasn't safe for her to be here.

She stopped in her tracks next to him, wide eyed. "Why? Because of that smell? I thought something had died, but this is different. It's almost like… it smells like old. What is it?"

Aaryn took a deep breath. "This is the portal cave."

Elreth stayed still for a moment, then her face lit up. "What?!" she shrieked—but not with the fear and concern he would have liked to hear in her voice. No, that was Elreth's excitement and sense of adventure echoing off the cave walls and making creatures scrabble deeper into the dark, further down the cave.

"El—"

"I've never seen it before. Show me!"

Dammit, he'd known this would happen. "You can't go into the portal!"

"I'm not going to go inside it," she rolled her eyes like he was being irritating, which made him want to grind his teeth. "I just want to see where it is."

"It's nothing much to see. This isn't safe, El. What if someone came through, or—"

"Please! You're starting to sound like my mother. Come on, Aaryn. I've never seen it and I need to understand it better anyway. If you don't show me now, I'm going to have to get the guard to bring me out here."

"They don't know where it is."

"Oh, right. But the scouts—"

"The scouts know what area to patrol, but they don't know what they're patrolling for, Elreth, remember? The only people who know about this are elders and disformed—they don't tell the others because Anima need to be smart enough to stay away from this!"

"Just like the disformed, you mean?" she asked, her voice a little dark. She folded her arms and stuck out her hip, which meant she was getting stubborn.

Aaryn shot her a look. "We can discuss that later. Right now, I—"

"Right now, I don't want to pull rank on my mate who I love, so I'm just going to walk in here and follow the smell. You can join me, or you can stay out here. But I'm going to see it." Then she turned and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she started deeper into the cave.

He ground his teeth as she stalked away, muttering about Alpha-male bullshit. At first, he didn't follow, hoping that she'd take one look at that strange spot on the wall that looked solid and see-through at the same time, then leave. But after her steps disappeared into the branching tunnel and she exclaimed, then went silent, he rushed forward. Darting deeper into the cave and down the branch, he rounded the corner just in time to find Elreth standing in front of the portal in the dim light, her eyes wide, and her hand up in front of her chest reaching for that impossible opening.

"El, NO!" Aaryn growled, launching himself at her, pushing her sideways, past the portal, deeper into the tunnel. "You can't! You can't do that!" he snarled.

Elreth stumbled, but he caught her elbow and helped her keep her feet. "Geez, Aaryn. Calm down, I wasn't going to go through," she growled. "I just wanted to see what it felt like."

Aaryn's breath heaved in his chest, his heart racing with panic. "Well, you can't. Just… don't. I'm not… I'm not equipped to get you through there and I don't know how far is too far before it won't let you back out."

"No one can get me through there except me, Aaryn, my dad explained it. Just… chill."

"No, I will not chill while you're being reckless!" He took her by the shoulders and almost shook her.

Elreth's eyes went wide. "What's going on? Why are you so mad?"

"Because that place is dangerous and you're just acting like this is a game or something!" His breath was coming to fast, his chest rising and falling with it.

Elreth put a hand to his shoulder and squeezed. "Okay, okay. Calm down. I won't get near it. I promise." But she looked at him strangely, like she wanted to ask something, but was afraid of the answer. "Let's go. Just, stop at the edge of it, I just want to look. You can stand between it and me if you want. I really do just want to look."

He frowned, but straightened and walked her back the few feet to stand in front of the portal, keeping his shoulder and arm between her and it.

Elreth looked at it, and bit her lip. Her nostrils flared as she scented it. "What is that awful smell?"

"I don't know. But I know it doesn't get any better inside—"

"You've been inside?!" she gasped.

"No. But my friend has and he said it's horrible. He said the whole space is dark and dry and dusty, but it stinks like that. Like death. Except there's nothing there."

Elreth peered past him, her nose wrinkling. "Okay, let's go."

Aaryn heaved a sigh of relief and hustled her out of the tunnel and through the cave until they were back out in the sunlight where he could actually breathe.

Stupid, stupid, stupid not to have kept her away from this area! If the disformed showed up for training she'd probably demand they teach her! Elia would never forgive him.

They started on the trail back towards the cave without a word, but he could feel Elreth's eyes on him, her mind working. He prayed she wouldn't let this take her too deep. They would address it. She would hear the whole story. But this wasn't the time. Then the tiniest thread of anger entered her scent and he opened his mouth before she could.

"I'll race you!" he said, hoping that challenging her would give her a vent for her frustrations, but also get her mind off of this. How had he been so stupid as to end up there! So thoughtless! Being with her this way had completely stripped him of his wits!

But as he ran down the trail, he could hear her feet pounding—faster than his, catching him up. He let her overtake him, then stayed on her heels all the way back to the little clearing, until they pushed through the undergrowth and shrubs into the clearing. She began to slow, her shoulders swinging and hands dropping, but Aaryn ran up behind her, lifted her off her feet and ran her towards the water again.

Neither of them laughed when he threw her in, fully clothed. But it didn't matter. When she pushed out of the water, the white linen clung to her every curve and ripple, the deep rose of her nipples showing through the wet material and making Aaryn's eyes go wide.

She caught his look, and her own turned feral.

He should have taken a warning from that, but all he could do was stare.

Then, obviously realizing the power she held in that moment, instead of removing the shirt, she stood in the water, her clothing sucked up to her skin, and worked on the buttons of her leathers. It took some wrestling for her to get the wet leather off—by which time Aaryn was already naked and openly gaping.

When she finally got her pants off, she threw them up onto the bank, then stood there with her hands on her hips.

Fuck, she was beautiful. Even when she was tense.

"What about the rest?" he asked breathlessly.

Elreth took a moment to look down at herself, then slowly back up at him to slay him with what had to be the single most erotic look she'd ever given him, her chin slanted to the side and staring at him through her lashes with a knowing smile.

"That's your job," she said, a challenge in her tone—and in the flash of her eyes as well. Something was definitely bothering her, but it wasn't going to stop her.

With a growl of approval, Aaryn shoved deeper into the water until he reached her.