Gone (Book Two of the Dark Lycans Series)

My eyes widened in surprise. Does his Lycan remember?

I guess we'll find out, Ira said.

I waited for Blake's reaction, and he had suddenly closed his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"My Lycan knows your his mate, but still feels threatened, so anything could happen if I open my eyes again." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, hang on a second." I got off of him and grabbed my shirt from the branch. It was dry now, and I folded it up into a long strip.

I put it over Blake's eyes and tied behind his head.

"Just in case," I told him. He nodded in understanding.

"Give me your hand," he said.

"You aren't going to kiss me again are you?" I asked, amusement in my voice. He shook his head, so I gave him my hand.

I was pulled down next to him, and he wrapped his arms around me. Smiling, I laid my head on his chest, listening to his breathing and his heartbeat.

I felt him place a kiss on my forehead, and I closed my eyes. I missed this, I thought.

I felt myself being pulled into a deep sleep, and a memory filled my mind.

*************

Darkness surrounded me, and I felt a familiar presence beside me.

"Raven?" She asked.

"I'm here Shade." I whispered. Our hands found each other and hers squeezed mine tightly.

"Why did they leave us?" I heard a small whimper in her voice.

"So we can figure out how to get out on our own. We have to remember which way to go," I told her, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The vague outline of walls came into view, and I looked around.

"I don't even remember where we are right now," Shade's voice was filled with panic and fear. I stroked her hair, and held her hand tight.

"We'll figure it out, come on." I led her through the tunnel, and followed the turns until we came into a room. Inside, there was a small gate, that had started to open as soon as we entered.

My eyes widened in panic when a creature I had once feared stalked out. It had yellow eyes, golden fur, a black mane, and claws 4 inches long. Its tail swept along the ground, and I saw its lips lift, showing off its sharp teeth.

I heard Shade scream beside me as the giant lion roared. I ran up to it and held out my hands. It smelled the air then crouched down.

I sighed in relief, and turned to see Shade shaking horribly. I wave over to her, and she slowly walks toward me.

"He is one of mine." I asked her.

"We never got to see each other's, but I don't see why we couldn't," she whispered.

"Mother said they are created to only trust a single person, so it was pointless. But maybe they were worried we would get ours confused, and then we would be attacked." I shrugged.

My hand ran through his mane, it was soft, and his shoulder towered above my head.

"Come on, they know the way out," I told her. She gave me a confused look, and I turned back to my lion.

"Madox, subsido," I commanded in Latin. It was the language they were trained in. He crouched down, and allowed me to climb onto his back.

I grabbed Shade's hand and helped her up. She sat behind me, and put her arms around my stomach tightly.

"Ad introitum," I told him, grabbing onto his long mane. His powerful body lurched forward, and Shade gripped my waist tighter.

I held on tight as he ran expertly through the tunnels, grinning as the familiar feeling of riding him filled my body. Shade had never ridden him, only her own creatures, so it was unfamiliar.

Each animal was different, and there were no two alike, so it was strange to ride another person's creature. Madox ran very fast, and I could feel his muscles rippling underneath me with each bound.

Light quickly filled my eyes as we exited the facility. Madox slid to a stop, and lowered himself to the ground. I jumped off, and helped Shade down.

Our mothers were standing by the cave, with raised eyebrows.

"Good thinking Raven, Madox is a great idea. But you are going to have to keep going back in there until you can get out without your creatures help. They are for if you are completely lost, or in trouble." My mother told me.

"Do it again, but try to do it without their help," Lily said. My shoulders slumped, and j turned back to Madox.

"Domum," I told him, and he licked my face before bounding back into the cave. My nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Ewww!" I shrieked wiping my face, covered in slobber. Shade and our mothers started laughing. I soon started laughing with them.

"Okay, time to start over," Lily said, tying blindfolds around Shade and I's eyes. I huffed when I felt my mother pick me up.

She began running, and I soon heard the sound of her feet hitting stone. After ten minutes, she stopped. I was put back onto my feet, and I felt Shade beside me.

"Count to ten, then take off your blindfolds and find your way out," my mother commanded me. I tried to ignore her command, but I couldn't for some reason. I heard Lily say the same to Shade.

They ran away from us, and I began to count. I tore off my blindfold after counting, but they were long gone. Shade sighed beside me.

"Here we go again."

**************

My eyes snapped open, and the memory swirled through my mind. I tried to sit up, but Blake's arm was locked around my waist. I sighed, and looked at him.

His muscles seemed to have gotten even more defined with the fighting, and I ran my finger along the lines.

The fur covered part of his torso, but still gave me access to part of it.

"Ever heard of 'look but don't touch'?" I heard him say snarkily. I scowled, and slapped his chest lightly.

"I don't follow rules, never have, never will," I announced. He chuckled at me, and I sat up when his arm loosened.

"I need to check your scratches," I said standing up with a stretch.

"I need a drink." His voice sounded a little raspy. I grabbed some of the excess fur, and folded it into a little bowl. I filled it with water, the skin on the inside was waterproof.

I helped Blake sit up, and let him drink some. When he had his fill, I took off the fur to check his scratches. They had stopped bleeding, but would be infected soon if they weren't treated.

"We need to go," I told him stamping out the remains of the fire.

There was still a little bit of the cooked meat left that I had wrapped in a strip of the animal skin, so I grabbed that along with the teeth and claws I had taken from the leopard.

I had made a small bag with some of the leftover fur, and I put the teeth, claws, and leftover meat inside. Using a braided piece of vine, I tied the small bag to my ankle.

"Here," I handed him the meat part of the meat, and he quickly ate it. I walked to his side, and put one of his arms around my shoulders.

I stood up with him, he leaned heavily on me, the wound draining his energy. I grabbed his arm with one hand, and wrapped the other around his waist.

We began to walk, and I recalled the memory, trying to remember where the mountain was. Looking around, I realized there were mountains in the distance.

"Well now I feel stupid," I muttered, seeing that the mountains were only a few dozen miles away.

"Why? And where are we going?" Blake asked, he was already panting with effort, walking was obviously causing pain at his scratches.

"I know a place we should be safe, it is a few dozens miles away though," I told him. He groaned, and reluctantly said okay.

I had to use my Lycan strength in order to help him over fallen trees, and giant rocks that were coming out of the ground now.

The closer we got to the mountains, the rockier and more difficult the terrain became. I stopped at a small stream after a few miles to let us drink and check Blake's scratches.

I could tell they were becoming infected, and he was losing his strength very quickly.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath. If I hadn't caused the scratches, he would have been healed by now. I took off the pelt and washed the scratches gently in the water.

He hissed in pain as the cuts stung. I tied the skin around the wounds again, and we began walking once more. Only stopping every few miles to rest and adjust the fur, and I gave Blake some of the leftover leopard meat to replenish his energy.

By sundown, we were only a couple of miles from the mountain, but Blake was in terrible shape. He had fallen unconscious as soon as we stopped, and his scratches had started bleeding even worse than before.

I laid him down on the ground and looked him over. He had broken out in a sweat, and his breathing was shallow. The start of an infection.

His body was very hot, but he was shivering. The wound was bright red, bleeding badly, and the skin around it was puffing up.

"Shit!" I growled. I had to get him to the mountain, or he would be dead by morning. I grabbed his arms, and started to drag him towards the mountain.

He was heavy, and the ground was very uneven and rocky now, so I couldn't move very fast. I even had to drag him on the ground over a few huge rocks.

I was very happy when the rocks and shrubs turned to a forest again. I grabbed Blake again, and after about two hours of walking, I had finally reached the mountain side.

I began the trek around the mountain to the cave, and my muscles were exhausted by the time I finally came across it. I let out a huge breath of relief, and stepped into the darkness.

It was pitch black outside, but somehow it seemed even darker in the cave. The jagged stone walls were cold to the touch, and I took a few random turns in the passages.

I was too tired to remember the way to the safe room of the facility, so I was hoping I could somehow find it. My breathing and footsteps were the only sounds in the empty darkness.

I could sense the walls around me suddenly widening into a large room. I stopped, and heard the rattling sound of an opening gate.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw piercing yellow eyes in the darkness. A growl filled the room, and shook my body to the bones.

I put Blake on the ground behind me and walked towards the beast.

Oh please be the right one, I thought in my head, squeezing my eyes shut as I held out my hand. Something wet touched my palm, and I slowly opened my eyes.

The vague outline of a giant lion was in front of me, and I gasped in relief.

"Oh thank god, it's you," I breathed. I grabbed Blake again and walked to the lion's side.

"Subsido," I said remembering the dream I had. The lion crouched down and I pushed Blake onto its back. I climbed up, gripping Blake's body with one arm, and holding the lions mane tight with the other.

"Madox, Ad incolumem locus," I spoke in Latin. He immediately obeyed, running through the tunnels just like in my memory.

I pressed my body close to his, breathing deeply. Blake is safe, and Shade will be soon, I thought.

Or dead, Ira reminded me. I growled at her for reminding me.

The lion suddenly slid to a stop in front of an silver door. He crouched down and I jumped off his back. I dragged Blake down into my arms, and patted the lion's neck.

"Domum," I said and he bounded off out if sight. Turning back to the door, I searched my recent flashbacks for the code.

I vaguely remember Shade typing it in, and copied her. The door clucked and I pushed it open. Inside was just like I remembered it, except it looked like it was recently used.

I carried Blake inside and laid him on the couch. I took off the fur and searched the place for a medical kit. I finally found it in a cabinet, and crouched beside Blake.

I filled a syringe with the medicine that would stop the infection, and injected it into his neck. I was looking for the gauze when I heard a clicking noise.

I stood up a whipped around to see the door open. In walked a woman with black hair and white eyes, and behind her, a woman with brown hair and violet eyes.

They caught sight of me, and their eyes widened.

"Raven?"