Page 64 of Bound By Love
A part of her was missing without her mate, but she also missed her wiseass, annoying sister and hated the heartbreak on her parents’ faces. They both stopped what they were doing and clambered over the rocks to her.
Her mom hugged her, and they clung to each other as her dad and uncles, Mike and Jack, fell to help the others dig out whoever they’d discovered. Vicky chewed on her lip as she anxiously awaited news of the discovery.
But as they carefully pulled away the debris to reveal the hand sticking out from the rubble, she realized it wasn’t a man’s hand.
Willow!
Hope surged through her, and her mom’s arms constricted more as their gazes remained latched on the delicate fingers curling up from the debris. They were covered with dirt, broken and bloody, but they twitched when the air hit them.
The tips of her fingers were raw as whoever they belonged to had been digging her way out. When they removed more rocks, Vicky and her mom crept closer.
There was no room for them to help dig, but they had a good view over the shoulders of the workers. When she lifted her head, she caught the eyes of her identical twin, Abby, standing beside Brian, before Abby’s attention shifted back to the woman.
Simone came to stand beside her. Without thinking, Vicky clasped the other woman’s hand. Simone’s fingers tightened around hers. It wasn’t Killean either but whoever was beneath that debris was someone they both loved.
As they carefully pulled away more rocks and everyone else in the cavern gathered closer to see who it was, Elena’s dark hair and beautiful face came into view. A murmur of excitement ran through the hunters from Arizona. Vicky didn’t understand what they said, but they moved closer as Logan shoved through the crowd.
Tears streamed down his face as he clasped Elena’s hand and brushed away the dirt on her cheeks. Her eyes remained closed, and her lips parted, but her eyelids fluttered when Logan pressed her hand to his chest and bent to kiss her.
He pulled away and bit into his wrist. As the others continued to uncover her, he placed his wrist against her mouth to let her feed.
When they succeeded in exposing her chest, they revealed how crushed she was by the debris. Her ribs all appeared broken, and her breaths came in shallow pants that rattled in and out, but she wasaliveandfree!
For the first time in days, renewed hope filled Vicky when they pulled Elena free and carried her away. It wasn’t Willow or Nathan, but they’d found someone! Theywouldfind the others.
Elyse pulled Elena’s sword from the debris and handed it to Asher, who turned to follow his friend down the pile and into the tunnel.
Vicky hugged her mom and kissed her cheek as her dad walked over to take her mom’s hand. Determined to find her mate and sister, Vicky held Simone’s hand as they gazed over the vast rubble beneath their feet.
It was a daunting task, but she wasn’t giving up.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR
It tooktwo more days before they pulled someone else out. When they removed Kadence from the rubble, she was thin and broken, and every time they had to move her, she flinched, but no sound issued from her, and she didn’t wake.
Saxon was almost afraid to touch her as he carried her from the rubble with Simone hovering by his side, but she couldn’t stay in the cavern with its dust-filled, dirty air. The cheers of the others died away as they left the cavern behind.
Outside the cavern, the tunnel wasn’t a much better environment, but at least he could set her down on something other than loose rocks. He set her on the ground near the blood supply they’d brought down.
He took the blood bag Elyse offered him and tore off the top. Simone carefully pried Kadence’s mouth open, and he held the bag to her lips as Elena joined them. She rested Kadence’s sword against the wall and leaned against it as Logan arrived.
Blood filled Kadence’s mouth, and eventually, she swallowed. It would take time for her to heal, and blood straight from the vein of her mate would have been better, but they hadn’t found Ronan.
Saxon lifted his head to stare back down the tunnel as the beeps of the Bobcats started up again. They’d worked nonstop these past nine days to clear away the debris, but they were little more than a quarter of the way through it.
Will the others survive much longer?
He didn’t know the answer to that question, but he sure hoped so. He looked at his mate and smiled when their eyes met.
She’d healed well, but the fight had taken a toll on her. She was thinner, with shadows under her eyes and a sadness that wouldn’t leave them.
That sadness came from more than the knowledge their friends were buried and suffering. It also came from finding her mother’s body amongst those who died in the battle far from this cavern.
Their relationship was awful, but it was still difficult for her to have lost the woman who was supposed to love her unconditionally… and didn’t. She also missed their daughter, as did he, but neither of them was willing to leave this place until they found everyone… dead or alive.
His attention shifted to Elena as Logan joined her in the hall. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” she replied. “My ribs still ache, but they’ve mostly healed.”
