Trapped
Trapped:2474words
Update Time:2024-11-01 09:41:15
[Rock]The sound of running feet soon sounded in the tunnel and got louder as it got closer. I could see Dolly perk up, then seem to realize something. She gasped and hid behind the stone. The idea it could be something dangerous popped into my head. I got up as fast as I could and turned toward the entrance. Queen Ivy did the same and all the dark elves prepared themselves to fight until the trolls could also get up. A few moments later, Rhett appeared at the entrance to the cavern. He put a hand against the wall and tried to catch his breath. His clothes and hair were a little disheveled. Once he had calmed down a bit, he straightened himself out and strutted into the room, completely ignoring everyone else and marching over to the stone where Dolly was hiding. He pulled her out of her hiding place and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if she would disappear. “Never do that to me again, Dolly. Don’t leave Papa Rhett, okay?” he whispered. She started crying and buried her face in his chest. Rhett rocked her gently and told her everything was alright and he had her. It was not how a troll parent would have handled it, but I could see from the soft look on Queen Ivy’s face that it was an elf parent reaction. “Why did you leave? Echo said she only left you for a moment to take someone to the hospital. You promised her you would stay in the house. Don’t you know that fae aren’t supposed to lie?” Rhett scolded in a gentle voice as he continued to hug her and rub her back. “I had to. Mama told me a monster was coming, and I had to close the tunnels,” Dolly sniffled. Rhett froze and turned to face us. The deadly expression on his face was interesting. “Alpha Trent was saying something about a demon general being summoned. Was that true?” he asked Queen Ivy. “It was. Dolly sealed it in the chamber at the lowest level of this place. If she filled in that room, she might have killed it herself.” Dolly shook her head. “You can’t kill that monster. It doesn’t die. Mama said it is too strong to die. It only goes back to where it lived before. I couldn’t close that room. It wouldn’t let me. The monster is stronger than me.” That certainly wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear. I wondered at what she was talking about by saying her mom was talking to her. Maybe the kid was a little crazy, but she stopped the demon and it was enough for me right now. Saving Carmen was the most important thing to me. The leaders could take care of everything else. Carmen wouldn’t leave the fae lands until the demon was dead. My mate would be safe no matter what I had to do to ensure it. Even if she was mad at me for keeping her there. The trolls who could stand faster than the other trolls, helped them up. We were done here. None of us wanted to stick around. Even though they trapped him miles below the surface of the earth, the demon was still alive. “How long do you think it’ll take him to dig his way out?” Elbio asked as I helped him stand. “I don’t know shіt about demons. Maybe a year?” I chuckled as we moved to help others stand. “He will be here sooner than you think,” Dolly said hollowly. We looked over at her, and she had a blank look in her eyes. Rhett nuzzled her and talked to her in a low voice. I caught him saying he would protect her, but I didn’t see how if he was out of magic and the demon wasn’t. It didn’t matter at this point. What was important was getting out to where we could leave. Just because she said he would be here sooner than we realized didn’t mean within the next hour... I hoped. I wanted to grab Carmen, get in the truck, and go home. I wasn’t a warrior, no matter how much troll blood I had. And Carmen didn’t want me to be a warrior, either. Before long, we were reaching the mouth of the cave. Dolly whispered to Rhett, and he set her down once we were all out. She put her hands on the ground outside the cave. I’d never seen goblins destroy or create their dens. The hill seemed to melt, and it twinkled like there were stars stuck in the stone and dirt. Although, from the looks on the faces of several other fae, including the entire royal family, this wasn’t common. Without wasting another minute, I headed off where I could hear Carmen crying and scolding Austin. I was bet she had been doing it ever since he found her out here. Carmen wouldn’t let Austin get away with putting himself in a dangerous position. “There’s Rock,” Austin said excitedly, distracting her mid-sentence. My mate had Austin sitting on a rock while she stood over him, scolding him as if he were a naughty child. Her father was nearby, still in his wolf form, but I didn’t see a leash or collar on him anymore. Carmen spun around, and I realized how much stress I’d put my mate under. She looked frazzled.“Rock? Are you there?” I knew I was outside of her magic radius. Tears filled her eyes and she worried her hands. My strides became longer and people dodged out of my way. I would go through them if they didn’t move. When I got in range of her magic, Carmen lit up and ran straight at me before jumping into my arms. I lifted her until she could wrap her legs around my waist and held her close. Carmen’s hands went up to my face, and she pulled me down into a kiss. Having her in my arms again made me feel calmer. I didn’t want to let her go ever again. Carmen was my peace. She was my heart. But as much as I wanted to forget the danger waiting for us, I knew we couldn’t ignore it. I pulled away from the kiss, keeping Carmen close, and looked into her eyes. They were filled with fear and exhaustion, but also with love and trust.“We have to leave,” I whispered.Carmen nodded, her fingers still brushing against my face. “I know.”I carried her back over to where Austin and Carmen’s father were waiting. Austin frowned at me. I knew he was still hurting over the comment about not being able to protect him and Harmony. “Let’s get you home to Gemma,” I told him. “What happened?” “It was Dolly. She was trapping Oberon in the tunnels. She didn’t realize anyone else was down there, I guess. Or she didn’t care. I would say it’s a goblin thing, but I think this is a scared little kid thing. Dolly was afraid of a monster,” I replied. “There was no fight. You didn’t miss anything.” I patted his shoulder when I reached him. Austin didn’t look happy, but he did look a little less upset. He went to pick up Carmen’s dad and nodded at me. “Why isn’t he walking?” I asked. “He’s blind, Rock. Rhett took his sight when he removed the fae magic from my dad back in September. Dad joined the cult because they made promises while he was still messed up in the head. He’s better now. We got that collar off him and he’s going to be fine,” Carmen answered. I couldn’t believe he was blind, but it made sense why Austin was keeping the leash so close to him earlier. At least the asshole knew what life was like for Carmen now. I couldn’t help but smirk at the idea of him having to deal with all that bullshit while not being able to see. “Stop. He’s suffered enough. Don’t gloat,” Carmen chided and kissed my neck. “He deserves it. Why isn’t he changing into his human form or half wolf?”“Dad doesn’t have his half wolf form anymore. Rhett took the magic that made him a Beta away. I’m a higher rank than my dad is. He’s practically an omega.” It seemed like a pretty big over-correction. That was between him and the goddess. With luck, he would be a better person. “So he can’t turn back to a man?” I asked. “It’s a mixed group. Out of respect, werewolves won’t change into their human form around other beings. He can ride in the back of the truck.” “And Mike? Did anyone tell you what happened?” “Echo came and took him to the pack hospital. That’s all I know. I hope he lives. I have been praying to the goddess when I wasn’t cursing you and Austin for putting yourselves in danger. And I don’t care that it ended up being Dolly. You didn’t know that and I was terrified I could lose my mate and my brother in the same night,” Carmen growled and nipped me hard. Goddess, she had no idea what she was doing to me. It was sending very mixed signals to my brain... and the rest of my body. I grabbed her ass and introduced her to the issue she was causing, making her whimper with need. As we approached my truck, Four more trucks came into the clearing where we’d parked. They were loaded up with people. A little late, though. I snorted as they started piling out of the vehicles. “Where are you going? Are you retreating already?” some coсky human asked with a sneer. “Already? I’ve been here for over four hours. Where the fuck were you hiding while you waited for the ‘all clear’?” I asked. “What?”“Look, troll, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but we came as soon as we were called,” another man said. “My Gamma said he called the witches in over three and a half hours ago,” Carmen replied. “You can go see if they need any help, but there’s not much left of the cult.”“A small child was more useful than the witch coven,” I scoffed. The witches started talking with each other. The gist of what I was hearing was that they were only aware of the call a half hour ago. I shook my head and opened the door to my truck. Just as I was loading Carmen into the cab and Austin loading her dad into the bed of the truck, the ground started shaking. The witches ran into the forest toward where the cult had been living. “What the hell?” I muttered as I clasped the seatbelt on my mate.“What’s going on?” Carmen asked, her eyes wide with fear.“I don’t know, but we need to get out of here,” I replied. “Austin, get in the truck. We’re leaving.”“Shouldn’t we go help?” he asked. “What good are two blind wolves, an omega, and a half-human troll? They just got an influx of witches. They don’t need us. Now get in the fuсking truck before I knock you out and load you up my fuсking self!” Austin got in the truck, grumbling under his breath. Carmen’s dad was sitting in the truck's bed, looking bewildered. I started the engine and drove off, my eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. The ground was still shaking, and I could see trees swaying in the distance.I didn’t know much about demons, but if he was doing this, I didn’t want Carmen anywhere around him. My entire focus was on dodging falling trees and staying on the road without rolling the truck. It was easier said than done. There was no way he could have dug himself out of that cavern in only a few minutes. I gripped the steering wheel tightly. Three cars sped past us, going in the opposite direction.They could do whatever they wanted. I was out of there. Stepping on the gas, I pushed my truck as hard as it could go. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and I slammed on my brakes, tossing Carmen’s dad out of the back of the truck and into the forest. We were back in the lot where we’d been parked earlier. “Shіt,” I growled, putting the truck in park and rushing out to Carmen’s dad. He shifted back into his human form and didn’t look great. Was that a bad thing? “Are you dying?” I asked. “No. My wolf went back in to focus on healing. I’ll be fine,” he answered. “I’m sorry for what I said and tried to do. Carmen told me about how much you love her and how you’ve taken care of her. Thank you for loving my daughter,” Carmen’s dad said softly. “Stop talking like you’re gonna die if you’re not dying,” I replied, pulling off my shirt and draping it over him. “You’re going to take care of Carmen and keep her from leaving the truck. You’re going to pretend to be a hell of a lot more injured than you are, so she doesn’t go off and ‘help’ with this thing.” “We aren’t going to run again?” “There’s no running. It put us back where we started. We didn’t get far enough away to escape it. Keep my mate safe while I go help. The sooner that thing is put down, the better. If I can help, I need to.” “Her other mate died in a fight and he was a trained warrior. Let’s go as far from here as we can without being sent back. No one has to know. Don’t risk your life and make my daughter sad.” “Matt. I don’t plan to die. Not all roles on a battlefield have to be as warriors. I have abilities that can help protect some of the weaker people there. Trust me.” “I’m going, too,” Austin said. “No. You stay here and drive if you see anything that looks like it could hurt you guys. Keep Matt and Carmen safe. I’m counting on you, Austin. Don’t let me down,” I told him sincerely, putting my hand on his shoulder. He looked at me, then down at the older wolf I was kneeling over, and back at the truck where Carmen was sitting. When he turned his attention back to me. “You’re not doing this because I’m weak?” “I’m doing this because I’m selfish, Austin. Don’t let my mate get hurt or killed. You protected her this long. Do it for just a little longer. Please.”Austin nodded at me. He picked up Matt and returned to the truck. I couldn’t go talk to Carmen, or I would never leave. Instead, I turned to the forest and headed back in.