Sanctuary (A Hunted Novel Book 1) (10 page)

“Let’s check it out,” Nate commented. He moved around her and started down the stairs.

Tess stepped inside and closed the door behind her, making sure it latched shut. She hurried after Nate, both of them jogging down the long stairs. As they descended, Tess couldn’t help but wonder where everyone was?

E
mpty. The compound was deserted. Tess ran a hand through her hair as she spun in a small circle. Dust and dirt covered the floor. The only visible footprints were hers and Nate’s. Where was everyone? Her heart sunk and tears pricked her eyes.
I should’ve known better than to get excited.
Not only was the shelter abandoned, but no one from her pride was here either.
They could still be out there somewhere. Don’t give up hope.

Nate cleared his throat as he ran his finger over a thermostat. He brushed the grime away and adjusted the temperature. “No sense in freezing,” he commented.

Tess shivered; she hadn’t realized how cool it was down here until now. It was chilly outside, but it had to be a good ten degrees colder down here. The structure was at least fifty feet underground, maybe more. She’d never seen anything like this before. It was odd, and a little unnerving. She shivered as a sense of claustrophobia coursed through her. They’d have to climb out of here.

“I don’t see any signs of a struggle,” Nate said quietly as they continued down the long corridor.

“So everyone left?” Tess asked unsure. There was no blood. The furniture in the rooms they passed was intact. Décor still hung from the walls. The place was untouched, but was eerily silent.

“Hunters clean up after themselves,” she whispered as they stopped in front of two large navy blue doors.

“Not like this.” Nate shook his head. “And this place is underground. Humans aren’t going to stumble into a place like this. There would be no need to clean it up—to make it so... clean.” He frowned as she smeared her finger over a molding on the wall and held up her dusty finger. “Okay, it’s not clean, but there’s no proof of genocide here.”

Tess nodded. He had a point. There was no evidence of a struggle. “Then what? They abandoned their home? Why? This is a good hiding spot?” Tess argued. The only reason to flee would be Hunters. What other reason could there be? But if they were tucked safely underground, then what were the chances they could find someplace safer.
Look at this place. Could you live here? Maybe.
She would prefer to be above ground. Her cat trembled, reminded again of how deep beneath the earth she was. But if she needed to, she could live down here. It was safe. Safety was the most important thing.

“Maybe they joined another pride,” Nate suggested.

“Why? Look around you. This compound is the perfect hiding spot. It’s better than Sanctuary.” And it was. Sanctuary was well hidden, but it was still above ground. She’d never heard of a pride taking refuge underground like this before. It went against their nature.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
But why go to such lengths to protect themselves and then abandon it? Something didn’t add up.

“I don’t understand it either but the place is empty,” Nate sighed. “Look, Tess, this place is a fortress, but Hunters torture information out of their prisoners. If other prides have fallen, they may have moved for their own protection. And as shady as it sounds, they probably didn’t pass on their location to others. This place must have taken a long time to build and fortify. I can’t imagine they want to look for a new home every time a pride falls that knows their location. It’d be too much work.”

He did have a point. “Do you think we are safe here then?”

Nate let out a long breath. “You want to stay and see if your family shows up,” he concluded.

Tess nodded surprised at how thoughtful he was. She smiled at him, her heart fluttering as they made eye contact. Averting her gaze, she swallowed hard.
Please don’t let me be the only one who survived the attack. Please, please let someone else be out there.
She was certain her parents had perished; they’d stayed behind to ensure everyone got out as safely as possible. Tears pricked her eyes. She hadn’t grieved them yet. Hadn’t had the time, and she didn’t want to face that reality unless she knew it to be true. Until she had confirmation, she could have hope. Other members of the pride could still be alive.
They had to be.

“We should find a way to hide the car, and get a good feel for the layout here. If someone shows up, we’ll need a few exits,” Nate responded after a long moment.

Tess closed her eyes, thankful that he was being cooperative. She didn’t want to be here by herself, and there was something comforting about his presence.
Don’t think about that.
“Let’s take a look around,” she suggested her voice wavering slightly as she pushed the large blue doors open.

***

N
ate collapsed down onto the couch, causing a puff of dust to flit into the air.
Great.
He wrinkled his nose in a vain attempt to keep from sneezing. After two hours, they’d covered the entire grounds from top to bottom, and moved the car into an underground garage. The place was secure—well as secure as they could get it. He yawned and closed his eyes.

“Thanks for helping me,” Tess said as she took a seat in an armchair a few feet away from him.

“Yeah. No problem,” he murmured not bothering to open his eyes.

Tess let out a long pained sigh. The chair creaked under her as she shuffled in it. He peered his eyes open and took in the defeated look on her face. Her lips were turned down into a pout. Her eyes hollow and full of unshed tears.

I can’t imagine losing my entire family and not knowing if they are safe or not. It must be horrible. So, say something—console her. How? Think.

“I’m sure they’re out there somewhere. It’d probably be safe if you wanted to stay holed up in here for a few days to see if anyone shows up,” he offered.

“Really?” she asked, her voice rising with hope.

He smiled, glad to see the light in her beautiful eyes again. “Yeah. Even if the hunters managed to get the coordinates for this place out of someone, it’s not going to be easily found. And I messed around in the security room for a bit. I’ve got the alarms set. If anyone opens a door from the outside, we’ll know it.” He looked around at the worn tile ceiling above their heads. If a pride had lived here it couldn’t have been recently. Maybe her father’s information was wrong. He hesitated, but ultimately decided to voice his concerns, “I don’t know, Tess, this place... it’s old. The tech that’s here is outdated. It’s got to be at least a decade old, maybe more. Are you sure a pride lived here?”

Tess opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. Instead she looked around the room. Huffing, she banged her arms down on the armrests. “I don’t know.” She dropped her head down, burying her face in her hands.

“It just seems this place is more like a shelter or hideout,” he thought aloud. “I don’t think anybody’s lived here in a long time—if ever,” he said slowly, carefully gauging her reaction. He hated seeing her upset, but he didn’t want her to have false expectations either.

Tess groaned into her palms and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

He ran a tired hand through his hair as he got up from the couch. Crouching before her, he gently took her hands in his. Her piercing green eyes met his, and he squeezed her fingers. A single tear cascaded down her cheek and pooled on her trembling bottom lip.

Nate lifted his hand up and swiped away her tear. If only there were something more he could do for her. He would do anything to ease her pain—ease her frustration. She’d been a trooper up until now, but everyone had a breaking point.

Emotional women weren’t exactly his strong suit, but he needed to make her feel better. Nate pulled her into a hug, letting her forehead rest on his shoulder as he ran his fingers lightly up and down her back. Her soft body molded against his, and she murmured something under her breath. She didn’t cry.

Instead, she just rested against him, letting him comfort her.

Her vanilla pine scent overwhelmed him, and he breathed it in, enjoying her fragrant perfume. She smelled amazing. His wolf bubbled beneath the surface, urging him to feel more—to taste her. He resisted the beast. Tess was a werecat. Forbidden. The wolf didn’t seem to mind, in fact, the knowledge seemed to fuel the fire even more. He closed his eyes and willed the thoughts away, focusing on comforting Tess instead.

He had no idea how long they sat like that, but Tess was the one to pull away first. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, letting out a long breath.

Her bottom lip shook as if she were going to cry, but she quickly tucked it between her teeth.

“It’s been a long night. What do you say we go back to some of those bedrooms and get some rest? We’ll think better with clear heads,” Nate suggested. He entwined his hand with hers and stood up. Her soft fingers squeezed his, and he fought the urge to draw her close again.
I don’t get it, I’m attracted to a werecat, but I can’t find a suitable wolf. What is it about her?  What is wrong with me?

She stood up, her gaze meeting his again. Her lips parted with a small sigh, and he wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them.
No. Not now. She’s upset. Don’t take advantage of her.
How many times did he have to keep telling himself that?
As many as it takes.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and led the way to the hallway that housed the bedrooms. They stopped in front of the first two doors in the corridor. “You want this one, and I’ll take the one right here,” he pointed to the two rooms opposite each other.

Tess nodded and wordlessly slipped into the bedroom. She left the door open and went straight to the bed where she curled into a small ball.

Nate swallowed, torn between retreating to his own room, and joining her in hers. He gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes.
She’s not thinking about you like that right now. Pull yourself together her family is missing. Get some shuteye so you can think straight.

He slipped into his own room, leaving the door open just in case. Dropping onto the bed, he closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

***

“T
here isn’t much here,” Tess huffed as she set a can of peaches down on the counter.
Spam and peaches, yum.
They’d both awoken from their naps famished and had made their way down to the kitchen. The compound had a small variety of nonperishable items, but if they were to stay, even for a few days, they would have to venture out for some fresh meat. She imagined that wolves craved protein as much as cats.

“We’ll make due for now,” Nate offered. He rifled through the drawers for a moment before extracting a can opener and slid it across the countertop to her before turning his attention to the tabs on his cans. The spam popped as he removed the lids. “Looks good,” he commented sarcastically.

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to choking this down.” A nice rare steak sounded good about now.
Pretend that’s what you’re eating. Yeah. I’m sure that will make it go down easier.

Nate took the two cans of spam and set them on the table as she finished opening the peaches. She fished through the drawers for a few forks as he filled two glasses of water. They arrived at the table at the same time, each taking their own seat.
This is eerily domestic.
She stifled a laugh at the thought.

“I think we can add a trip to the store to our list of things to do,” Nate commented around a mouthful of peaches.

“Do you think it’s safe?” she asked quietly.

Nate shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. Besides, it would be nice to know if our enemy is close by. The more prepared we are, the better.”

She nodded. He was right. The only way they would know for sure was to leave. But, if they left, and couldn’t get back, she might miss her family. Was that a risk she could take? If their adversaries were out there, then they might not be able to make it back to the compound. Even if no one showed up now, someone could make their way here one day. The place needed to be secure for anyone that needed it. She just hoped that if they did leave, they could keep the compounds location a secret.

“We can make do for a few days on this,” he said, mirroring her earlier thought. “Not my first choice, but it’s probably the safest, and by staying, there is more of a chance that someone may show up.”

Tess let out a relieved breath as a small smile tugged at her lips. “I really appreciate all your help,” she spoke up, changing the subject. “I know that you’re probably going to face some form of punishment when you get home. Thank you for this,” she said honestly.

“It’s fine. This is what I do. I rescue shifters in need,” he explained.

Tess glanced down at her food and forced a bite of spam into her mouth. Was this just a rescue op for him? Her heart clenched at the thought.
Just because he is nice to you doesn’t mean he has feelings for you
, she reprimanded herself.
You’re a werecat after all; a relationship would be taboo for him.

“I wonder if this place has Wi-Fi?” he asked out of the blue.

“What?” she frowned. Where did that come from?

“Wi-Fi. I bet we could rig something so we could watch Netflix or something. It will help keep the boredom at bay,” he grinned.

“I’m not a big movie watcher,” she admitted.

“Really?”

“There’s always a lot to do outside. Our pride was the owner of a farm and garden. We did a lot of stuff with the crops, harvesting and planting them. You wouldn’t believe how time consuming that is,” she replied.

“What kinds of crops?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

“Apples were always our best sellers, but we did a few other things too.”

“Makes you wonder how the Hunters covered it up,” he wondered aloud.

“I read about it online at a library while I was on the run. I had to stop to rest and wanted to see what had happened. The entire farm was burnt to the ground. According to sources,” she paused, working out the tick in her jaw. “My father allegedly planned to sell the property to a developer instead of rebuilding and was moving to Florida with his family.”