A hand reached through the top of the pile of rocks.
She screamed out in delight. “I can see someone.”
A woman’s voice broke through. “It’s me, Sharon. It’s Melinda. Stay back. Let us get a big enough hole. As soon as we can, you’re going to have to climb through here, and we’re going to run. Got it?”
“Yes.” Her heart pounded. “Run from what?” Sandhouse was dead. Were there other predators?
“The volcano, babe.” Cooper’s voice was soothing in her head.
She glanced at the ceiling. Right. Jesus. Shit. She sure hoped this fog would clear soon. She felt like she was constantly one step behind everyone.
More rocks were removed. She could see Melinda’s entire arm now. Why was she the one at the top? Probably because she was smaller.
Yes. Melinda was incredibly small.
Sharon crept closer. She didn’t want to get injured if the earth shook again, but she wanted out of there. She was crazed with sudden claustrophobia and damn glad it hadn’t snuck up on her before.
“Sharon, can you see a big enough space to crawl through? How far off the ground is the hole?”
“Not far. I can do it.” She raced the two paces toward the pile and grabbed onto the highest rocks she could reach. She hauled her feet up next and then reached higher. It was only about eight feet off the ground. She could do this. She had to do this.
The earth shook again, and she froze, holding on for her life and praying this tremor was shorter and weaker than the last. Several rocks fell around her, and both her mates could be heard above everyone else, shouting for her to hurry.
She kept scrambling upward even during the latest earthquake.
“Sharon?” Jackson shouted. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” She grabbed higher, getting a good grip but wishing she had her normal strength. She wasn’t sure she was clear-minded enough yet to shift.
Finally, she reached the top and peeked over the edge. She smiled. “I have brothers.” She knew it sounded ridiculous, but she didn’t care. Besides, all of them chuckled for a few seconds before sobering again and pointing at her.
“Come on, Sharon. Let’s go. We’re running out of time.” She jerked her gaze to the man to one side. Cooper. The man next to him was Jackson. She knew. A flood of her life seeped back in. Four brothers. All mated in threesomes with another man and a woman. Her parents were there too. She felt the love as she put every ounce of her strength into getting higher and then squeezing through the hole.
As soon as she was halfway through, Cooper reached up, grabbed her under her arms, and hauled her the rest of the way out. He kissed the top of her head briefly, hugged her tight, and then lifted her into his arms and turned around.
Everyone was turning away from the cave hastily.
Her parents hung back. Her father smiled, wiped her hair from her face, and kissed her forehead. And then he grabbed her mother’s hand, turned around, and jogged away from the cave.
Tears stained her mother’s face, but she could only sniffle and run alongside her mate.
The others had already started running.
As Cooper ran with her in his arms, she dragged in a ragged breath. The air was thick with smoke.
“Cover your mouth, baby,” he shouted. “We don’t know the effects of ash on a shifter.” He lifted the front of his T-shirt over his own mouth and nodded at her jacket.
She did as he asked, ignoring the jacket to grab the front of her shirt. The material was thin enough to breathe through without depleting her oxygen.
Jackson ran beside them. He glanced at her every few seconds, holding his shirt over his mouth and nose also.
They emerged from the dense trees onto a service road. Three trucks lined the edge. Cooper nearly threw her into one of the cabs and climbed in beside her. Jackson rounded the hood and swung into the driver’s seat. Two of her brothers jumped into the back of the truck, and Jackson peeled away from the side of the road at the same moment the other trucks did.
“Come on. Come on…” Jackson seemed to plead with the gods for assistance.
“Are we that close to the lava?” she asked.
Cooper had one arm around her and twisted his head to look over both their shoulders. “Yes. But more importantly, we need the truck to run. If the engine gets clogged with ash, it won’t run.”
Jackson drove as fast as he could, knocking them all repeatedly into the doors. She felt bad for Trace and Griffen in the back. Her two oldest brothers held on to the sides of the truck with both hands, but they were constantly tossed to one side, making it difficult to keep a grip.
No one said a word for several minutes. A collective holding of breath filled the air. Ominous. Scary. Like nothing she’d ever experienced.