“I bet it is.” Are all female lycans just as horny as the males?
“Come on, I’ll show you a secret passage which will get us there in five minutes.”
Cricket dug in a closet, reached for a flashlight and handed it to her. “It’s a dark tunnel near pools of hot water.”
Rachel took the flashlight. “Won’t you need to lead?”
“Night vision, remember.” Cricket winked.
“Oh, yeah, almost forgot you guys have superhuman status.”
Cricket gave her a conspiratorial smile and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone I told you about the tunnel.”
“It’s not like I know my way around Werewolf World.” They left the suite and walked to the far end of the hallway to what looked like a utility room.
Cricket glanced around as if worried they’d be discovered, then quietly opened the door. At least there were no visible cameras in the hall. Maybe they had some sense to keep their privacy by not having big brother wolf watching their every move.
Total darkness enveloped them. Rachel turned on the flashlight and followed Cricket past steamy underground pools to where the tunnel sloped up. “Do all werewolves know of this tunnel?”
“Only a few. There is a bigger exit upstairs from our den area that leads through a mess hall directly to the outside. Less private, but it’s perfect if you need to be in the woods for a quick shift. We normally don’t go this way to get to the gym.”
Light shimmered in the foreground. “Who told you about this route?”
“Jesper. He and I are like siblings. Both lower ranks with brilliant tendencies.”
Rachel chuckled. “If you can’t beat them, beat them at chess.”
“So true.”
They stepped out and Rachel took in the fresh mountain air and the aroma of coniferous trees. Even the smell of fresh cow patties pleased her. “Ahh. Nice not being a mole.”
“I could arrange for a room in the ranch house.”
“Would that be safe?”
“Sure. We have guards and cameras everywhere. We’d be safer from a nuke underground, but the only nuke we need to worry about is Lev.”
“Ha, ha.” Rachel scanned the surroundings which included a parking area and a huge barn. There were several SUVs and a few smaller vehicles by the building. Probably for the ranchers or lycans needing more beef jerky or beer. Farther down was yet another helipad. Not the one where she and Lev first landed, which was a mile from the ranch. This one was probably for Rylee’s personal helicopter.
Cricket folded her arms and pointed her chin to the barn. “We call it Blood Arena.”
Chapter 21
Lev smirked as Slade slammed him onto the mat. They practiced lycan martial arts, a combination of jujitsu, karate, kick boxing and lycan moves. “Not bad, Prince.”
Breathing hard and sweaty, Slade scoffed. “Former prince, remember?”
Lev bounced back onto his feet and adjusted his ear plugs. During practice, loud music drummed from the wall speaker. Rap music to heavy metal. Currently rapper, 50 Cent played, Americans. Lev took off his tank top. “Time to put on my music.” He leapt from the fighting ring and changed the music to Brutto, a Byelorussian punk rock band. In a flash, he jumped up to the arena.
Slade laughed. “What, no Tetris?”
Lev smirked. “Playing games is how you learn about Russian music?”
“Ha, ha,” said Slade.
Lev patted his chest. “Again.” He had not broken a sweat like the other alphas waiting their turn to kick his ass.
Slade put a hand up to give him a minute to recover. Suddenly, Slade spun, dove and swept Lev’s foot. He slammed into the mat with a loud thump.