“We’ve been here too long. We’ll lose the cover of night soon and need to put more distance behind us, especially considering anyone within miles would have heard you.”
He didn’t wait to see if she’d reply, not caring if his dismissal angered her. She could join the club. He headed for the horses that had thankfully been tied far enough away to avoid her power display. They were skittish though, and he took a few moments to calm both them and himself.
Even if he hadn’t heard her approach, Jaren would have sensed her presence. From the moment they met, he couldn’t shake the connection his body seemed to have to hers, but it felt even stronger now. She didn’t say a word as she mounted Darling and leaned forward to pet the mare’s neck. Why she’d decided to name it, he had no fucking idea.
He looked over to see Trey mounting his as well, the guard’s eyes trained on her face, taking in her physical changes. He looked frightened, and for once Jaren had to agree with him. What she’d just done was unheard of.
Pulling his attention back, he threw himself up behind her slight frame, eager to have her close no matter how frustrating she was. The second he pressed his chest to her back something sparked between them where they touched, like lightning. She yelped, flinching away.
“What in Aleron was that?” She twisted, looking over her shoulder at him, brows drawn as if he’d done it on purpose.
“Just excess energy. You’re practically pulsing with the power you tapped into.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she accepted his answer and faced forward, if not a little stiff. It hadn’t been a lie, but it hadn’t been the entire truth either. Jaren’s power still pushed against him, seeking to get to her, the remnants of the spark echoing in his core.
He reached around her for the reins, and his chest grazed her back again, but instead of another jolt, something he’d buried deep inside seemed to shudder in relief. His power pushed toward her one last time before finally settling.
An instinctual part of him understood what the feeling meant, but he denied it with every fiber of his being. He knew without a shadow of a doubt, it wasn’t possible. There had to be another explanation.
Jaren spurred Darling into a gallop, a sudden sense of urgency biting at his heels. The only thing he knew for sure was there was something about her. Something important he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and fate kept whispering in his ear, urging him to get her home as soon as possible.
∞∞∞
They traveled nonstop through the rest of the dark hours and into the morning, only stopping when the horses could go no farther. They’d made decent ground, but Jaren’s skin still prickled with the need to keep moving.
Confident she wouldn’t leave without receiving whatever answers she so desperately sought, he left her with Trey to see to the beasts and consume a meager meal. He hadn’t packed much food to begin with, and now with an extra mouth to feed, they wouldn’t have enough to make it to Eastshore. They’d have to stop in either Kilmire or Midpath to stock up.
Gods, he hated that damn guard.
They’d left the main road heading east, choosing instead to take a longer route. It was a rough path that cut through the Lakewood Forest. It didn’t appear to have been used in years, barely even visible through the overgrowth. But it would hopefully keep them from encountering other travelers.
They were a few hours outside of Kilmire, but Jaren still scouted the entire area, making sure there was no indication of another soul around.
The distance from her helped clear his head, but that tug remained. If he were to fall asleep, he knew he’d wake up instantly knowing where she was. He fisted his hands, digging his nails into his palms. He shouldn’t be feeling this way about some random zhu, no matter how beautiful and enticing she was.
It had to be because of his physical reaction to her. Maybe if he fucked her, he could rid himself of this constant awareness. He hated it. Even as he turned back towards their camp—towards her—he hated it.
It felt like a betrayal to his mate's memory. But even as his chest clenched at the thought of betraying her, he still let the connection tug, tug, tug at him, back to that burning star.
Chapter 18
VERA
She felt the daggers Trey stared into the back of her head while she tended to the horses. She didn’t blame him. Although she hadn’t seen herself yet, she’d moved her fingers along her face and felt the changes.
Strangely enough, the changes in her appearance didn’t bother her as much as she would have expected. Even with the power Jaren claimed she’d accessed; she didn’t feel any different. But she did feel self-conscious about how Trey might see her now, especially considering the new teeth that screamed I’m not human.
So, she stayed hunched over their travel pack as long as she could, pretending not to notice his stare. She only lasted about ten minutes with his silent scrutiny before she’d thrown the pack down in defeat.
“Just ask whatever it is you want to ask. I’m not an idiot, I know you have questions.”
Twisting to look at him over her shoulder, she met his gaze as he ambled toward her. His posture was more relaxed now that Jaren wasn’t close by, and her heart lurched with guilt at everything she was putting him through.
“I have dozens of questions, but only one of them is important.” He plopped to the ground next to her, snatching the dried meat she’d pulled out for herself. She elbowed him playfully in the side before she dug back into the pack for a water flask.
When he didn’t immediately continue, she looked up and caught a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.
“I guess what I really need to know is…What do I smell like?”
She elbowed him harder that time but found herself laughing, nonetheless. “That’s your important question?” She shook her head, smiling. “There is no way I’m talking to you about your smell, Trey.”
“Come on, you told Jaren you smelled him, so I know you’ve taken a nice little whiff of me too. I want to know what I smell like to your superior senses.”
She tried to elbow him a third time, but he jumped up, narrowly avoiding her. She stood as well, stalking him as he backed away, his face drawn into a mock-serious expression.
In a deadpan voice, she said, “You smell like sweat and desperation.”
He feigned outrage; a hand clutched at his heart. “You wound me. Must you lie? We both know, if anything, I smell like sex and temptation.”
She launched herself at him, but he’d been expecting it. He dodged her first few blows before she finally landed a solid hit to his stomach, eliciting a satisfying grunt. She stepped back, fighting a grin, ready to knock him to the ground when the hair on the back of her neck rose, and the air tensed around them.
“Don’t stop on my account, we all know I’d enjoy seeing him eat dirt.”