Chapter 8

Fury makes me faster. I race through the forest, to the only place I can think to keep my Lana safe. Furious with myself, my feet eat up the ground, and I pay no heed to the dozens of cuts and bruises I earn in my haste.

The harbingers have come. No doubt they have been here the whole time, lying in wait for me, for my mate.

Terror strikes me, and I rub my cheek on her soft hair, trying to calm myself even as I growl low. The bitter taste of nothing coats my tongue, and I hope against hope that our destination is still as secret as ever.

My Lana snuggles into me, her breathing uneven, her heart still racing.

How could I have endangered her? I shake my head, furious with myself. I should have checked the ruined house first, I should have known, when it felt wrong, that they were there. I should have remembered.

All I want is for Lana to be safe, for her to come to love me the way I already am falling for her. I want to claim her, as we are fated to do. I bite back a sigh of frustration. I won't push her. Her bruises and fear speak to mistreatment in her past, and not so distant past, at that.

I will take it as slow as she wants, even though if we were mated, she would be stronger, and the harbingers would not stand a chance against our combined powers.

A branch whips across my face, warm blood welling on my cheek.

She is whispering something, and I glance down at her, afraid she's hurt. But she's asking me something, something I can barely make out over the self-hatred roaring in my ears.

I lean close, and her breath gusts against my ear. My arms tighten around her.

"Was that thing after us?"

"Yes," I say, and my breath pants out of me. It hurts to breathe, the air turning to fire in my lungs. Good. I set a punishing pace, and if this is my punishment for endangering my long-awaited mate then I will take it. I deserve it, for sleeping so long. For abandoning my people to those foul creatures.

"Are there more?" Her lips are so close to my ear I imagine I can feel the soft push of them against my skin. My need for her ratchets up.

"Many."

She whimpers, gripping me tighter. Her terror spurs me to new speeds, and the forest blurs as I run, birds and deer scattering before me.

Lana buries her face in my neck, and I slow, gulping air. My limbs are heavy, my body slicked with salt-sweat, but Lana is safe, and a trip over rough terrain that took me a day as a child has taken a mere hour or two.

The cave entrance yawns before us, and I set Lana down, missing her body pressed tight against mine, but too tired to carry her further.

"Step carefully," I say, weariness tugging at me even as I urge her along. She glances up at me, then inhales sharply. I frown at her, but before I can ask what's wrong, she's taken off her tattered shirt.

My mouth goes dry. Her skin is creamy, smooth. It looks edible. I want to lick every inch of her. Her breasts are a thing of beauty, full and perfect, but still covered. A growl rumbles in my chest. I want to see all of her. Her narrow waist flairs to softly rounded hips, and I can't resist rubbing a hand across the skin there. She reaches up for me, and triumph kicks my lips up, even as I struggle to catch my breath.

Then I frown at the shirt in her hand, and wince as she blots my cheek. Her filthy shirt comes away bloody, and my desire softens into something warm as she tends to the cut.

"Are you okay?" She asks, and the worry in her tone is as alluring as anything I've ever heard.

"I am fine." I roll my shoulders back. "You were brave to throw the stone. That was smart." My heart swells with admiration. We are not yet mated, and still, we make an excellent team.

The tip of her tongue sticks out as she tends to the cut across my cheek, and I practically shake with the effort it takes not to draw her mouth to mine, to sink my tongue into hers again. To have tasted her already and not be able to again is the most exquisite torture.

"You're bleeding pretty badly," she argues, then looks down to inspect me.

My penis jerks as her gaze skitters over it, and she blushes red. "Your feet are cut to hell."

"Cut to hell?" I don't understand this phrase.

"They're a mess." She begins to bend, and her face darts close to my erection as she continues to search for wounds. "Your calf is cut up too."

I groan as she stands up, and her expression closes off. There is no answering fire in her eyes, no sense of arousal. Only fear. I blow out a breath, running a hand through my hair. It's a tangled, dirty mess though, and I only get so far before I give up.

"We must go inside." I pull her behind me, rubbing the entrance of the cave. The thick ivy tangled around the entrance falls away as I tug at it, and my hand grazes across the rough symbols etched there. Warmth fills my hand as the symbols flare to life.

Lana gasps, and I turn around, afraid she's wounded or scared again. Her sky-blue eyes are wide in amazement.

"You've never seen this before," I muse.

"We don't have things like this where I'm from." She touches a symbol, and the light trickles over her fingertips, coating her hand as she pulls away. The light reflects in her eyes, and I worry, because I have so much to teach her. She smiles widely at me, laughing at the starlight in her hands.

Pleasure chases away the worry. Teaching her will be my privilege.

We will be safe here; the ancient symbols will protect us as we forge our bond by starlight.

I take a step forward, wincing as the cuts on my feet protest. I have grown weak after slumbering for so long, and it pains me, knowing I must protect a mate in this state.

"We must go inside," I repeat, my words harsher than I intend. "The entrance will seal behind us."

Her eyes shoot to me, narrowing in distrust.

"I did not mean to snap," I say, and offer my hand. "You were right. My feet need attention. I am worried for you, as well."

She closes her mouth, but her expression remains wary. The man who hurt her is responsible for this mistrust, this worry. I close my eyes. I cannot do anything to change her past. All I can do is take care of her now and do my best to show her she is treasured. That I will treasure her always.

Time is what we need.

But with the harbingers hunting her, time may be of shorter supply than I wish.