Binding Ties The Sentinel Wars - Shannon K. Butcher Page 0,87
Joseph. We have to find them soon. I don’t even want to think what will happen to them if we don’t.”
“Then lead on, Lyka. Find me something to kill.”
Chapter 30
Ronan was beginning to understand how crazy felt.
His mystery woman had no sooner stopped moving away from him when she started coming back toward him again. He had no idea why she’d run like she had, but he was tied to her closely enough to know that the only reason she was coming back now was because she was in pain.
That was something Ronan could not tolerate.
He’d headed toward her as fast as he dared, stopping only when he ran out of fuel or when the sun was high and robbed him of all ability to drive safely. The last thing he needed was to crash his van, break the magically enhanced glass that blocked the sun and accidentally summon a Warden to kill him while he lay pinned or unconscious—an easy target.
The drive exhausted him, but not nearly as much as it did her. She rarely stopped and never for more than twenty or thirty minutes. She didn’t sleep, didn’t slow, didn’t veer off course.
He wasn’t sure exactly where she was coming from, but she moved like death itself was nipping at her heels.
Then she stopped. A huge flood of fear spilled out of her, followed closely by disgust and, finally, resignation. Acceptance.
She was tired. Hungry. Hurting.
Ronan followed his instincts, taking as many back roads as he could to reach her. She had left the interstate miles ago, moving north on country roads, right before that spike of fear had slammed into her. He had followed, heading west toward her.
The magically treated glass in his van kept him safe, but it did nothing to ward off the weariness from being awake during the daylight. If not for the potential prize at the end of this ride, he would have found a nice, dark cave and slept in it until sunset.
She was close now, barely a mile away. He didn’t let up on the accelerator until he saw her car. A rental with Arizona plates, right inside a metal outbuilding.
That’s where she’d gone—a place with so much sun, he’d never survive.
Ronan doubted her destination had been an accident.
There was a giant metal barn with a door large enough for a tractor to pull through. It was open. She was inside. He couldn’t see her, but he could feel her.
She was afraid of him. Her heart was pounding, and fear was leaking into her veins. She was hiding something, but he had no idea what.
He pulled his van through the opening, adjusting his vision to search for any potential traps she might have laid for him.
The pair of windows on the western side of the building was boarded up. As soon as he cleared the threshold, the retractable door slid down behind him. The building went dark, but he could still see well, despite his powers being muted by the sun’s rays.
She was there, standing next to her car. She opened one of the back doors to activate the dome light, which cast a pale glow over a body even more beautiful than Ronan had remembered.
The first time he’d seen her, he hadn’t exactly been at his best. He’d been nearly dead, starving for blood, animalistic in his hunger. He’d attacked her, fed from her, held her against her will.
It was no wonder she was afraid of him now.
He took in the curly black hair that fell just past her shoulders, gleaming in the dim light. Her skin was a deep tan that made her silvery green eyes stand out like faceted gemstones. Signs of weariness stained her face but made her no less lovely. All those marks did was increase Ronan’s need to see to her care and safety. If she was his, she’d never suffer again. He would make sure she was rested and fed, comfortable and warm—whatever she needed, he would provide it.
But she wasn’t his. Didn’t even want to be near him. At least she hadn’t until now.
Ronan pulled to a stop and turned off his engine. He turned on the headlights to help ease her fears, and then stepped out of the van inside the protective confines of the metal building.
He would be more careful this time. Be gentle with her. Respect her wishes.
Everything in him that was ravenous and demonic laughed at the idea that he would be anything more than his true self.