edge in his voice, “and I mean you and your people no harm. We have traveled far to find you.”
The woman’s features softened, and she returned her attention to Leyloni. “You are Leyloni of the Moss tribe, you say? You are not the first of your people to come seeking refuge.”
Leyloni’s chest constricted. Not the…first? “What?”
The woman motioned to her companions, and they lowered their weapons. “My name is Sigrun. Come. I will take you to our elders, and you may see your tribe sisters. So long as your beastman means us no harm, we welcome you.”
“Dragon,” Arysteon grated.
“As you say, beastman,” Sigrun replied with a smirk before she turned, waving for them to follow.
Arysteon frowned, a crease forming between his brows. Leyloni brushed her fingers down his arm. He met her gaze and released a huff through his nostrils.
Smiling, Leyloni leaned closer and kissed his jaw. “You are my beastman.”
She felt a contented rumble from his chest, and he eased visibly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
They walked together, entering the thick copse of trees behind Sigrun. The other huntresses followed behind and beside them. The tension had faded from their initial encounter, and the huntresses walked with a casual air, whispering to one another in awe. Leyloni knew without looking that they were gawking at Arysteon in open admiration.
Something dark and ugly filled her chest. It was an emotion she’d never experienced before, but she knew what it was.
Jealousy.
Leyloni wrapped her free arm around Serek and held him closer. She’d had Arysteon to herself for so long, and now that they weren’t alone anymore, she found herself irritated by the way the other females were staring at her mate. It didn’t help that Arysteon was still naked, with his taut backside and the alluring slit between his legs on full display. When it had been just Leyloni, Serek, and Arysteon, it hadn’t mattered. But now…
She wanted to claw out the eyes of every female who dared look upon him.
After a while, Sigrun led them onto a narrow game trail, where Arysteon had no choice but to relinquish his hold on Leyloni. She purposefully positioned herself behind him, shielding his backside from the view of the huntresses walking in line behind her. It was a small thing, a petty thing, but she drew some satisfaction from it.
The group walked for the better part of the afternoon, eventually leaving the game trail as the ground rose in a gradual, rocky slope. Sigrun and a few of the other females made easy conversation, often going out of their way to include Leyloni and Arysteon. They also made faces at Serek, which made him grin and giggle.
After being without her tribe sisters for so long, this was all bizarre to Leyloni, it was all so surreal. She felt at points as though she were walking through a dream. The forest around her was unlike anywhere she’d ever been and yet exactly the same as so many of the places she’d walked with Serek and Arysteon, and she had no idea how far the group had traveled, had no idea how many times one of the women whispered to another about Arysteon and giggled.
Whenever he could, Arysteon let her know he was there, that he was hers, through touch—a brush of his fingers on her skin, a squeeze of her hand, the caress of his tail against her calf. It was enough to settle her; before long, her budding anticipation was overpowering that bitter jealousy.
“Oshana, sound the horn,” Sigrun said.
One of the other huntresses withdrew a horn from her satchel. It was long, curved, and hollow, undoubted a trophy from some large beast, but Leyloni could not guess what it had come from. Oshana raised the narrow end of the horn to her lips. When she blew, a high, clear call rang across the sky and echoed between the trees.
It was answered moments later by a similar sound from some distance ahead.
“What is the purpose of those calls?” Arysteon asked, scanning their surroundings warily.
Leyloni could guess at his thoughts—those sounds could easily have lured hostile creatures toward them.
“It is so our sisters know we approach,” Sigrun replied, “and will have the lift prepared.”
“The lift?” Arysteon’s suspicion had shifted toward confusion.
“You will see,” said Oshana as she tucked the horn away.
Sigrun smiled and waved them along. “We are almost there.”
She led them onward, and they were soon forced to walk one-behind-another through a small ravine with rock walls on either side that rose even