then I remember N’dek is wounded, his leg gone. It is a death sentence, and I feel badly for him. For all that we are in different clans, he is a fine hunter.
Was a fine hunter.
My thoughts are grim as I escort my mate across the edge of the jungle, toward the other beach. “Once upon a time there were long stretches of beach,” I tell her as we walk, because it is far too quiet. “Enough for all clans to hunt and never worry about encroaching upon another’s territory. But the Great Smoking Mountain died and took much of the land away with it. Now there is not much left.”
We emerge from the greenery onto the sands, and M’rsl rushes forward and releases my hand. She runs toward the water, even though the beach is empty. “Loooorrrnn,” she calls, cupping her hands to her face. “Yaaaaryoooheeer?”
I follow behind her, curious. In the distance, I see the black “egg” that R’jaal found with M’rsl in it, and I head toward it. As I do, I cannot help but notice that the sands are churned with footprints. The tide should have washed them away, so that means someone else has visited this beach this morning.
K’thar, perhaps? Is his female looking for mine? A possessive jolt rocks through me and I surge to my feet, heading for M’rsl. “Stay close,” I tell her. “Do not stray.”
“Djoosee Looorn?” she asks hopefully. “Ennebuddee?”
“Let us go look at your egg and then we will see if the fish are biting here,” I say to her. I hold my hand out and wait. She looks around the beach and then reluctantly takes my hand. For some reason…that stings. I do not like that I am her second choice.
Am I not her mate? Her resonance?
Is she unhappy we have resonated? The thought makes my guts go cold.
6
MARI
True to his word, T’chai takes me to the other beach, but there’s no sign of Lauren. He seems to be in a bad mood now that we’re here, this new “mate” of mine. He’s grumpy and watches me so closely, as if expecting me to bolt away from him. I want to ask where he expects me to go, but of course I can’t. We’ve barely gotten past sharing names.
This is so damn frustrating.
The pod on the beach is empty; there’s no sign of Lauren there, either. I put my hand to my eyes and gaze out on the distant waters, but I don’t see anything else in the distance, no snow-capped mountains or white valleys. There’s nothing but bottle-green ocean as far as the eye can see, and when I touch the waters here, they’re warm and crystalline and completely unlike the other frozen beach.
With a frustrated sigh, I thump down on the sands and hug my legs.
I don’t know what I expected to find here.
“M’rsl?” T’chai kneels next to me, and then reaches out and strokes my hair. He senses my sadness, and it’s clear that it bothers him.
“I’m okay,” I tell him with a faint smile. “I just need to get my head on straight. I’m here, right? I might as well do my best to figure out how to survive here. If Lauren’s out there, I hope she’s safe.” I gesture at the jungle. “Unless you want to take me to go look in there?”
T’chai shakes his head and makes a few gestures that indicate that the jungle is full of bitey things. I nod understanding. Right. Dangerous and full of critters. I get it.
He touches my stomach, and that small brush of his fingers sends heat coiling through my body again. Our eyes meet and he gives me a small, apologetic smile as if to say yeah, I’m sorry you’re stuck with me.
And then he rubs my belly and makes the gesture for food.
“Am I hungry? Yeah, I guess I could eat.” I blush. Of course he’s talking about food. Here I am, thinking about how I bounced on his fingers last night and tried to show him how to get me wet, and he’s thinking about food. Gotta love this language barrier.
My khui starts up as he smiles at me, and I can feel my face grow hot with arousal. We haven’t solved this resonance thing between us yet, and I’m acutely aware of his nakedness and his strength. The scent of him washes over me, utterly appealing, and his long hair drifts against my skin in the breeze. I’m struck with the need