for home, carrying their purchases. Rael had been quiet for the last fifteen minutes, and Horvan had caught quick flashes of thought, nothing more.
“You’re trying to shield your mind from me, aren’t you?”
Rael jerked his head in Horvan’s direction. “How do you know?”
He chuckled. “Because it’s the only explanation for why I haven’t been able to read your thoughts.” Horvan couldn’t deny feeling a little hurt that Rael would want to do that, but he could understand it. Although the mind link had been a shock initially, Horvan had quickly adjusted to this proof that he and Rael were mates.
“It’s not easy,” Rael admitted. “In fact, it feels… wrong.” He put his hand on Horvan’s arm. “And yes, I can feel your hurt. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t need to apologize out loud. Horvan could almost feel the knots in Rael’s belly, the heaviness in his chest. “Want to tell me what you were trying so hard not to share?” Horvan already had a theory about that. When Rael didn’t reply, he pressed ahead. “Have you had any more dreams?”
Rael’s sharp intake of breath was answer enough to tell him he’d nailed it. “No. And that scares me.”
“Have you tried reaching out to Dellan?” Horvan asked gently.
“Yeah. I can’t reach him. That’s what is haunting me—what if we rescue him and it’s too late? What do we do if he’s forgotten what it means to be human, or worse, if he’s forgotten how to shift back?”
Horvan had been plagued by the same fear. “We’ll get him out, and then we’ll get help for him. Shifter help. Plus we’ll have space so he can go outside, within reason. We don’t really want too many people to see him. I don’t think they’d buy the explanation that he’s a pet.”
“So we just… wait?”
Horvan shook his head. “We work with him to remind him what being human is.”
Rael said nothing for a moment. Then he announced, “We’ll need a car. We can’t drive around Salmon in an RV. It’ll be too conspicuous.”
Horvan agreed. “When we pick up the motor home in Gary, Roadkill will transfer to a car. He’ll be right behind us.”
Rael stared at him. “You’re not planning on driving the whole way on your own, are you?”
Horvan laughed. “No, sweetheart. We’ll take it in turns so some can grab a few hours’ sleep. Like I said, it’ll take at least a day to reach Salmon.”
Rael’s breathing became more even. “Okay. I spoke to the owner of the cabin this morning. He wants to meet me there Thursday to explain things. Not that there’ll be a lot to explain, I imagine. ‘Here’s the kitchen, here are the beds, don’t block the toilets, put out the trash.’” Rael grinned. “Or not, depending on whether there are any bears around.”
“Funny.” Horvan liked that Rael had relaxed a little. “We’ll be waiting to move in as soon as you give the word.” A thought occurred to him. “This latest assignment of yours… the article you’re writing… who is it for, and when do they expect to see it?”
“It’s for The Economist, and the deadline is in three months’ time. So no need to panic yet.” Rael drew in a long breath. “Hopefully by then my life will be looking a little more normal.”
Horvan leaned in and said in a low voice, “I hate to break this to you, but with two mates—and not forgetting the people I work with—your life will never be normal.”
Rael gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah, you’re right.”
They reached the steps down to Horvan’s apartment. Before he opened the door, he turned to Rael. “Try not to be scared, okay?” Rael nodded. Horvan pulled him into a hug. “I can’t wait to hold him, you know?” he whispered. “Even as a tiger.”
Rael turned his face up to look at him, his eyes shining. “In my dream, his fur was so soft.” His gaze flickered to the keys in Horvan’s hand. “Let’s get inside. It’s cold out here.”
“And besides, Roadkill is cooking lunch for us.”
Rael frowned. “Can he cook?”
Horvan grinned. “You’re about to find out why we really call him Roadkill.”
“OKAY, WHO am I talking to?” Doc Tranter’s voice came through the speaker.
“Hey, Doc. Horvan Kojik here. I’m with Crank, Roadkill, and Hashtag. Plus another.” That explanation could wait.
“And you want to talk about sedating a tiger that you’re going to rescue.” The doc’s tone was dry. “This doesn’t sound like one of your usual exploits. Okay. What do you need to know?”
Horvan gave Hashtag