nose in order to not pass out. Once I felt marginally better, I glanced back, caught sight of the High Clifter again, and spun away once more, back to being light-headed.
“Well, now we don’t have to worry about him wanting to kill you,” Melaina started conversationally, moving around and doing something behind him. “All the poor man really desires is to bed you.”
My stomach churned, even as my skin prickled with a fiery kind of excitement. Or dread. Maybe it was just dread. Yeah, probably just dread. I swallowed and breathed through the heatwave.
“This isn’t funny,” I snarled.
Something scuffled, like a dragging sound, like Melaina was dragging his body across the ground.
I lifted an eyebrow. What the hell was she doing back there?
“I don’t recall saying it was, though it really is, isn’t it?” She grunted out a strained breath. “Quite ironic, anyway. A High Clifter falling for a Graykey. Bet that’s never happened before.”
“He’ll always be able to find me,” I said, wondering if I should stop her. She had to be touching him again. And he kind of belonged to me now. Should I warn her away from my property? I had never liked it when Melaina pawed through my things.
Ugh. No. Even the idea of him being mine made my head swim all over again. That High Cliff scum—whoever he was—was not mine.
And yet a small part of me still burned to remove her from his presence, because seriously, how dare she touch my mate?
God, this was so weird. What was happening to me? If you didn’t have one of those damn High Cliff love marks, you weren’t supposed to feel the irresistible pull to your true love like a person who did have one. So why was I feeling anything at all for a stranger from an enemy land?
“No matter where I go,” I murmured aloud. “He’ll just find me again.”
“Yep,” Melaina agreed, panting and a little out of breath. I heard a scrape and shift of cloth. Dear God, was she removing his clothes? Touching intimate places?
“Unless you kill him,” she added.
Kill him?
My stomach dipped. Killing had seemed like the only viable option when I’d thought he wanted to kill me, but now that I knew otherwise—
Dear God, I honestly don’t think I could kill anyone in cold blood if it came right down to it. And all he’d done was smile at me, say hi, then given me really helpful fighting tips. He’d even praised the moves I’d done right. Not a very practical reason to end his life, I didn’t think.
I spun around to argue my point, though I had no argument really to make in support of letting him go free, only to jar to a halt when I found my aunt clamping metal cuffs around his wrists.
Releasing an exhausted breath, she straightened and dusted off her hands. “But I recommend tying him up and bringing him along.”
“You kept the handcuffs?” I blurted stupidly, shuddering as I remembered how we’d had to use the dreaded things to make it north to Pinsky from Kole in the first place.
But, of course, she’d kept them. This was Melaina we were talking about.
“I thought they might come in handy.” Still breathless from her exertions, she set her hands on her hips and glanced down at the man with a satisfied nod. “And they did. See.” Glancing up, she beamed. “Turns out, the jeweler liked dominant women. So I’ve gotten to use them twice in one day. Bonus, huh?”
I grimaced.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I cleaned the shackles before putting them on your true love.”
“He’s not my—” I started to rebel, only to realize I couldn’t. There was no denying the response of his mark to me. But I had to deny something, so I pointed at him and snarled, “That piece of High Cliff trash is nothing to me.”
Melaina only smiled. “You’re not going to argue the bringing-him-along part, though?” Lifting her eyebrows, she blew out a low, impressed whistle. “That’s surprising.”
“Because I was sure I was hearing things when you said that.” Spinning away, I began to gather my things and pack them for travel.
The village of Tyler wasn’t just going to come to us.
And besides, I felt the urgent need to flee just now.
“There’s no way in God’s name we’re bringing that man with us,” I said, clenching my teeth as I yanked with all my might to pull my second dagger from the trunk of another tree.
“Well, we can’t leave him