“What happened?”
Heat tinged my cheeks, but I supposed I owed her the story. She, Patrick, and Finn were all there to support me when I needed it.
“We… we are together. He says he wants me and?—”
She waved that away, aggravation appearing on her face. “I know that part. We all saw the kiss. I want to know what happened after. Patrick made us leave before the good part.”
A choked sound escaped me, and Patrick slapped a palm against his forehead, his shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. Unwilling to share what had happened inside Tavik’s tent, I instead asked, “You saw? How?”
“We followed you,” she answered without an ounce of shame. “You think I would miss it? You two have been dancing around each other for years. I wanted to see how things turned out.”
“Yami,” Patrick chastised, still fighting a smile. When he looked at me, he shrugged apologetically. “I wanted to be sure you were okay. In case things went wrong. But we left after the kiss to give you privacy.”
Yamileth scoffed, heading for the pot over the fire and checking it with a watchful eye. “I knew it wouldn’t go wrong. Tavik is an idiot but not blind. Once he realized Saneth’s feelings, I knew he would come to his senses.”
“Hey,” I protested with a frown. No one was allowed to talk about Tavik like that. Except maybe me, but that was only because he knew I spoke in jest. Besides, he wasn’t an idiot. He was a great fighter and a wonderful protector. Yamileth only made those comments in defence of Patrick, and Tavik had already apologized.
Yamileth snorted, drawing my attention off thoughts of Tavik. “Look at you. Already defending him when just yesterday you were cursing him for not noticing you. Love does funny things to those caught in its web.”
I hummed, accepting the basket of vegetables that needed preparing. I sat on a stool next to Patrick, my thoughts on Tavik. Last night had been everything I had ever wanted, but I was still afraid it would slip through my fingers. He had been upfrontabout his desires, as well as his refusal to hide what we were together, but that didn’t mean it would be forever. He could just be fooling around. It wouldn’t have been the first time. We’d practiced kissing when we were teens, so when we eventually found partners, we would be proficient. Silly acts like that were what led me to realize my attraction to him in the first place.
Patrick’s hand on my shoulder drew my focus, and he tipped his head curiously. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it. For now, I wanted to enjoy what I had. I distracted him by asking, “How did it go with Verus? Did you ask him to claim you?”
His freckled cheeks turned bright red as he nodded, his smile shy but pleased. “Yes. We’ll have a bonding ceremony after the adoption.”
My brows snapped together in confusion. “Adoption?”
Yamileth made a tsk sound as she took the plants I’d already prepared and tossed them into the pot. “Orthorr was being stubborn. Other clan leaders, unwilling to adapt to change, swayed his mind. To allow Patrick to stay and bond properly with Verus, I will adopt him into my family. He will take over for me in feeding the clan when the time is right.”
Tears swam in Patrick’s eyes, but not unhappy ones. He had not been accepted by his own family. That Yamileth would go so far as to bring him into hers probably meant a great deal. I admit I’d been worried about what would happen. When I’d first approached Patrick about bonding with Verus, I’d hoped they’d be forced to leave to be together properly, giving Tavik a chance to get over his affections more easily. Now that we were friends, I’d been worried that would still be the outcome. I was glad he would stay.
Reaching out a hand, I clasped his forearm and pulled him into a hug, patting his back with my free hand. “Congratulations, my friend. I’m pleased you will be joining our clan. And gratefulsomeone other than Yamileth will be in charge of meals. I don’t have to worry so much about you putting anything in my food when you’re cross,” I teased, ducking with a laugh when Yamileth swatted at me.
“Brat. Why are you here? I would have thought you’d be all over your man now that he opened his eyes,” she demanded.
I lifted a shoulder. “I was last night. I do not want to overwhelm him just because we are sleeping together.”
Something about my reply made her pause, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “Just sleeping together?”
Again, I shrugged. I didn’t have an answer to that. And I still didn’t want to know.
TAVIK
With Patrick’s welcoming ceremony and then Verus bonding with him, I couldn’t find the right time to ask Saneth to bond with me. We were with each other every night and most days, unless our duties required us to separate, but it never felt like the right time. I tried to show him, without words, what he meant to me, but I still saw flashes of insecurity on his face whenever it was brought up in teasing comments with our friends or conversations with Finn and Patrick. I spent each night with him in my arms, looking at him, wishing I could come up with the words and failing to find the right ones.
Frustration over my hesitance affected my mood, and Saneth always knew when I was upset. He usually teased me and played until I snapped out of it, but he seemed unwilling to do so now that we were together. We were both struggling with our new dynamic for different reasons, and I wished sometimes forthings to go back to the way they were. When I was stressed like this, I always spoke with my best friend. But who did I speak to when my frustration was because of my best friend?
“Why the long face?” Godr asked as he dropped onto the log beside me. Saneth sat nearby with Patrick, deep in conversation, but we were both avoiding each other tonight. The awkward tension was becoming unbearable.
“It’s nothing,” I grumbled under my breath, training my eyes on the fire to keep myself from staring at Saneth. I would annoy him if I did it as often as I wished.
Godr usually didn’t push. The horsemaster of our clan was easygoing and patient. Tonight, though, he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of my seat without a word, pulling me over to where a few of my fellow warriors stood talking.
“Well?” Khaul demanded.
Godr shook his head. “He says it’s nothing.”
