I considered his defeated posture and the way his tail lay in the dirt like a depressed flyswatter.
"You could have escaped the whole time?"I'd been cocky as fuck, thinking I'd captured an alien and forced him to take me to his camp.Forced him to take me to the camp he'd planned on taking me to in the first place.
I snorted at yesterday-Taz.All that planning and stress and I'd ended up right where he wanted me.
Dargo sighed and looked up.
"I apologize for deceiving you and allowing you to be hurt."There was nothing but guilt and shame in his yellow eyes and I didn't doubt for a minute that he felt bad.Not bad enough to help me find Penny without trading my freedom, but at least he felt some guilt.
Maybe it was exhaustion or the fact that he'd come clean but I couldn't find it in myself to be mad at him.
"I did hit you on the head with a car battery," I said, wondering where all my trusty anger had gone."So I guess I can't be too pissed at you."
He eased closer to me, one huge hand stroking down my side like he was checking to see if I'd bite him.It felt good, to be petted and fussed over.It didn't make up for how awful I felt right now, or my worry over Penny.But I trusted his promise to help me find her.Not having the weight of her safety resting solely on my shoulders, relieved the sense of doom that had been haunting me.
"As soon as I stop throwing up, we find her," I said, meeting his gaze so he knew I was serious."I promise I won't run out on you, but Penny comes first."
He lifted a hand like he was swearing an oath and nodded.
"I won't rest until your friend is safe."
"Okay."I closed my eyes, all my tension melting under his slow strokes."I guess this isn't the worst thing that could have happened."
"What do you mean?"
I yawned."Being your mate.It's not the worst."So far, I finished silently.
17 Taz
Dargo was dragginghis damn feet.Or hooves, whatever.I'd woken up just as the sun was setting, feeling almost back to normal and eager to head out after Penny.My would-be mate, however, kept trying to delay our rescue mission until the morning.
On one hand, I didn't really want to be roaming around in the dark with the percers.I'd played that game, I had the T-shirt and the blisters to prove it.But I couldn't go back to sleep knowing Penny was out there.
The camp was buzzing with activity, the bonfire was roaring, and as soon as we stepped out of the tent, we were swarmed by turochs.Dargo seemed pretty popular.Several males greeted him by name, and we couldn't make it two steps without stopping so he could catch up with his alien bros.
It was pissing me off, and it took all my self control not to charge off into the night without him.But I'd promised I wouldn't, and more importantly, I was scared shitless to run into another percer without Dargo at my side.Who was I kidding, I wouldn't feel good about running into a percer if I had a rocket launcher.
