“Kind of.” Terrent’s lips turned down. “Was over quick, though. Not much to do. Demon was barely an adult and gave up the information fast.”
Cara’s eyebrows lifted. “Did they say who hired them to get the samples?”
Terrent cleared his throat, his gaze going to Talen.
Cara frowned. “Talen?”
He grasped her hand, his palm instantly enclosing her knuckles with warmth. “Let’s go for a little walk, and then we can meet back here for breakfast.” Without waiting for her agreement, he started down a path toward the mountain and tugged her along at his side.
“I’ll get coffee going,” Maggie called from behind them.
Cara nodded and tripped alongside him. He slowed down. “Sorry.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He breathed in, his muscled form blocking out the sun. “The demons were sent to take you by a purist group from Alaska.”
Her stride hitched. “What?”
“The group is against any research into negating mating bonds, and since you were the first ever infected, that they know about anyway, they want you for testing.” His voice remained low and calm, but tension swelled from him with the heat of anger.
Crap. “So I’m in danger again.”
“Apparently so, mate. Sorry about that.” He sounded more irritated than sorry.
“I’m not living my life hiding at headquarters,” she said, searching deep for both patience and strength. When he started to answer, she held out a hand. “Oh, I’m not going to do anything stupid or put myself in danger, but if we take precautions, we can still live a little.” They had the best trained forces in the entire world at their disposal, and once in a while, she needed to explore the world.
“I understand,” he said.
But did he? Somehow, she wasn’t sure.
Chapter 7
Several hours after leaving wolf territory, Talen had to admit that having the boys in the backseat of the borrowed Escalade eased his mind a little bit. He’d had time to train them since the war had ended, and they both fought well.
Cara relaxed in the passenger seat once again, humming softly to herself. She liked having the boys there as much as he did.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, taking note of her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks.
“Much.” She rubbed both hands down her dark jeans, her fingers digging into her knees. “Just fine.”
Logan leaned forward. “A demon mind attack can leave impressions for a couple of days. You’re probably still feeling the aftereffects.”
She nodded. “I think so, too. My head still aches a little bit.”
Talen frowned and leaned over to brush his fingers against her forehead. A slight pounding, a bit of a pain, echoed in his own brain. He drew out her pain, all of it, and allowed his head to hurt for a second before banishing the ache into nowhere.
She smiled. “Much better.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked. One of the greatest pleasures of his life was taking away any pain she had.
She shrugged. “It just started to hurt a little while ago. Not enough to really worry about.”
That was his woman—tough and stubborn. Yeah, she was right about exploring the world a bit, and he could understand her desire to do so since she’d been cooped up for so long during the war. She hadn’t even had a chance to take immortality out and play with it yet. Although, she could lose her head and her life, so she still needed to be careful.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “You’re thinking awfully hard.”
“I was thinking of a trip to Africa. That maybe you’d like to visit there.” He could show her the world and cover her back at the same time.
