I pressed my lips tightly together and refused to say it. “Nothing has changed between us. Come near Hanne, and I’ll honor my threat.”
He gave me the coldest stare. “Allegra was your partner. Not Hanne.”
“She was never my partner.”
“As far as the tribe was concerned, she was. You were together for months. Just because Hanne drops from the sky doesn’t mean you get to switch.”
“She chose me—and I chose her. If you want a partner, Allegra is available.”
“I’m not interested in another man’s leftovers.”
“I don’t need a reason to kill you, Krull.” And I had several reasons to put him out as bait and hunt the animals that came to sniff his corpse. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, and your contribution to our tribe is questionable at best. Hanne is the most valuable person here, and if you’re a threat to her, then you’re expendable. Be gone from my sight and disappear from my mind—and Imightjust let you live.”
15
HANNE
Morco didn’t come to my cabin that night.
I almost went to his but wasn’t sure what his reception would be. He’d been livid from the moment he realized someone had destroyed the garden and the bow. He was probably not in the mood to be with me, so I kept my distance.
When I woke up the next morning, I got back to work in the garden.
Only half of the seeds had been recovered, so I had to replant them and compact the dirt once again, making sure they were properly watered so they wouldn’t wither after being dry and exposed to the air.
Caius and Liam emerged from the path between the trees with logs and branches to use for the bows. They placed them on the tables and got to work, chopping them into thin strips before they started carving.
We worked in comfortable silence, like we were so well acquainted we didn’t need conversation.
When my legs needed a stretch, I left the garden and joined them at the table. “Do you think Krull did it?” Our last interaction had been hostile. When I’d pulled out that dagger, I had been fully prepared to use it.
Caius halted his work and looked up to meet my stare. “Morco said it was Allegra. She confessed.”
I was surprised at first but then quickly disappointed—because he hadn’t shared that with me.
“Doesn’t know what her punishment should be,” Caius continued. “If she were a man, she would be exiled.”
“She should be exiled,” Liam said. “She committed treason against her own people.”
“You know that wasn’t her intent,” Caius said. “She was just…upset.”
“If Krull was upset, would it be different?” Liam asked. “We lost half the seeds Hanne gathered. That’s half our food supply—gone. And what if we were attacked without that bow? That bow could have been life or death. I have no issue with Allegra personally, but her actions are unforgivable.”
I sympathized with her, but Liam was right. Her actions were indefensible. “I wish she’d just come at me directly.” A couple punches to the face would have healed. They would have been less work than fixing everything she’d destroyed.
“None of us wish that, Hanne.” Caius returned to his work, carving the bow.
Liam worked on his at the other side of the table.
I was about to turn back to the garden when I spotted Morco enter the Gathering, his arms muscular in his shirt, his chest wide and powerful. Now that I’d seen him nearly naked, I knew what lay underneath those clothes…and it was hard not to picture it.
I was both nervous and excited at once. My mouth was dry and my throat was tight. Without his touch and in the presence of others, I could feel that ache between my legs, the ache I felt when we kissed, when his warm body was on top of mine, the tightness and frustration before he moved between my legs and made me release.
His eyes were angry when they found mine, but once they locked in place, they softened into their possessive intensity. As if the guys weren’t even there, he looked at me like we were alone.
Then he broke contact and turned to Caius. “We need that meat, Caius. Especially now that the garden has been interrupted. I would go myself, but I need to make sure Krull doesn’t come sniffing around.”
Caius set down the bow he was working on. “Let me grab my stuff and round up some guys. Liam?”
