As new dawn breaks, and time resets,
Those that are gone we must forget.
NURSERY RHYME, 2034 P.O.
Drayven was waiting for me by the arch to the gardens that evening as promised. He was dressed in loose cotton pants and a cream tunic that clung to his solid frame with every gust of wind that hit him. It was chilly, but it didn’t look like that bothered him. In fact, there was a soft mist rising off his body, just like it had on the training ground, as his heat fought the cold night air.
His throat bobbed as I approached. “I’m sorry I didn’t come and see you sooner,” he said. “I wanted to say that earlier, but?—”
“It’s fine.” I shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t even notice your absence.” I smiled to let him know I was joking—and hide how much his absence had actually bothered me.
“There was a reason,” Drayven said. “I needed the scent mark to fade just in case I was tempted to mark you again.”
“I do bathe, you know.”
His eyes lit up with amusement. “Scent marks don’t vanish when you wash. My pheromones sank into your skin. Into your blood. They became a part of you for a while. Another barghest would also be able to smell the mark. It would warn him away from you, but to me…it would be a beacon to get closer and…” He shook his head. “The temptation to reapply the mark might have been too much.”
“You could have just explained that.”
He looked sheepish. “It’s been busy outside the borders of late. The hunt has been out almost every night.”
Excuses, excuses. I knew enough to understand that if a guy wanted to speak to you, then he’d find a way to do so, despite how busy he might be. But I smiled and nodded and let him lie to me because he didn’t owe me a damn thing.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You don’t owe me anything. In fact, I owe you. You’ve saved my ass a couple of times now.”
“Still, I should have sent a raven.”
Fucksake. “Then why didn’t you?”
He flinched and his shoulders dropped. “Ravens won’t carry a lie.”
“Wait…what? So your whole explanation to me just now was a lie? Wow. Okay.” I turned to leave.
“Ana, wait.” He grabbed my arm, his grip firm but gentle. “It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth, and a raven would have picked up on that, so sending a message would have been…difficult. The wording of it all...” He released me but didn’t step away. “The truth is, scent marks don’t just simply happen. I was able to use it because my primal half wants you.” My pulse spiked. He wanted me? “And that is something that cannot happen,” he continued. “I can’t permit it to happen.”
Permission… He taught an advanced combat class, so he was technically a teacher. My heart sank, but I forced my lips to smile. “I get it. I know about the Coterie rule against teacher-student relationships.”
He blinked sharply. “Right. That’s good. Good that you already know.” He cleared his throat. “But I can help you with the grading. I want to.”
I wasn’t here for romance, so a relationship with Drayven had never been on the table. But there was no denying the hollow space that opened inside me at having the option taken away.
“Will you let me help you, Ana? Please.”
Only an idiot would turn down this quality of help. It had nothing to do with wanting to spend one-on-one time with him. “Fine.” I rolled my eyes, injecting a little levity into the moment. “You can help me.”
The tension left his shoulders. “Good.”
He led me through the gardens and into the woodland beyond, saturated with starlight and the floral scent of night blooms. Wildrun Forest was a popular Thrope haunt—or so I’d been told—but it gathered silent and watchful around us tonight, and my instincts told me we were alone.
He stopped a little way in and unbuttoned the top buttons of his tunic.
My gaze dropped to the smooth expanse of silken skin being exposed, and my mouth went dry. “What are you doing?”
“Stripping,” he said. “I’m going to shift and chase you.”
The pulse in my throat throbbed. “Um…okay.” I turned my back on him, face heating because he was getting naked, and I desperately wanted to see.
“You can look if you like,” Drayven said. “Thropes are not ashamed of their bodies. If you make it onto my hunt, you’ll often be surrounded by nakedness.”
