“He enjoys taking care of others. He is an alpha, and that is what they do. Protect and care for others.Especiallytheir mates.”
“I’m not his mate, Zenith. We just met.”
“And you are telling me you feel nothing for him?”
Gemini was caught off guard, her chest clenching at his words.
“I didn’t say I felt nothing…”
Good grief, why was she telling him this? It wasn’t like she was going to profess her love for someone afterfour days. Even if that someone was attentive, sweet, a great cook, had special tentacles that could relieve pain, was devastatingly handsome… the list did seem to go on quite a bit.
“Ah. Give it more time, then,” Zenith said, as if time were the only thing that was an issue here.
“Right,” Gemini replied, following his gaze as he turned his attention to another bird pecking at the ground, this one lime green.
There was a strange noise behind them, and she jerked around, peering into the brush and trying to see what had made it.
“Oh, no,” Zenith said beside her, and immediately she was on alert.
“What is it?”
“Step away, Gemini.Now.”
She glanced at the caerulian, then back at the brush, noticing a large green snake gliding towardthem. It blended in with the leaves and grass, but the eerie slithering motion gave her the creeps, and she tried to shuffle backward.
Before she could take two steps, the snake struck, coiling around her leg and yanking her to the ground. She let out a piercing scream, grasping at the dirt as she was dragged into the forest, her muscles tensed with fear.
Zenith pounced, slashing at the beast while Gemini tried to scramble away. She heard the tearing sounds, but it was difficult to focus with the adrenaline racing through her, though suddenly the grip on her leg was gone and she scurried to get to her feet.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, her voice shaking with fear.
“Run!”
Gemini didn’t hesitate, taking off in the direction of the cabin with Zenith at her heels. She heard the snake behind them, crunching over twigs and brush, but she dared not look back, her ankle screaming in pain with each step.
“APODIS!” Zenith yelled, a screeching sound like a cat in a fight.
She could see the cabin in the distance, and by the time they arrived at the door, it was whirring open, a wide-eyed Apodis staring at them.
“Gegon root!” Zenith said, turning to face their pursuer as Gemini did the same.
Did he sayroot?
As the snake slithered up, she realized it wasn’t a snake at all, but a long green vine stretching toward them. Holy shit, she had heard of things like this, plants that acted as if they had minds of their own, but she certainly had never seen one. It was fascinating watching it slide through the grass, though her view was blocked as Apodis stepped between them.
His tentacles whipped around his body, swatting at the vine with a ferocity she couldn’t believe. She winced as they connected, the plant letting out an anguished groan before retreating back toward the forest whence it came. She felt bad, like it had been her fault that she’d disturbed it, and a mortifying sob rumbled in her throat.
Apodis turned, his eyes almost black as he looked her up and down. She pressed her palm to her mouth, trying to stop the tears from falling and the strangled sounds from escaping.
Without a word, he took a step forward, pulling her into his arms and hugging her to his chest. His embrace was like fire, heating her more than the sprint through the forest, and she slid her arms around his waist, desperate not to let him go.
“You’re okay. It’s gone,” he whispered in her ear, his soft voice a soothing balm as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
“Zenith protected me,” she sobbed, tears spilling down her cheeks.
It was so embarrassing to be crying like this, but she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the brave little caerulian and the fearsome Oslieth hugging her close.
“Shhhhhh,” he cooed, brushing a hand through her hair. “Zenith can be quite scary when he wants to be.”
