His words hit close to home, because I was trying to belittle their connection to just a physical one, but I know that’s not the truth. Ziv bonded in two ways I couldn’t or wouldn’t, and it haunts me every moment.
“What do we know about Moros?” I ask after a long stretch of unspoken hushed regrets.
“Not much, but I have a feeling that’s going to change.” Ziv’s comment gives me a glimmer of hope that we will finally have a connection to Briar to find out exactly what’s been going on, because we haven’t been successful as of yet.
MOROS
The first inclination that shit is going downhill is when Mick pulls Briar off to the side of the field and behind one of the barricades used to contain elemental magic where I can’t see justwhat the fuck he wants with her. It’s bad enough I have to deal with him overseeing her training every day, but the fucker loves trying to assert his position of dominance whenever possible to show me he thinks he’s in charge. I would like nothing more than to kill him most of the time, but on days like today, I want to do it slowly after I cut out his tongue.
When Starla tries to take advantage of me being more than twenty feet from Briar to talk to me, shit only gets worse. Briar doesn’t know about Starla or any of the other females I’ve messed with, and I don’t want her to either, so I’ve been avoiding the aide like the plague, but it seems all my running has finally caught up to me.
“Moros.”
I can’t even stand the way she says my name anymore.
“I’m mated,” I say, voicing the first and only thing that comes to mind other thanfuck off.
“Sure.” She can’t meet my eyes when she shrugs her shoulders, but it isn’t like she often did anyway. Starla is a masochist. I never took the time to wonder why before, but things are different now, and I can’t help but see her in a different light. Is she this way because she wants to be, or because it’s the only thing she knows and the only way she was accepted?
This isn’t my problem.
Starla leans in closer than I’m comfortable with, but I don’t pull away. It would seem like a weakness to do so. “Don’t,” I warn.
Her wide eyes dart up to mine, and she mouths, “I have something for you,” before glancing around the room. Relief pushes me to exhale. Maybe this isn’t about her wanting to be fucked and she has information she thinks I’ll want. It’s good to know not ignoring her might pay off, even if I feel like shit for ever touching her.
“Not now,” I warn. “I’ll meet you at our usual spot later.” I suppress a shiver of revulsion at even the thought of the things I did to her.
I hear her shaky inhale before she agrees with a nod then slips out of the sand. I look around me to see who else noticed our chat, and per usual, no one seemed to notice the aide—that is until I look behind me and see a glare directed right at me.
I swallow. If Briar’s tight lips and pinched features tell me anything, it’s that she’s not happy. Oh shit. She turns away from me, throwing her long hair out behind her. My dick that wanted to crawl off my body for ever getting close to Starla is suddenly very interested in getting attention.
The male next to me wrinkles his nose and casts a scowl in my direction. “Fuck off,” I growl, knowing I’m sending out pheromones. My body will do whatever it takes to entice my mate, and reminding her how much she loves the way I smell is one of the simplest.
It’s only when she snaps her head back in my direction that I realize what a fucking mistake that was. She probably thinks I’m reacting to Starla, not her across the room.
Mick dismisses us, to my immediate relief. “Alright, that’s enough for today. Get your sorry asses out of here before I end up killing some of you myself.”
Now I can explain what happened to Briar.
I head toward the main exit, waiting for her like usual, and only start to worry when nearly the entire field is cleared, yet I still haven’t seen my mate. Mick strolls over with too much swagger for someone I could kill so easily. When he clamps his hand on my shoulder and clenches his fingers, I think about how many ways I would rip his throat out. “She’s been gone for five minutes. I guess you didn’t notice her leaving.” He tips his head to one of the other exits then smiles before shoving off me andleaving himself. I let half a heartbeat pass before I sprint for the exit he pointed to.
I frantically search the hall before I come to my senses and actually track her. Her natural scent is slightly off, tinged with the burnt smell of sugar. Damn it, she’s pissed. I consider shifting, thinking we would find her fast, but then I wouldn’t be able to explain when I do. Not surprisingly, I track her straight to one of the bathing rooms on our floor. I hoped she would go to our room, but I accepted this or the tavern could be an option. I’m just glad she didn’t wander off to get lost like she used to.
I knock on the door briefly before trying the knob, only to find it locked. “Briar,” I call through the door. She doesn’t answer, but I hear snickering behind me that dies quickly when I look toward whoever had the nerve to open their mouth. Jeh is walking with two other elites. I haven’t spoken to him in a while, hadn’t even thought about him to tell the truth, but now he’s on my radar.
“Something to say?”
“Nope.” He pops the P to seem unaffected, but I roomed with him for months, so I know him better than that.
“Sure seems like you have something on your mind, Jeh.” I don’t let him walk away with the others who seem more than eager to depart.
He stares at me like I’m a stranger and like he knows me too well at the same time. It’s uncomfortable to say the least. Once the others he was with round a corner, he keeps his voice pitched low and comments, “So I see you’re stilltalkingto Starla,” implying I was doing more than talking with his tone.
“When was that ever your business?” I’m defensive when I should just tell him to get the fuck out of here. I don’t like that he noticed I was speaking to Starla. I didn’t realize he even knew about my arrangement with her in the first place, but this proves he did.
“You can talk to her and not me?” he accuses. Now I see what his problem is. Jeh is jealous—not that he should be for several reasons, the most important being he has no claim on me.
“I can talk to whoever the fuck I want,” I snap.
