And that set the pattern for the rest of the week. If I was at home, Sasha stayed with me, if I went out, she drove. At night we went to bed and others from Rys’s pack guarded us while we slept.
I never saw Talis.
Last thing at night and first thing in the morning, whoever was on guard duty would check in with Sasha. Usually Syl. I didn’t know him as well as some of the others, but I liked him. He was young, full of an infectious energy, and according to Sasha, the best in their pack at picking up a foreign scent.
I should be relieved to have him running the perimeter of Rys’s territory, and I was.
But I missed Talis.
Missed knowing he was out there, roaming the woods, keeping me safe.
* * *
“Hey,”Sasha wandered into the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast bar. She waved her phone at me. “It’s all set. Gabriel and Rys will pick us up Saturday night and we’ll all go to Midnight together.”
“Ooh, a group outing, what fun,” I deadpanned and she stuck her tongue out at me.
“Don’t whine, Axel. You think this is fun for me?”
“No, sorry. It’s just been a long week.” A longfewweeks of being stuck in my house with no new updates on Zh’alek’s whereabouts.
And still no sign of Talis.
I had no right to be offended that he’d relinquished his guard duty where I was concerned, but I was.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Sasha’s head snapped up. “Syl’s here to check in.”
She slid off her stool and went to answer the door.
They didn’t need my input. Sasha would tell me if there was anything new to report, so I left them to it and started to pull out the ingredients for a late-night snack. “Syl.Again. I guess Talis has better things to do on an evening now,” I muttered to myself, slamming a block of cheese onto the chopping board. “Not that I give a shit.”
A few minutes later the front door closed and Sasha reappeared. I glanced up to see her leant on the doorframe, eyebrows raised as she stared at me.
“What?”
“Are you really that clueless?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Since I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’m going to have to reluctantly answeryes.”
“Talis.” She hissed, pushing off the doorframe and stalking towards me. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Do you honestly think he’d just sayfuck itand not give a shit about keeping you safe anymore?”
I slumped against the kitchen worktop. “He wasn’t exactly happy with me the last time we spoke.”
“Come on, Axel. You know him better than that.”
I did.
Fuck.
She sidled up next to me and slung an arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear. “He’s been out there every night. Watching. Making sure that no one gets anywhere near your house.”
“But Syl—”
“He sends Syl to do the updates with me because he’s hurting. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t protect you with his life.”
