Marne glances toward the entrance and jerks his head in that direction.
When I follow his gaze, I lay my eyes on the most stunning female I’ve ever seen. Tessi sashays into the room in a silver-blue dress that stretches over her ample breasts and hips in all the right ways.
My heart beats faster. My Shifter notices, but he stays put like the obedient, drugged,droolingmonster he is.
“You good?” Marne asks.
“Yeah,” I utter as I meet Tessi halfway.
She smiles up at me. “You clean up nice. Military uniform?”
I look down at my dark blue suit covered in medals and badges.
“Quite the record.” Tessi rests her hand on my chest, over the fang-shaped badge for surviving a mission I shouldn’t have. “Glad you’re still here.”
I don’t know how, but I think she knows what it’s for. I pinch her chin and lean down to her lips. “So am I. I didn’t know back then that you were in my future. But every sideways mission has been worth it, just to taste this.” I kiss her in front of the entire dining hall, the cameradrones, and Marne.
She hums like she can’t get enough. Her hands wrap over my arms. “What about yourorders?”
“I’m okay now. Rorsar gave me medicine to keep my Shifter under control. When your heat ends, I’ll be back to normal without meds.”
“Just don’t hide him from me forever,” she simpers, grabbing my bottom lip with her teeth and tugging it away until it slips her grip.
A wave of heat spreads through my body. “W-why?”
She grins slowly, darkly. “Never been so turned on in all my life.”
“You’re not afraid of me?” I ask.
Tessi grabs my sides and pulls herself against me. “I like danger. It makes me feel alive.”
Stars, she is perfect.
Marne coughs behind a hand.
I sweep her long dark hair behind her shoulder. “How about we start with dinner?”
She winks up at me. “If we have to.”
25 : Azrim
After hunting the mysterious light for an entire day, I finally track down the source. It keeps moving because it isn’t a static item.They’reportals.
I’ve followed their light to a distant buffer region between pack territories. Three blazing blue windows scroll open inside the dense woods of the lowlands.
I sit in the trees and watch around a large trunk. Two soldiers step out from each portal. They are a mix of Myndrous, Denarso, and Nebulous. My ears twitch as I tune my hearing to listen in.
They speak in Denarsoan.
Get the young one first. We will pick up the female later.
They won’t get anyone from our world. This is my job now, to keep the packs safe, not by order. It’s just instinct to protect them.I want Rhysan to grow up in a world that is safe for him, not one on fire.
My problem now is deciding how to handle the situation.Kill them and wait for more? Kill them and send the message through the portal? Kill them slowly and hope one talks? And how do I close the portals?
As they group up and make their way through the forest, their portals shut off, solving one of my problems. I stalk through the shadows beside them, waiting for stragglers. They’re far noisier than our kind as they tread over the ground, while my padded paws and slow steps are nearly silent.
The first Denarso takes a route away from the group. As he passes the tree I hide behind, I shift upright. I take him by a hand over his mouth, another to his shoulder, and snap his neck in one swift move. Then I lay him down gently, free the weapons and armor from his body, set a hand over his heart, and shatterhis ribs, destroying his core so he cannot rise again and become a beacon to summon other ships.
