“I can’t read the signal.”
I nod. “Call it a burner. I’ve got a few on me.”
He laughs sadly. “Such skill and yet you wander the woods like you’re just a Shifter, when you’re not even a Shifter first. You’re a descended of a goddess who made herself into one of us.”
“We all hide until we’re needed,” I say. ‘It’s the only way we survive on this world.”
“Watch your back. I’ll send out the alert info you shared to those who patrol the planet.”
“Yes, sir.” I hang up and start the long run back to Zorin’s house.
I thought Jezza could tame me. And she did. But I have always wondered if it was wrong of me to introduce such chaos into her life. We were fire and water. Now I fear Zorin is going to do the same to Tessi.
Worse yet, I wonder what it is she might be capable of that the Nebs want. But I’d be lying to myself if I don’t feel a spark in my chest every time I replay the image of her smiling up at Zorin. She’s as beautiful as Jezza, even if she isn’t like our kind.
A flare of interest threatens to awaken in my core.
Shut up. She’s not Jezza. She’s not ours.
But Zorin wanted her to be ours.
And suddenly I like that idea a little too much.
26: Tessi
Esrynne is a firecracker. She swearsa lot.
After Zorin shifted and scraped my back when he dug his claws into the tree, she assigned herself as my protector. She cleaned and treated my cuts, cursing the whole time.
As I come to find out, she was abused as a young Shifter, used by other males and left for dead in the woods. Lunas can be vicious. But it explains why she hates the males of her kind so much. From what she says as she rambles, I can tell she only likes a few of the guys.
Marne she refers to asMom. Davarok I know about. Ignus is always glued to tech and fairly quiet, but can fix nearly anything.
“Still haven’t quite figured him out,” she admits.
Rorsar is not to be trusted because he’sneedle happy.Azrim is the brooding, cold shoulder type that likes to interrogate the enemy while they bleed out, then basically turns them to meat dust. Zorin is the only one besides Marne with whom she refers to with respect.
“Now, if any of those Lunas come up to you, you wanna zap the small motherfuckers that are mostly just yappers and no bite.” She lifts a pen-sized taser. “But if you get a big furry fucker,stab them. Don’t ask if it’s okay. Just fucking take this out of your boot.” Esrynne shows me the metal device that springs open into a single claw. “Females have the absolute right in MTF tocuta male if he is not her scent-bond but tries to take her, anyway. Use that right. You’re part of our culture now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She bends over and clips both inside my boot as I get ready for the next day while Zorin waits outside. I work through someway to break the ice between her and Carnas. There’s obviously something there between them.
“Carnas is a good soldier. He’s nice, you know.”
“The Shredder?” Esrynne fixes the leg of my race suit with care, and I get the impression she’s not as violent on the inside as she parades.
“Yes. He has eyes on you.”
“Ha. The fuck he does. Probably counting the kills tattoed on my arms and wondering if I’dbiteit off orclawit off.”
I frown. “He’s been gentle around me.”
“Because you are human, Tessi.” She motions me to the door. “Fragile.”
“Ouch, but still. He can be respectful.” I lift my hands. “That’s all I’m saying.”
She scowls at me. “Check you boot. Know the placement of your weapons by feel.”
