Page 134 of The Hunter

His mandibles drooped, and he lightly ran a finger over one of the scabs. Pride and sorrow still warred within him over what he’d done.

Lacey took hold of his wrist. “Better not be having regrets.”

“Only that I caused you pain.”

“I guess I’ll have to bite you harder next time to leave my own mark on you. Then we’ll be even.”

Telok trilled. The memory of her biting him that day at the waterfall was emblazoned in his hearts. He wanted to feel her teeth sink into his hide again, wanted to relive that shock of pleasure-pain that had swept through him and stoked his need, wanted Lacey to leave her mark on him so all would know he belonged to her.

Taking up their packs and spears, they headed to the common area at Tovuunshai’s center to meet the others and eat a light meal. The hunters departed just ahead of suncrest, carried by an unspoken but palpable sense of hope.

Lacey offered no complaints as they strode through the jungle. Whenever Telok glanced back and caught her gaze, her lips curled up in a smile that made her eyes shine and his heartsthread thrum with joy.

Without needing to painstakingly follow a barely perceptible trail, the group soon reached the site of yesterday’s kurghest attack. Telok’s hearts sped and his blood heated as vivid memories assailed him, rousing equal passion and fury. He squeezed his spear in hand and clenched his jaw.

Should not have brought her back to this place.

But Lacey showed no signs of fear or discomfort apart from her flushed, sweat-dampened skin.

Thornskulls and winddancers formed a defensive ring as Tas, Garahk, and Telok, with Lacey beside him, examined the area.

Telok pointed the signs out to his mate and explained what they meant. Nothing seemed amiss as they searched. The Tangle, ever indifferent, had already forgotten the ferocious battle that had so recently occurred here.

The sun had reached its peak by the time they finally unraveled the scant, confusing signs far enough to discover the point at which the kurghests’ individual tracks joined together. The hunters set out along the new trail with Telok in the lead.

Telok and his companions navigated thickets, gnarled roots, and fallen branches, crossed a shallow stream and several wide depressions, trudged up hills and over boulders.

Telok’s fine hairs stood throughout, and his gaze roved ceaselessly. Kurghests could be prowling anywhere. Only good fortune had seen Lacey through the attack unscathed. He would not be caught off guard again, would not rely on blind luck to shield her.

But apart from a few birds and other small animals that fled into the denser jungle to hide, the group encountered nothing. That did not ease Telok.

Finally, Tas, who’d been eyeing the sun’s path all day with increasingly apparent concern, suggested they return to Tovuunshai. Telok glanced at Garahk.

The white thornskull folded his lower arms, mandibles twitching. “The trail is a day old already. It will only fade more.”

“And if we lose it, the delay may lead others to harm,” Telok said, his own words weighing heavily upon his hearts.

“These beasts are hard to spot by day,” Tas replied. “By night, they will be as shadows in the darkness.”

Garahk grunted and waved at Telok. “Good then that we have one who stalks shadows.”

Telok turned his head to look at the others. As always, the thornskulls seemed ready for a fight, but the winddancers’ eyes held the same worry as Tas’s. Telok’s attention halted on the humans. On Lacey.

Her skin glistened with sweat, and she was leaning on her spear a bit more than she had been earlier. He knew she was tired, and likely even sorer than she’d been this morning, yet he also knew she would stride onward if he decided to continue.

After sunfall, the hunters would be at a disadvantage. Like all shadowstalkers, Telok’s eyesight was strong in the dark, but the thornskulls and winddancers would not see as keenly without light. Worse, the humans would be effectively blind and alarmingly vulnerable. Unnecessarily so.

They were out here to locate the kurghests’ den, scout the area around it, and make a plan to effectively destroy the pack. Stumbling onward through the dark of night was far more likely to lead them to their deaths than to achieve their aim.

“Best we turn back,” Telok said.

The winddancers relaxed at that. They carved crude symbols into a few trees to mark their place, and everyone returned to the village.

They arrived shortly before sunfall. After washing and eating, Telok and Lacey went to their den, where she collapsed facedown atop the pallet with an exaggerated sigh of relief.

Chittering, Telok lay down beside her.

He meant to take Lacey in his arms, hold her close, and sink together into a serene, much needed slumber as the dark and quiet cocooned them. But the instant his hands were upon her, they started moving of their own accord.