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Chapter 8
Meira
Love! Did Bardhyl just say that four-letter word?
Of course it’s a figure of speech and he doesn’t mean actual love, but the word sticks with me. Maybe because the only person to ever say it to me was Mama. I’ve never had anyone to whom I’ve felt close enough to even joke about it.
Bardhyl makes me want to sit around and talk to him for hours, even if he annoys the hell out of me.
He’s lying on the grass now, his eyes closed, enjoying the sun for the short period of time as our clothes dry.
I’m staring out toward the river, my back to the warm rock.
Running away now would be stupid, so I’ll bide my time and wait until this big guy next to me is really asleep. Then I’ll escape.
I am so tired of always looking over my shoulder. Exhausted of feeling like a rabbit on the run in a world filled with wolves. What I need is to find the biggest colony of Shadow Monsters and move in near them. Sure, they aren’t the prettiest sight, and their constant gurgling, moaning sounds are annoying, and they stink, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?
And I refuse to give in to my emotions, reminding myself that getting away is for the safety of the Alphas. They’ll eventually get over me. They have to… I have to believe that so I know it’s possible to do the same.
“It’s time we get a move on,” Bardhyl orders. “We find shelter for the night, and tomorrow we should reach home.” His shadow falls over me as he grabs his clothes from the rock next to me.
I reach up with one hand while still covering my chest with the other and take mine, then hastily drag the top over my head, threading my hands through still-damp sleeves. I could have done without wearing moist clothes.
“You’re not my favorite person right now,” I say to him as I wiggle my feet into the pants and drag them up my legs before getting up to quickly cover myself.
“Then I’m doing my job right. I’m not trying to make you like me,” he grumbles.
I turn to face him as he buttons up his jeans and partially tucks his shirt in, his head low, blond hair cascading forward. All I can see are strong, powerful arms and muscles. This bulking man towers over me easily, and he’ll use force to keep me by his side. For that, I hate him. But my body responds to him in beautiful ways, and a thread of arousal rises inside me, licking over my skin, hinting at a desire for more.
His offhanded commands irk me, though. “I don’t expect you to like me, but I’d hope you’d have some compassion. I’m broken, Bardhyl. A danger to the pack. Can’t you see that’s why I can’t return with you?”
I shift to walk away when he reaches over and grabs my jaw, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to keep me locked in his hold. His thumb caresses my cheek, and he gazes at me with such passion, I can’t bear to work out where things stand between us. I don’t want to know, in truth, because I’m already grieving over leaving two Alphas. So please, universe, don’t throw another into the mix. I sense my body responding to Bardhyl in ways it has with Dušan and Lucien. Heat burns between my thighs. The wolf inside me may not have come out yet, but she isn’t shy about letting me know which men she craves.
“What do you think is going to happen when you don’t return to your Alphas?” he asks.
“What are you talking about?”
All I can focus on is where he touches me and that while I’m under his gaze, somehow I’m the most important person in his world.
Bardhyl reminds me of the other two, and rather than letting myself trip over myself for this wolf, I have to remain strong. Summoning my strength, I tear free from his grasp.
“They will get over me and find someone else. All the females in your pack would love to mate with them.” Even as the words leave my mouth, an ache spears over my chest. I’ve heard of wolves living happily without a mate. Unmatched Omegas make perfect companions to Alphas without that deep-felt connection. It’s possible.
Bardhyl shots me a puzzled look, like I’ve lost my mind. “I think you and I need to have a long conversation about the birds and the wolves.”
I laugh. “It’s called the birds and thebees.”
“Not where I come from, and clearly you know very little about your own kind. Or that if you don’t return to your Alphas, the ache you feel from your distance will grow so intense that you’ll wish you were dead.”
No, distance will break our bond. It has to.
With frustration, my response rips out of me. “Scaring me won’t make me change my mind. You can twist words into any form you want, but they don’t mean something different.”
“I never took you for being philosophical. You’re the kiss-and-run kind of girl to me.”
“Ha. Goes to show how little you know of me.” I turn away from him, my insides blazing with anger that he sees me as someone so fickle. I flip him the finger. “Don’t mistake my admiration of your naked body earlier for something it’s not. I hate you. No matter how big your dick is.”
His footfalls fall in behind me, and he’s chuckling to himself. I’m cringing on the inside for blurting out the last part. I wanted to insult him, but instead I complimented him. What is wrong with me?
