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But he heard only his and Ben’s footsteps crunching through the debris on the forest ground. He couldn’t even hear Goya’s Beasts any more. They’d already disappeared.
“I know what you’re doing, you know,” the boy said quietly beside him.
Zai didn’t bother to respond. He simply walked faster.
But the too observant human kept pace.
“You’re trying to ignore the fact that you’re dying to run back to a certain liger. You’re distracting yourself by chatting me up, when you’ve never indicated before that you care anything about my mission.”
Zai grunted at that, which was his reluctant approximation for “I care.”
“Why don’t you just admit you miss him?” the boy needled.
“Just admit that you like spending time with him. You make a great team.”
“Hmph,” Zai grunted, which was his way of saying, “I don’t miss anything nor like anyone.”
“There’s no one here but you and me,” Ben dug in like a particularly spiky burr.
“Just you…and me...” he drew out, spreading his hands and turning in a circle as he walked.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re missing something? Out here in the great unknown by ourselves? Hmm, I wonder what we could be missing. I wonderwho—”
“Cease!” Zai couldn’t help but bark, his temper and patience finally snapping.
A vital part of him finally breaking.
“He is where he belongs. With a clan of his own. He issafe,” this Zai emphasized vehemently.
“He will live a long life and find another Mate. Gods willing, that Mate will give him the cubs he should have had. He will be happy, wild and free, as he was born to be.”
“What about you?” Ben asked quietly, though his question still clanged like a gong in Zai’s head.
“This has nothing to do with me.Nothing,” he spat.
“Hemeans nothing to me. It was just…”
Involuntarily, his steps slowed until he stopped entirely, chest heaving as if he’d been running a great distance.
“It was just…”
He couldn’t seem to finish the sentence to save his life. He shook his head to clear it, to give voice to what didn’t want to form as even a thought much less words.
But he forcibly pushed through.
“It was just bloodlust and release. An itch that got scratched.”
Well then,a familiar deep, primitive growl rumbled so hard the very ground seemed to vibrate beneath Zai’s feet.
I mustscratchyou a hell of a lotharderand make sure you never fucking forget just what this is between us.
~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~
“Hey Sin, what’s up?” Ben greeted as if he’d always known Sin was there, even though he made sure his approach was completely silent.
Sin frowned at the strange question, and just frowned in general because he wasfuriousat the stupidest Dark One in the history of creation.
He shifted to two-legs to respond to the boy.
