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“So how are we going to hunt Gonshu? Do we just wait for him to find us?” she asked as she lay flat against the branch. I looked up and saw her lithe figure draped over the branch. Her hair fell down as she placed her arms under her head, and she lay with her eyes closed. Perhaps it was the magic of the jungle, but I felt myself drawn to her. There was no denying her beauty. If only her attitude matched.
“If we did, we would be dead. We shall head to his lair, and hopefully be ready by the time he wakes.”
“So, these great hunts, you do them every season, and in every type of terrain?”
“Indeed.”
“And you fight them all by yourself?”
“It is the Alpha’s role. It has been that way for generations. I suppose you are going to tell me that your Alpha did not fight monsters.”
“There aren’t any monsters in my world, at least not like this. Only the Night Fangs.”
“These Night Fangs sound like a formidable enemy.”
“They’re the worst.”
“What do they want?”
“Only to destroy. At least, that’s what it seems like. The truth is I don’t know what they want. They never made their demands known. They just wanted to kill us.”
“I have been thinking about something,” I said. Volkan had continually reminded me that she was not used to following direct orders from an Alpha, and that I might have to try and find a different tactic to convince her to give me what I wanted. Even if we returned from this great hunt together, there was no guarantee that she would change her mind and agree to become my mate. I had to do something to sweeten the deal, and I think I had a good option.
“What’s that? How you’re going to sacrifice me to Gonshu?”
“Is that why you think I brought you out here?”
She shrugged. “It did cross my mind.”
“I have no intention of doing such a thing. I would never give anyone to Gonshu. Such a fate does not bear thinking about. No, it’s actually a way for the both of us to resolve our problems.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you have a situation that needs dealing with and I have something I would like from you.”
“I’ve already told you, I’m not mating with you Axanar. You could promise me the world and I still wouldn’t do it.”
“I don’t need to promise you the world. I can promise you something else; revenge.”
She opened her eyes and looked directly at me, her eyes looking like fallen stars. “How can you offer me revenge?”
“If you learn how to harness your power, then you will be able to return home and, obviously, I wish to see other worlds. In your world, there are the Night Fangs. What is your plan for returning, exactly? Are you going to seek them out? Are you going to wait for them to find you? Are you just going to try and live a new life and forget about what they did to your pride?”
“I don’t know,” she said bluntly.
“They sound formidable, and it has been a long time since our pride has had a formidable enemy. If you allow us to walk between worlds with you, then perhaps, we could walk to your world, and alongside you, we could confront the Night Fangs and avenge your pride.”
She didn’t reply immediately, which meant that she was at least considering the notion.
“You would do that?”
I shrugged and tried to sound as casual as possible. “We are the strongest lions. They clearly need to be taught a lesson in humility, and you want them dead. It seems as though our interests align, as long as you’re willing to aid us in our quest to walk between worlds. And if, in time, you start to realize that our children would be fine warriors, then we could revisit the idea of mating.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said tersely, and that was better than nothing.
“You do that. Tonight, all we need to do is think. It is time to rest now. We shall rise with the sun and make more headway towards Gonshu’s lair.”
Chapter Nineteen
