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“I see.” It was apparent from her words they did not have Shelekis among the humans. She probably didn’t even understand that what we had was different and stronger. “This is not an honorable warrior’s way.” I impaled the bird on the skewer and went into my saddlebags for some herbs I had gathered.
“Yeah, well, it is what it is.” Another rustle. She let out an irritated grunt. “I need that fast-healing trick of yours.”
I drove the end of the branch into the ground, leaving the bird out of reach of any dirt… or Chaser, who was already licking his chops. I went around outside the bower bush stand, gathering materials for the fire.
She looked out of the bower to see what I was doing, on her knees, leaning heavily on one bush. “So tell me, what is pack life like?”
“The pack lives together in the same compound, but each has his own space within it. If the Gladiator has a mate or pups, they get larger spaces.”
She moved aside for me, then reached to help, but I gently shooed her away and got to work. “You’re twice wounded and still under-rested. I’ve done this nearly every night of my adult life.”
She seemed a little baffled by my insisting but shrugged and scooted back onto the bedroll. “Thanks. I’m really not used to this.”
“You deserve this and more.” I gave her back one of those small smiles she wore much more often now.
“Family was something I never experienced,” she said. “My childhood was a series of moves through the foster care system, each step echoing with loneliness.”
My heart ached at the underlying pain I heard in her words.
“Why were you put in this foster care system?” I remembered that she’d previously explained what foster care meant.
“My parents abandoned me when I was very young,” she replied. “And when I turned eighteen, I joined the military.”
Gladiators would never abandon their pups—we treasured them. I did not understand nor like this Earthling tradition.
“I will be your family,” I said. “And so will my pack.”
“I need time to process this possibility,” she replied.
I’d told her my intentions, so there was no need to pressure her to decide right now. I cut the spit short and set it on the supports I’d fished out of my pack. “You fought valiantly again today,” I told her. “I think my pack will love you.”
She chuckled a little and sat back, bracing herself with her palms. “We haven’t even kissed yet and you’re introducing me to your family.”
I froze amid setting the pile of dry wood on fire and looked at her with startled eyes.Yet? Yes,she had definitely just said that.I smiled a little wider as I busied my hands with kindling the small blaze. Her smile in response warmed me more than those first guttering flames.
“Well, we could fix that anytime you like.”
That gleam was back in her eyes. I stared at her, feeling my desire stir up feverishly again.
“That’s good to know,” she said, and the way she looked at me sent a jolt of lust through me that caught all my attention. I could have put my hand into the fire right then and not noticed it.
She has not fully healed yet.
But she is well enough to flirt with me, and this is a spectacularly good sign.
Two spectacularly good signs in one.
“You think that there will be any violence when we reach your sector?” she asked quietly as I struggled to focus on cooking.
“Against the slavers—likely. Violence within the pack—unlikely, but I’m always prepared for the winds to change unexpectedly.”
“Right,” she replied. “That’s a realistic prediction.” She sat back, watching me work.
The firelight gleamed off her brown skin and eyes, and I stopped turning the spit until I caught myself distracted by the sight of her.
She’s beautiful.
I want her under me, wrapped around me.
