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“The helper bots will assist you with safety equipment,” Oberon said. “Then you can begin your journey.”
“What about the horse?” Chloe asked.
“He’s going to go back with the bots,” Oberon said. “He enjoys the hike, and he can go more slowly this time and enjoy a good graze.”
Two bots came to collect them, and she focused on the straps and safety instructions. Before long, she and Jubal were secured in a double harness and the bots were hooking them onto a stretch of high-tension cable that trailed as far down the mountain as she could see.
Before she could lose her nerve, she and Jubal clutched each other and jumped. The line gave off a howling sound as they leapt off the side of the mountain and over the beautiful forest, with the ocean sparkling ahead of them until it met the horizon. It was like the dreams of flying she’d had since she was a girl.
Chloe let herself scream for joy and she could feel Jubal chuckling as he held her.
A tiny voice inside her told her to memorize this moment. The feeling of the fresh air in her face, and his strong arms around her.
Sooner than she was willing to think about, the memories would be all she had.
21
JUBAL
Jubal stood in the kitchen down at the villa, watching Dr. Pan run a scanner over Chloe’s forehead.
Chloe was so excited she was nearly quivering.
He could feel her exhilaration as if her emotions were his own. This had been going on since yesterday, but this morning he understood why.
“What’s taking up your head space today?” Dr. Pan was asking Chloe.
“I’m, um, just feeling happy and excited,” Chloe replied, stealing a glance at Jubal.
He winked at her, encouragingly, even as his heart ached.
He should have understood it all from the beginning. The wild attraction, his fierce desire to protect her, these were all the signs of a burgeoning mate bond.
“Temperature normal, heart rate slightly accelerated, blood pressure normal,” Dr. Pan said, the screen on her bracelet flashing with each reading.
But Chloe didn’t respond at all, she was waiting without even breathing, like a beautiful statue.
“You’re in excellent health,” Dr. Pan told her with a smile, swiping off the hologram on her bracelet.
“Am I…?” Chloe asked, trailing off as if she didn’t dare say the word.
“Not yet,” Dr. Pan told her gently. “But again, this is normal. It takes a few days at least to activate Maltaffian sperm. You just have to be patient.”
Jubal almost cried out at the feeling of his little mate’s heart breaking.
“Chloe,” he said, moving to wrap his arms around her. “Look at what we have accomplished together. We’re in a beautiful villa with an extra wing unlocked because we climbed a mountain together and zipped down it again. Besides, think about how much fun it will be to try again tonight.”
But his words just hung in the air.
Dr. Pan gave him a little wave and an expression of compassion as she slipped out the front door.
Chloe leaned against his chest and let herself be held without holding him back. She felt so light in his arms, like a child’s forgotten toy.
But he knew what she didn’t.
The bond was tightening between them, he could feel it like steel arms folding around them both.
If they were together again tonight, it wasn’t only his seed that would come to life, it was the bond, which would lock his heart to hers forever.
