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Lhars excused himself from the training circle when the others were busy and slunk into the nearby trees. Once he was out of sight and no one had called him back, he shifted and ran back towards the encampment.

He\'d told Kyelle to meet him in the cave for lunch.

Lunch.

He snorted to himself.

Even in his wolf, his body responded to thoughts of his mate. His beautiful, incredible mate who had only stepped from strength to strength since they\'d left Thana.

Sasha had named her Alpha and Lhars her second, and while he\'d applauded the decision for Kyelle\'s sake, he\'d had a niggling sense of disappointment that she hadn\'t named him. And yet, he\'d seen the wisdom in it almost immediately.

The females who\'d arrived from the human world were so weak by comparison to their brothers who\'d remained in Thana—in body, at least. It was why they ran training every morning. Every female choosing the things that drew her—hunting, fighting, gathering… Kyelle had made the decree on the second day. The Chimera would not hide from this new world. The females would not shrink. Each of them would pursue something. Whatever would give them a reason to rise from their furs in the morning.

She\'d set males with skills in all areas of Chimeran life to the task of teaching and training. And even now, three months later, it was what they gave most of their time to, serving the dual purpose of building their new home and equipping their females for life within it.

Three months. Almost. He couldn\'t believe it.

He couldn\'t believe Zev and Sasha hadn\'t made it. His chest ached whenever he thought of it. He prayed every day that they were only seeking their son, or held up in some way that didn\'t involve the human Team, or death.

But if they could travel through time didn\'t it mean that they would have returned to the time when everyone arrived? Wouldn\'t they have focused on Kyelle just like the rest of them?

A whine pierced his throat. He shook off the sad thoughts. He was going to find his mate. They were here together, and safe. If others had been lost in the pursuit of that… he would live grateful to them. He would make certain that every Chimera living now, or later, knew their names and what they\'d done to save their people.

Yhet. Sasha. Zev…

Lhars turned to pass between one of the massive trees and a boulder that had fallen from higher in the foothills where the cave was nestled in the darkness of the forest.

As soon as he did so, the wind hit his nostrils and he could smell his mate, waiting for him. Even in wolf form he smiled.

He shifted back before he reached the cave mouth, reaching for her in his mind.

I hope you\'re hungry, beautiful.

He heard her snort and he grinned, then stepped into the darkness of the caves.

The tree cover in this land was far thicker than Thana, it dimmed the light dramatically in certain parts of the forest, and here where the cave sat in the foothills of the mountain as well as under the trees… well, it was always twilight here. Not that their senses struggled with that, but Lhars always had to be careful. Once he\'d made love to Kyelle it would be easy to drift into sleep in the dim light.

The cave curved, and she was there, gloriously naked and stretched out on the furs.

This world was far warmer than Thana, and one of the joys of it was that his mate wore far less clothing in general. But especially when they were alone in the cave.

With a dirty chuckle, he trotted across the space and threw himself onto the furs next to her, growling and burying his face in her neck as Kyelle cackled and pretended to push him off.

But he refused to be budged, rolling her onto her back and taking her mouth with a low growl of pleasure.

After minutes of kissing and touching, Lhars began to kiss his way down her neck when she tipped her head back and ran her fingers down his scalp, which was the most delicious feeling.

"We don\'t have a lot of time," she gasped, then her breath caught because he nipped at her throat.

"You\'re Alpha and I\'m second. They can wait until we\'re ready for… whatever," he rasped against her skin, then took her mouth again.

She giggled into his kiss, but not for long. Soon she sighed and pulled her head back again as he covered her and let himself sink between her thighs.

"I\'m serious though, Lhars. I shouldn\'t even be here. One of the females is missing."

He froze, his mouth open over her throat, his drive to take her suddenly doing battle with his sense of protection.

He pushed up on his elbows to frown down at her. "Who?"

"Harth."

Lhars swore. "She ran again?"

"I don\'t think she runs to run away… but she\'s gone again, yes. And this time no one\'s sure they\'ve seen her since last night. There\'s a couple who thought they saw her at breakfast but they didn\'t speak with her and… we just aren\'t sure."

They stared at each other, both of them battling the selfish desire to stay close to each other while their sense of duty sprang to the fore.

"She\'s gone many times before and she\'s always come back."

Kyelle nodded and stroked his face. "That\'s the only reason I\'m here. I still hope… I hope she just needed a break and she\'s on her way back already. But… I feel like I can\'t just ignore this, Lhars. Something is building. She\'s just a symptom of it. We\'re going to have to start branching out deeper into this world. The hunters are already afraid they\'ll remove too many of the wildlife if we don\'t extend their boundaries. And the shelters… they\'re only temporary. We can\'t be sure, but it seems like the season will change soon. We need more permanent shelter for everyone if it snows here, or there\'s a rainy season…"

With a heavy sigh, Lhars rolled off of her to lay at her side, staring at the cave ceiling, one arm curved under his head.

Kyelle rolled to rest her head on his other shoulder. "Don\'t look sad," she said. "We\'ve been here three months and everyone\'s still safe. This is a good place, Lhars."

"I know. But I just… I just wish Zev and Sasha were here to share it. I was just thinking about them on my way here and thinking how she knew we\'d need you in this place, Kyelle." He turned his head to look at her. "You\'re a remarkable Alpha," he said quietly.

Kyelle\'s face pinched with emotion and she stretched up to kiss him—more slowly this time, but the heat built quickly and he couldn\'t resist it. As she teased him with her tongue, he rolled over her again, his breath beginning to pant.

"Kyelle, are you sure?"

"Twenty minutes," she gasped, pulling him against her. "No one\'s going to die in twenty minutes."