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They had tried not to sleep the night before, to spend what hours they could be sure to have together learning each other. But eventually the silences between their whispers lengthened, the moments of quiet joy sharing the mindlink grew longer…

Jayah woke the next morning, blinking, immediately disappointed that they’d slept—but then just as quickly smiling.

The great hulk of her mate rose behind her shoulder. His breath fluttered in her hair, his lips almost brushing her neck. His thick arm was thrown over her waist, and his knee pressed behind hers, resting on her straightened lower leg.

She took a deep breath, and even in his sleep, his arm tightened on her, as if he instinctively feared she’d move.

Jayah smiled and let herself lean back into his chest.

Skhal sucked in a long, slow breath as he came awake—and his body did too.

Jayah bit her lip, but didn’t speak as Skhal buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. “Good morning,” he murmured, his voice deep and rough with sleep.

“Good morning,” she whispered, letting her fingers twine with his on her stomach.

.....

“Turn around, let me see you,” he rasped.

Jayah rolled over, smiling shyly to find his eyes sharp and intense on hers. They lay facing each other and he brushed her hair back from her face, searching her eyes. Jayah held his forearm and watched him watching her, marveling at how sure she felt.

She’d heard about the matebond, the connection it provided—and the sense of possession. She’d seen it at work. But she’d always thought it a product of their animal natures. A binding of sorts, something instinctive. She’d never imagined it to be quite so… emotional.

Skhal frowned, touching her face with featherlight brushes of his tough fingers, and the tenderness in his gaze stole her breath.

“We don’t have much time if they’re going to believe you weren’t gone,” he whispered.

Jayah shook her head.

The cave was dim, its mouth mostly covered by ferns and in the shadow of nearby trees. But the soft light of dawn still crept through, making the leaves glow green and heralding the beginning of a new day.

She’d be expected at the prison in a couple of hours at the latest. In truth, she’d already be late, but found that her nerves centered on leaving her mate more than the questions she might encounter.

“If they scent me on you—”

“I will tell them the truth. I’m not ashamed of you, Skhal.”

His hand stilled, tightening on her hair and the lines on his rugged face deepened as he frowned. “You would just… tell them?”

“I’d have no choice. If they think to test my scent, they’ll know—even if they don’t know who you are. Under the circumstances it won’t take them long to figure out. It’s far better for me to offer the information than for them to dominate me for it.”

Skhal’s face tightened. “I agree on that point, but…” he blew out a breath, shaking his head. “It doesn’t feel right to leave you to face that alone. If… If it happens I think you should tell me. I’ll come and speak to them—”

“And leave Zev unaided?” Jayah said gently.

Skhal’s frown deepened and his fingers in her hair tightened even further. He trembled, torn in himself between the bond and his responsibilities to his Alpha and friend.

She knew. She’d been fighting that fight for the past week, watching her Queen fumble and fight her way through something that should have been a careful examination.

“I don’t want to leave you in their hands!” Skhal muttered fiercely.

Jayah put her hand to his jaw, letting her thumb play against his beard. “Skhal, I’ve walked through two wars. In the first I joined the rebels out of loyalty to my tribe, then celebrated when they returned to our true King because it became clear that my people were… not walking the Creator’s path. I was embraced by the healer to the King and Queen at the time and helped deliver our current Queen when she was born.

“Then I stood alongside her and the soldiers as they faced the humans and their technology. I have never feared anything more than the sorcery they were able to achieve. And yet… we won. The Queen has seen my loyalty and strength throughout her life—I was trusted by her mother. If it comes to it… I don’t believe she’d call for my death.”

“We’re only in this place because of her inability to see clearly!” Skhal pointed out.

Jayah shrugged. “Perhaps. But she could also have called for Zev’s death before now and she hasn’t. She hasn’t lost her compassion, only her balance. If our bond is revealed before I am ready to reveal it, I have to trust that the Creator brought that for a reason.”

“Of course, but—”

“Skhal…” she inched closer to him, laid a soft kiss on his lips, then drew back to meet his eyes again. “I have no need of your cover. I will survive without it. But I want it.”

“Perhaps…” he rumbled, “Perhaps I am in need of yours?”

The thought was so humble, Jayah’s breath caught. They locked eyes and her stomach flipped.

She didn’t want to leave him. Ever.

“I want you close,” she whispered. “I want our people at peace. And I want my mate at my side. At my back.”

“I will never leave it willingly,” he replied, pulling her into his chest.

“I know. And… this is going to be challenging. We are forced to walk alone to help and protect each other. Surely that must be both the worst and the best feeling? I would walk gladly, calmly to my death if I knew it saved yours. But knowing that any harm that comes to me might take you too…”

It was the thought that had woken her in a cold sweat. The fear that had gripped her far more than any thought for her own death.

She’d heard the discussion of Tarkyn and Harth, this new bond that they’d found, and the difference in the Chimera.

Had she taken his bond, or he hers? She didn’t know. But just the thought that her death could bring his…

Suddenly, right and wrong were not so clearly defined.

Suddenly, Jayah found herself afraid.