Page 68 of Rebirth

Maybe we might stand together. Two unlikely allies joined against the coming storm.

Shaking my head, I block my nostrils even harder as I try to focus.

For now, I will watch over her as she heals and rests. Guard her against the dangers prowling this forest, both hyu’man and otherwise. Be here when she wakes with frightened eyes and a thousand questions, offering what comfort my tainted form allows.

It is clear we have a long and perilous road ahead, but at this moment, all that matters is that she lives. My Soh’fee. The female who looked into the eyes of a monster and called him ‘friend’.

Wound bandaged, for a moment I test my limits as I settle beside Sophie as she rests, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. For now, she seems stable, her body working to replenish the blood she’s lost.

She is so peaceful now. Eyes closed, no longer defiant. No longer curious. Like this, she is almost like every other hyu’man female I have met so far. And yet…

I’ve moved closer without even realizing, the fact only hitting me with full force when my nose brushes against her soft skin.

I freeze, fighting the sudden urges threatening to make me go even closer. To brush my nose into the softness of her neck. To run my tongue there. To lick her skin. Taste her.

My thoughts churn as I remind myself I must keep vigil.

But the fates are playing a game with me. The gods of Edooria looking at my soul even though I am far from home.

With a low growl, I rake my claws across the soft dirt beside me. I should not have these feelings. But my ba’clan disagree, stretching from the tips of my claws, trying to get to her.

No.

I pull them back even as I fight to pull myself away. For she is intoxicating. Making me consider things I should not.

I have no place courting a female, let alone binding her to me. She deserves a mate of her own kind, untainted and whole. Not some shadow creature torn between two worlds.

And yet, when she looks at me, I do not see fear or revulsion in her eyes. She alone sees beyond this corrupted flesh to the soul still caught within. And for a moment, I can recall who I was before. The Vullan I might have been, had I not—

A soft moan draws my attention. Sophie stirs, her eyelids fluttering as she regains consciousness. I lean over her, claws tingling with the urge to touch yet staying a respectful distance away. Her eyes open and meet mine, a flicker of relief passing through them.

“You stayed,” she whispers. Her uninjured arm rises as though to reach for me but then falls away, fingers curling into a fist.

That alone fuels the war within me.

I bow my head. “I will remain by your side.”

“The others…” She tries to sit up but winces, her shoulder protesting the movement. “Unity. The others are in danger.”

That foolish thing growing deep inside me warms and thrills and a wave goes through my ba’clan. I watch as her gaze snaps to the movement, waiting for her to withdraw from me.

But she doesn’t.

“We should go warn them.”

Again, she tries to rise. This time, I place a claw against her chest and force her to remain still.

“Your people have the best protection this planet can offer.”

A small smile graces her features, her flat white teeth peeking between her lips. Lips that had pressed against my own.

The memory resurfaces and I cannot pull my gaze away.

“The Vullan?”

I nod slowly, forcing my gaze back to her eyes. “If those Corrupted attack, the camp will be safe.”

She nods, her shoulder relaxing somewhat. “We still don’t know how Maisie was able to control them. Or what happens to them now that she’s dead. That fucking idiot shot her right as she was about to tell me.”

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