Page 45 of An Alien for Her Heart

“I am no different than any other sol we’ve spent in each other’s company.”

He makes a sound in his throat that sounds like he’s holding back a laugh. “You’ve brushed your mane so well, it’s shining in the dark.”

“You have, too.”

“I have a mate. She is radiant. I cannot look like a wandering outcast in her presence.”

I clench my jaw, refusing to let him bait me. He continues anyway, slapping an arm across my shoulder. “It’s a good thing, brother. When your core-rhythm sings—”

I stiffen. Not because of his words, but because of what they entail and a distinct sensation that I know far too well. Failure. Because my core-rhythm is silent. Still so silent, even though I know the female I’m watching so intently is mine. “There’s no guarantee it will ever sing.”

And I have made peace with this. If Catherine will accept me even without hearing the song of my soul…if she can see past the silence and embrace the depths of my devotion, then I will dedicate my entire being to her happiness.

I drink her in now, watching that mask slide over her eyes as she converses with Eleanor. It’s so evident, it’s strange I didn’t notice it from the first moment I met her. She plays it off well. The smile she now has isn’t her real one. The contentment in her eyes is fake. She is playing a part as if she’s been trained to play it for orbits.

This female is like me, needing a salve for her soul.

And I want to soothe her.

“That look in your eyes,” Zynar leans closer. “I can see it. Frakk, every male in our proximity is aware you’re skimming the edge of sanity.”

I look at him then, finally shifting my gaze from Catherine. My hunger for her is that obvious?

Zynar shrugs, bumping my shoulder with his. “I’ve been there. With Eleanor.”

At the sound of her name, his mate looks over her shoulder and grins at him. There’s a disgusting rumble in his throat that tells me exactly what he wants to do to her right now. Catherine looks back too, her gaze finding mine and she offers me a gentle sort of smile. Immediately everything around us fades into nothingness. I could melt.

“You must make a plan…in case.” Zynar whispers the moment their attention slides from us.

I cringe. “I know. If my core rhythmdoessing, I will return to my lodge. I will lock myself in. And you…you must tell her what I have become.”

Zynar shakes his head. “It won’t get to that point. Perhaps you will be able to tell herbeforeyou descend into insanity.”

I stare at Catherine, watching the lights play off her silken strands. Thinking about so far ahead when I haven’t even gotten her to like me feels like madness in itself. “I can’t tell her about the rut when she’s already terrified of even letting me in,” I whisper.

“She is tentative?” Zynar whispers back.

“Even more than yourkahl. I fear I might lose my chance.”

Eleanor shoots another glance over her shoulder. “What are you two whispering about?”

We both go still. Neither of us can lie and yet, the truth…

My focus shifts to Catherine. She’s watching me closely and I feel a lump rise in my throat.

Eleanor chuckles and Zynar purrs. Gods, take me now.

“Remembering the war,” Zynar says. “And how now we have this…” He gestures to the festival around us and then to his mate.

Eleanor’s eyes grow warm while a strange look grows in Catherine’s gaze.

“The war?” she asks.

I stiffen. I haven’t told her about the war. About how we fought for our species. About how we were captured. About—

Alarm goes through me when Eleanor starts explaining, my gaze shifting to Zynar.

“Don’t worry, brother. This will help your cause,” he murmurs low. “Trust me in this.”

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