Page 103 of Ronan

“I’ll pass.”

“Your loss,” he says with a shrug as we approach a small area piled with items. They aren’t nearly as organized as mine, but I’ll give him a pass considering the circumstances. “We have so much from Reyes’s camp already, so there isn’t much we need. But…” He waves his hands dramatically, gesturing at a large crate of MREs. “Ta-da!”

He’s so fucking proud that I can’t even tease him.

“Those will be worth their weight in gold while we get settled,” I say, and his smile, as bright as the sun above, lights up his entire face. We pick through the rest of the stuff, although Cameron is correct. There isn’t much we need aside from gas, and we have more important cargo to consider now.

The Drüinae steps out of the shower house and glances at me before dropping his eyes. He looks like a new person. Cameron’s clothes are a size or two too big on him, but they’re clean and comfortable. His hair is detangled and combed, dripping as it hangs down his back. Sections of his visible skin are tinged pink, as though he scrubbed them for minutes on end.

Boomerang rounds the corner, and both she and the Drüinae freeze when they spot the other. The dog decides she has a new friend and bounds over, and I call her name in a panic, lunging for her.

She won’t hurt him, but he’s so jumpy he just might run.

Shock stops me in my tracks as the Drüinae crouches, holding his arms out as Boomerang crashes into him. A quiet sob hiccups from his throat as he buries his face in her fur.

Cameron and I are both wide-eyed as we find each other’s bewildered gaze. “Do you know this dog?” I ask, and the Drüinae looks up at me, showing a hint of a smile for the first time. He nods, hugging Boomerang tight as the dog wiggles.

Conflict draws Cam’s face tight, his lips a strained flat line as he attempts to hide his worry. “Is she… is she yours?”

Boomerang might’ve only been traveling with him for months, but he loves her. The possibility that she belongs to someone else—that she might have to leave him—has me holding my breath as I brace for the worst. The Drüinae glances at me in question, and I can’t help but feel guilty as I translate, but he shakes his head immediately. It leaves us more confused, but I catch the relief in Cameron’s posture as my own tense shoulders loosen.

“Can you tell me what to call you?” I ask, and he stares at me with those bright green eyes for a long time.

“Nyx,” he finally says, his gentle voice barely audible, and I offer him another encouraging smile.

“My name is Ronan, and this is my mate, Cameron.” Cam lifts a hand in a wave, and I gesture at the dog that continues to wiggle in his arms. “And that is Boomerang.”

Crouching so I’m on his level, I wait until he meets my eyes to speak. “I know there is a lot happening that you don’t understand right now, and I don’t say this to rush you.” He watches me warily as he waits, submissive acceptance on his face that tells me it’s been a long time since he has been given a choice in anything. “The military will realize something has happened here, and we need to be far away from this camp when they do. Cameron and I are searching for an abandoned village from my past. We plan to settle it into our home.”

Even without understanding our language, Cameron knows what I’m asking when I glance at him. He nods, not a split second’s hesitation. “It is isolated deep inthe woods, and there are lots of homes, so you would have your own space. We have enough supplies to last several months… including a collection of seeds to start a garden.” Nyx’s head whips up at this, something akin to excitement behind his eyes. “Would you like to come with us?”

He stares at me, unblinking, for a long time, then ducks back into Boomerang’s fur as another quiet sob climbs from his throat. “Yes,” he whispers, and I catch Cameron in my peripheral vision, reaching a single finger under his glasses to swipe at his eyes.

“Alright,” I whisper, forcing the ball of emotion in my throat back down. “Let’s get moving, then.”

Chapter 32

Cameron

Freshly fueled and with a few spare containers of gasoline, we head into the wastelands. Never thought I’d be so excited to leave behind modern conveniences.

The van is even more cramped than it was when we first left the rebel camp, and it has everything to do with the petite green man on the floor with Boomerang. Nyx was obviously terrified of riding in the van. Trembling, his body was tense, eyes squeezed closed as he climbed inside, and he only calmed when he curled into Boomerang’s fur.

He’s a complete and utter mystery wrapped in a tiny, mossy frame. Other than the few one-word responses he’s given Ronan, he hasn’t spoken. Curiosity eats at me, conflicting with the need to respect his privacy. Unanswered questions surround him like a cloud.

How does he know Boomerang?

Why does he only speak the native language of the monsters?

What the hellhappenedto him?

Thousands of questions surround him, and I wonder if we’ll ever get the answers.

“Earlier, when I was disposing of the bodies, I saw something.” Ronan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and as I turn, the sun silhouettes his profile, all those sharp lines softened by the light. He offers nothing else, just stares at the road as he drives.

“That was unnecessarily cryptic, Ro. We’ve discussed your drama queen tendencies, but clearly, those conversations haven’t yielded any positive results.” He scoffs and rolls his eyes, making sure I notice. “Okay, so you saw something… is that something good or something bad?”

“Something familiar.” He gestures towards the desolate landscape, where only dry, cracked earth and a handful of wind-battered trees break the horizon. “When I was scouting for Commander Bravis, there was a distinct rock formation we used to track our location. It’s shaped like a crow, and the beak points straight to the village.”

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