Page 68 of Captive Hybrid

‘He’s covered,’ Cai says, well aware of the myth.

‘What are you going to do with him?’

Cai leads me to a gently sloping dip in a small clearing. We lower ourselves down to a flat rock. The view is amazing. All sprawling landscapes of grey rock and dots of greenery. The sun reaches over the horizon, painting the sky in hues of roses and blood.

‘That’s up to both of us now. I want to question him about Drusilla. I also want to find my Origin,’ Cai says.

I blink, remembering the tattered remains of the journal my parents had left me. A pang of sadness stabs me. ‘Alaric.’

‘There’s going to be a cataclysmic war, Zen. The Origins have returned, and at least one of them is bent of destroying the others. We should get Alaric on our side. The others, too, if we can. Witch and Faerie.’ He smiles down at me. ‘I think you might be able to help with that.’

‘I think running into the midst of this is really dangerous.’

Cai pulls me into his lap carefully, running gentle hands through my hair. ‘We’re already in the midst of it. We’re of the bloodlines that brought them back. They know that. If anything, we’re already on their radar. Why not try to see if we can make them allies instead? Three out of Four, at least.’

I lean back into his strong embrace. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’

He hugs me, kissing my neck. ‘I think this war will find us, no matter what.’

I sigh. ‘But… we’re finally together. We have a home. We’re back with our people.’

I will never lose you again. I promise.

I close my eyes to the gorgeous view, exhaustion tugging at me. I just want to be with you. Can’t we crawl back in that tent and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist?

A warm chuckle reverberates from his chest, rumbling through both our bodies. How I wish we could. But we have work to do. This war between the Origins is coming, whether we like it or not. There are preparations to be made. Alliances to forge. And you, my gorgeous little hybrid, need a little more training.

I turn to glare at him, my vines dancing threateningly over my forearms. ‘Is that so?’

Cai smirks. ‘Divina can help you with your magic. And I can help you in hand-to-hand combat. Like my father taught me.’ Bravely, he reaches out for one of my vines.

As if recognising my mate’s touch, something purrs inside me, vines retracting.

I growl at him over my shoulder. ‘Fine.’ I run my hands through my hair. ‘I feel grotty. And hungry.’

He chuckles. ‘I guess I wore you out a little, hmm?’

I nod, a smile spreading over my face. ‘Yes. That… was the best sex I’ve ever had. Better than I ever imagined.’

Cai smiles, getting us to our feet. ‘That’s the only sex I’ve ever had. But it was amazing.’

My head whips to him, looking directly into his eyes to see if he’s serious. ‘R—really? I guess I just assumed…’ Blush heats my cheeks. I feel like I need to apologise, though I’m not sure for what exactly.

Cai smiles, a little sheepish. The first time I’ve seen him less than confident. He runs a hand over the back of his neck. ‘Well, yeah.’

‘I… that wasn’t my… I’ve been with other guys.’ I don’t think I’ve ever blushed so furiously. I’m s—

‘No. You don’t need to be. I already knew.’

‘You did? Jana—’ I hiss. Traitor.

Cai chuckles. ‘No. She didn’t say anything. Until last night, I could, uh, I could smell it on you.’

My cheeks feel like they’re on fire. ‘What?’ I gasp.

Cai draws me into a warm hug. ‘It’s fine, really. I can’t now. I can only smell you and me.’ He kisses the top of my head. ‘I promise, this is not a big deal.’

I close my eyes against his bare chest, relieved. Okay. Wait, but you seemed like you, uh, really knew what you were doing last night.

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