Page 39 of Rescued

Nate nodded, trying not to show his impatience. He was enjoying his time here with Lan’ara—she was a beautiful, mysterious woman who was surprisingly unfettered sexually and he was beginning to think there really was something between them.

But he couldn’t stop the guilt he felt about Maddy from invading his day or stop worrying about his little sister.

TWENTY-TWO

LAN’ARA

Lan’ara could feel Nate’s guilt and pain as clearly as she had felt his pleasure just a few moments ago. Since the deep pleasure of his orgasm had strengthened her, she was able to take his hand and help bear some of his heavy burden.

Nate didn’t say anything, though he smiled down at her when she entwined their fingers. She felt his pleasure in their contact and used it to help bolster herself as she drew some of the pain and guilt away from him. He still had a heavy load to carry, but it was easier to help him bear his burden when he had positive emotions as well.

Still, by the time they reached the Singing Forest, Lan’ara was feeling rather drained. She was glad to step into the shelter of the Fala trees with their long, silvery-white branches hanging down to the ground. The quiet, musical humming the trees made was restful and relaxing.

“Wow,” Nate murmured, looking around. “Like weeping willows but with silver and white leaves.” He cocked his head to one side. “Is that them humming?”

“It’s how they communicate with each other,” Lan’ara told him. “They—”

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the underbrush—probably just a small animal making its way through the wood. But the effect of that one small sound on Nate was immediate and drastic. The calm and contentment she’d been feeling from him changed in an instant, becoming fear and fury.

“Get back!” He shoved her roughly behind him, his emotions spiraling to dizzying heights that nearly overwhelmed Lan’ara.

“Nate, what—”

“They’re here—they’re somewhere close!” he growled. “Be quiet!”

Lan’ara stared at him in disbelief as the negative emotions boiled inside him like lava. Even the blind rage he’d been feeling when he was locked into the stasis frame hadn’t been as bad as this—possibly because they hadn’t been physically close at that time. Now that they had touched each other—now that they’d slept in each others’ arms and a tentative pre-Bond had started to grow between them—she could feel everything that her fated mate felt much more strongly. She could feel the terror and rage coursing through his big body as he crouched low, ready to confront the enemy he was sure was coming.

But there was no enemy! The Singing Trees were safe—there were no large predators here, no Scourge Soldiers to attack them. How could she explain that to him? How could she help him—save him from drowning in this sudden overwhelming flood of negative emotion?

“Nate? Nate, please!” she begged, putting a hand on his arm. The muscles in his big body were hard as rocks with tension. “It’s nothing—we’re safe here. We’re safe!”

He didn’t seem to be listening—perhaps he couldn’t hear her past the panic that was filling his mind like deadly static. His heart was pumping as hard as though he was running for his life and his breathing was rapid and shallow. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth was turned down in a sneer of sheer fury and hatred. He looked ready to kill!

Desperately, Lan’ara gripped his arm harder, making sure her bare skin was touching his. Closing her eyes, she sucked in as much of his pain and fear as she could, deluging herself with negative emotions as she tried her best to pull Nate out of the deadly spiral.

Slowly, the tension left his muscles and his breathing became calmer. He looked down at her, an expression of wonder on his face.

“Did you…what did you do?”

“I helped to bear your burden,” Lan’ara tried to smile at him but she was suddenly tired…so tired.

“I was going into combat mode—getting ready to kill something,” Nate admitted in a low voice. “You pulled me back.”

The rustling in the underbrush came again and a moment later a zeether came out from behind the bushes and began nosing around the silvery trunk of one of the trees.

Nate frowned at it.

“What the fuck is that? It looks like a fox crossed with a cat but with silver fur.”

“It’s a zeether,” Lan’ara said, her voice shaking with weariness. Goddess, she was tired! Her muscles were trembling—it felt like she’d just pushed a heavy boulder up a steep hill. Still, she tried to project an image of calm and comfort. “He’s probably just sniffing around, looking for fruit dropped by the trees,” she said, trying to smile. “They’re perfectly harmless—look, I’ll show you.”

She took a step forward, meaning to hold out a hand to the little creature—maybe offer it a piece of the juicy silver fruit hanging from the trees. But when she put her foot down, her leg didn’t want to support her. It folded under her and Lan’ara found herself falling…falling…

“Hey!” she heard Nate shout, but his voice seemed to come from light years away.

And then the whole world went distant and gray and far away and she couldn’t hear or see anymore.

TWENTY-THREE

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