Page 43 of Wicked and Wild

“There, there,Hanna,”Lunasaid as she put an arm around the other female’s shoulders. “Don’tcry!You’resafe here and you can tell me all about it.”

“AmI?AmIreallysafe?”Thegirl’s lovely eyes darted around theDockingBaynervously and happened to fall onWraith.

Andthat was when something strange happened.

Usuallywhen people looked atWraith, they looked rightthroughhim, because they couldn’t actuallyseehim.Butwhen the girl calledHanna’sgaze landed on him, her eyes actually met his for a long, lingering moment.Thenshe stiffened and swiped at her tears, as though she was embarrassed that he’d seen her crying.Wraitheven saw her cheeks go red as she swiftly looked away.

Hestared at her, too amazed to do the polite thing and look away himself.Shehadseenhim—he was sure of it!Forthe first time in over a hundred solar years, someone hadseen him!

“Comeon now, let’s get back to our suite and we can talk,”Lunasaid to the other female.

“Ihate to be a burden,”Hannareplied. “Iknow you and, er,UncleBruinare really happy together.Ihate thatI’mbarging in on you two.”

“Oh, you won’t be barging in,”Bruinsaid, smiling down at her. “Anykin of my mate is welcome here.Butto avoid any, er,embarrassingsituations,Igot you a guest suite right beside ours.Thatway you can have your privacy and still reach us quickly if you have a problem.”

“Andby ‘embarrassing situations,’Bruinmeans that he still can’t keep his hands off me.”Lunalooked up at her mate and smiled and he returned the smile with a knowing one of his own.

“AuntLuna!Youshouldn’t say that so loud!”Hanna’seyes darted toWraithagain and her cheeks went pink.

“Whynot?”Lunaasked. “We’rethe only ones here.”

“No, we’re not.Whatabout that man?”Hanna’seyes darted to him again and then away.Shedropped her voice butWraithcould still hear her. “Imean, he seemsto be listening!”

“Whatman?”LunaandBruinboth looked inWraith’sdirection but neither of them seemed to see him.Whichwasn’t unusual at all.Evenpeople who supposedly had the gift of seeing spirits, likeLunaclaimed to, couldn’t seeWraith.Hethought it must have something to do with the curse he was under, but he wasn’t sure.However,Hannawas clearly seeing him—how was that possible?

“Nevermind,” she said toLuna. “I’mjust surprised.So…I’mnot staying with you two?”

“No, is that a problem?”Lunaasked, frowning.

“Idon’t know.”Hannalooked desperately unhappy. “I’lltell you what happened and then you tell me what you think.Butfirst, let’s get to your suite.”Hereyes darted toWraithone more time and this time he nodded at her.

Hesitantly,Hannanodded back.Thenshe turned and hooked her arm throughLuna’s.

“Comeon—let’s go.”

Theyleft theDockingBayand for a long momentWraithjust stood there, his boots hovering a quarter inch above the metal floor as always.Howcould she see him?Whatdid it mean?Andwhy was she so upset?Wasshe in some kind of trouble?

Hedidn’t know but hehadto find out.However, sinceHannacould see him, that was going to make things tricky.Hecouldn’t just follow them down the corridor and drift through the walls ofLunaandBruin’ssuite to observe.Hewould have to be more careful than that.

Buthewouldfind a way,Wraithswore to himself.Hannawas the first person who could see him in over a hundred solar years.

Hewas definitely going to find out all about her.

6

HANNA

Asthey made their way back to herAuntLunaandUncleBruin’ssuite,Hannacouldn’t help thinking of the strange, silent warrior who had just been standing there looking at them in theDockingBay.Whowas he and why did he stare at them so rudely?Itwas almost like he didn’t expect them to see him watching!

Thething that made it extra embarrassing was that he was sohandsome.Well, except for the jagged scar that ran down one side of his face, but somehow that only seemed to emphasize the perfect symmetry of his chiseled features.Healso had long, thick black hair that came down past his broad shoulders and he was extremely tall and muscular, like all theKindredwere.

Menthat good looking usually looked right throughHanna.Shewasn’t skinny enough to be worth their interest or to attract their attention.Butthis man—this warrior—had been staring at her like he couldn’t take his eyes off her!

Andspeaking of his eyes, they were the only thing about him that wasn’t symmetrical.Becausehis left eye was a brilliant blue but his right eye was pure, melted gold.Itwas a striking combination andHannahad had to force herself not to stare.

Theother odd thing about the strange warrior—besides the fact thatAuntLunaandUncleBruinhad acted like he wasn’t there—was the fact that he was wearing some kind of strange, old-fashioned looking uniform.

Mostof the otherKindredwarriors dressed in tight black trousers, tall black boots, and long-sleeved uniform shirts that were different colors, depending on what branch of theKindredtree they came from.BeastKindredwore scarlet,BloodKindredwore pale blue,TwinKindredwore emerald green and so on.

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