Page 13 of Urn My Love

“Her m—” I caught myself before the word slipped out. “A concerned friend.”

A lazy smile slid across the man’s angular face. “Well, then. I don’t think you have any say in how I thank my beautiful mate for coming to my rescue.”

His mate.

My knees buckled, but I stubbornly locked them into place, disgusted by my body’s split-second sign of weakness.

Too angry to speak, I turned on my heel and strode into the forest without a backward glance.

Good. She had a mate to protect her now and I could leave without worrying about harm coming to her.

This was what I wanted.

Taking to the sky, I pumped my wings, heading toward home and trying to ignore the pain in my chest that grew stronger with every mile I put between me and Iolani.

August took to the sky, his wings sending leaves and small sticks swirling in the air around us.

I wasn’t sure how he’d found me, but I was beyond thankful he’d shown up when he had. Less than five minutes ago, I’d thought he was going to kiss me, and now he’d left without giving me a chance to say goodbye.

He had to be the most confusing man on Earth. I was new to dealing with the opposite sex, but I was finding them very unpredictable. Maybe it was wiser to continue only having female friends in Cucalas.

“Do you want to go after him?” the man still holding me to him asked.

My cheeks burned as I realized my legs were still wrapped around his waist, and his palms were flattened against my bare butt.

Oh, and we were both completely naked.

“No… I, uh…” I stammered, struggling to string together a coherent sentence. “I’m not usually like this.”

I loosened my legs and slid to the ground, ducking my head. What were you supposed to say when you met your mate for the first time? The man let me go, but caught my chin and lifted my face so he could see my eyes.

“So you’re saying I’ve stirred something in you?” His grin was cocky, but his eyes held a vulnerability, a need to have me confirm I was drawn to him.

I was sure Earth women would know how to handle a situation like this. Perhaps they even have a manual for interactions between partners. I should have talked to Ryls about this.

I went with blunt honesty.

“Yes, you do. I think you’re my mate, but I am new to the mate bond, so maybe I’m mistaken?” I held my breath, waiting for his reaction.

If he denied the bond, it would be the second mate this week to decide we weren’t meant to be.

But his response was the opposite of August’s reaction to meeting me.

“You feel it too!” His arms circled my waist, and he spun me in a circle. “I didn’t think I had a mate, and had given up hope. Then a few weeks ago, I sensed your presence. It gave me a reason to live.”

I smiled up at him. “That’s when I came through the veil to this world.”

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I knew your beauty was out of this world, but I didn’t think it would literally be from outside this world.”

The desire to explore his body and feel his hands on mine stole my breath. If the rustle of his feathers hadn’t caught my attention, I don’t know where things would have gone. Pushing out of his embrace, I moved to inspect the wings that hung limp behind him.

“What did they do to you?” I whispered, gently tracing the edges of one midnight feather.

“Until recently, there were several research facilities that ran experiments on various paranormal species. From what I gather, those were all either destroyed or dismantled by a team of paranormals.” He winced as I gently inspected one of the long, thin gash marks on his side.

Not ready to have that conversation, I murmured softly, “I’ve heard.”

“A few of the more enterprising staff members escaped, taking their favorite research subjects with them. One of those captives was me.”

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