Page 70 of Realms of Swords and Storms
My pulse quickened at his words, images flashing through my mind that sent heat coursing through my veins. Livia's breath caught audibly, her pupils dilating as she looked between us.
"Chase?" she repeated, her voice slightly breathless.
Sirrax nodded, turning to her with predatory focus. "You run. We hunt. Ancient way. Shows strength, cunning. Worthy mates catch worthy female."
"And if I don't want to be caught?" she challenged, though the flush on her cheeks and the quickening of her breath betrayed her interest.
"Then not caught," Sirrax shrugged. "Simple. But think you want." His golden eyes held hers knowingly. "Think you curious. Want see what new mate can do. What both mates can do. Together."
The air between us seemed to thicken, charged with something elemental that had nothing to do with transformation and everything to do with the primal connection between us. I found myself moving closer to Livia, drawn by an instinct older than thought.
"Is this what you want?" I asked her softly, needing to be certain despite the pull of these new instincts.
Her eyes met mine, clear and unwavering. "Yes," she said simply. "I want to see what you've become. What we can be together." She glanced at Sirrax, including him in her answer. "All of us."
The affirmation sent a surge of possessive desire through me, so powerful it was almost dizzying. Not jealousy—strangely, I felt no jealousy at all regarding her connection to Sirrax—but a fierce, protective need to claim her as mine, to prove my worth as her mate.
"How does this work?" I asked, my voice hardly recognizable to my own ears.
"Simple," Sirrax said, stepping back to give her space. "She runs. We wait. Then hunt."
Livia's eyes gleamed with excitement, a wild, adventurous light I'd seen before in the arena when she faced a particularly challenging opponent. "Any rules?" she asked, already backing away from us.
"Stay in grove," Sirrax instructed. "No climbing trees. Beyond that..." He shrugged, a surprisingly human gesture. "Cunning allowed. Stealth allowed. All senses fair."
She nodded, her gaze lingering on mine for a moment, something heated and challenging in her expression. Then she turned and darted between the ancient olive trees, her form quickly swallowed by the shadows.
"Now wait," Sirrax said, closing his eyes. "Slowly. Give fair chance."
I closed my eyes as well, forcing myself to wait despite the urgent desire to pursue her immediately. It seemed to take an eternity, my newly enhanced senses straining to track her progress through the grove—the soft pad of her footsteps growing more distant, the rustle of leaves as she passed, the faint trace of her scent carried on the night air. My body responded to these inputs with an intensity that was almost painful—muscles tensing, heart accelerating, blood heating in my veins. By the time Sirrax spoke again, I was clenching my fists to keep from bolting after her.
"Now," Sirrax finally said, his eyes snapping open. He looked at me, that predatory focus now evident in his stance. "Hunt together," he suggested. "Show mate strength of both. Impress more."
The idea appealed to something deep within me, some instinct that recognized the value of cooperative hunting. I nodded. "Together, then. How do we do this?"
"You take east," he directed, already moving westward. "I circle north. Drive toward centre." He gestured to a small clearing visible between the trees. "Herd like prey. Not let escape."
The word 'prey' sent a shiver through me—not of revulsion but of dark excitement. I knew Livia was my equal, a warrior in her own right, yet in this ritual she had assumed a different role. She was the quarry, and I was the hunter. The knowledge stirred something ancient and powerful within me, a part of my nature I had never acknowledged before tonight.
Without further discussion, I moved toward the eastern edge of the grove, my footsteps nearly silent on the leaf-strewn ground. The human part of me marvelled at this new stealth, at how instinctively I placed each foot to avoid twigs that might snap, at how I unconsciously modulated my breathing to remain silent. But the Talfen part—the part that had soared through night skies on massive wings—recognized these skills as birthright, as natural as flight itself.
The moonlight filtered through the ancient olive trees, creating a patchwork of silver and shadow that would have been disorienting to my human eyes. But my transformed senses processed the contrasts with ease, picking out subtle movements, differentiating between the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the deliberate disturbance caused by a human's passage.
I caught her scent on the air—a complex mixture of familiar notes that made my pulse quicken. Sweat, skin, the lingering sweetness of the perfumed oil she used in her hair. But there was something more now, something my heightened senses detected beneath these familiar markers—the subtle chemical signatureof arousal. She was excited by this chase, this ritual. The knowledge made heat pool low in my belly, made my movements more focused, more predatory.
A small sound to my left—barely perceptible but unmistakable to my transformed hearing. A controlled breath, quickly stifled. She was closer than I had realized, perhaps twenty paces away, concealed behind the twisted trunk of an ancient olive tree. I froze, becoming one with the shadows, weighing my options.
I could rush her position directly, using speed and surprise to my advantage. But there was no guarantee of success—Livia was quick, trained in combat, adept at evasion. Or I could stalk closer, silently closing the distance until escape was impossible. But that risked her detecting my approach, slipping away before I could pounce.
The third option came to me with startling clarity—work with Sirrax, use our coordinated positions to trap her between us. I couldn't see my hunting partner from my position, but somehow, I knew where he would be, could sense his presence circling to the north and west, quietly closing the perimeter. It was as if the transformation had awakened some telepathic sense, some connection to my fellow Talfen that transcended normal communication.
I moved in a slow arc, positioning myself to drive Livia toward where I knew Sirrax would be waiting. My movements were fluid, controlled—the motion of a predator stalking its prey. With each step, each careful advance, the intensity of my desire grew. This wasn't just about sex, though that hunger burned fierce within me. It was about proving myself worthy, about demonstrating that I possessed the strength and cunning to claim my mate.
A twig snapped to my right—deliberately, I realized. Sirrax, alerting Livia to his presence, driving her toward me. Clever. I tensed, prepared for her to flee in my direction.
Sure enough, I heard the quick rustle of movement as she darted away from the perceived threat. I glimpsed her through the trees—a flash of pale skin in the moonlight, the dark curtain of her hair streaming behind her as she ran. The sight ignited something primal within me, something that blurred the line between desire and hunger.
I pursued, no longer concerned with stealth now that the chase was truly on. My feet barely seemed to touch the ground as I ran, my body moving with a fluid grace that felt utterly natural yet completely foreign to my human experience. The world narrowed to this pursuit, to the woman fleeing before me, to the burning need to catch her, claim her, make her mine.
