Page 46 of The Stone Initiation
“Sounds good,” Ginia said.
And when Touron got back I’d speak to him and things would be back to normal. None of this pheromone bullshit.
I hadn’t known him long, but he’d quickly become a friend. I didn’t want this weirdness to ruin our dynamic.
I wouldn’t let it.
CHAPTER19
TOURON
Istay in human form as I run for the forest. I need to clear my head of Cameron’s floral scent. A scent that didn’t bloom for me. It’s not mine to savor, and until it saturated my senses, I hadn’t looked at Cameron in that way.
I still don’t, not mentally anyway, but my primal senses are confused right now. I need to reset them.
Running helps. It’s always helped when my senses have been overloaded. When they told me Garth had been killed, I ran ten miles without stopping. Ran and ran until the tears dried and stiffened on my face. Until my chest burned, and my muscles screamedenough.
The forest closes in around me and the earthy scents of nature press in, filtering into my lungs. The winter evergreen aromas slowly wash away Cameron’s scent, and the tightness in my crotch ebbs.
It’s okay. Everything is okay.
I slow my stride, ready to turn back when something crashes through the canopy above. I skid to a halt as Serath lands in front of me in his gargoyle form.
My skin pricks, primal instinct calling to my beast, but I hold it back, raising my hands in a placating gesture instead.
Serath slowly straightens from his landing crouch. His pupils are so large that the pale blue is all but gone.
I know what this is, and fuck, I’m in deep shit.
“My actions were not a challenge.” I keep my voice even. “There isnochallenge to your mating.”
His chest vibrates and he tips his head to the side.
He’s not in control right now, and I’m in danger, because there’s no way I can fight an elite in primal challenge mode. Because that’s what this is. He saw me with Cam. Saw me holding his mate while she leaked pheromones, and now his beast is riled up and needs to beat me down.
This is the nasty side of our breed. The side of us that operates on instinct only. I need to snap him out of it.
“Cameron and I are just friends.”
He advances, and I lock my knees. Running will be an invitation. He stops a foot away and looks down at me, pupils contracting and dilating as he struggles to control his need to challenge me.
Mist plumes from his nostrils as he breathes heavily. His eyes go wide, the whites bleed to black.
Oh fuck.
Her scent.
It may be out of my head, but it’s all over my clothes.
His fist meets the side of my head in a crack that shakes my brain. The world goes dark, and my body vibrates as it hits the ground.
“Serath, no!”
The sound of grappling is followed by the beat of wings.
Fuck…I need to get up, but I can’t move.
Cool fingers kiss my brow and the thunder raging in my head ebbs to a throb. I crack open my eyelids and peer up at the angel hovering above me. She looks down at me with eyes that glow white in her smooth brown face.
