Page 32 of Mated
“Callus was there on the throne, and T was gone. We had no other option but to follow Callus.”
“It’s been years since T came back here. But none of us have forgotten what we felt when we woke up that morning. Tanner is the rightful Alpha of Silver Rock. But what ever happened that drew him away ... It was enough that it kept him away for almost eight years.”
My eyes lock on Tanner, and I am shocked to find his silver eyes already affixed on me with a kind of super focus. It's predatory, heavy. “Can he hear us?” I ask, whispering just in case.
She cracks a cool smile. “No, even T isn't that good.”
I flush.
She glances at me and climbs to her feet. “Look, the full moon is tomorrow night, and the run is a good opportunity to sample what Silver Rock has to offer.” She grins and it’s coy. “And we have quite a fair bit to offer. Should be quite the event.”
My face flames.
What exactly happens at a shifter run?
“You will be here, right?” she asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Probably.”
Her green eyes glint. “Look forward to seeing you then.” She walks off back into the crowd and I glance around.
Most of the inner circle is yards away with Callus and several unfamiliar males. I turn and head in the opposite direction.
I swing by one of the food trucks and get a breakfast burrito loaded with egg, sausage, bacon, and steak before slipping into the shade of the tree line, water bottle under my arm.
It’s cooler out of the sun. Quieter.
A steady breeze pulls at my ponytail and my tank, tempering the fever still in my skin. I chow down on my very late breakfast and just walk along the edge of the field.
Every few feet, I catch a glimpse of the shifters running past in bursts of energy and smooth skin. And then I catch a familiar shock of dark hair and lots of tattoos.
Caine and Tanner stand yards away with a fewer older males. T’s face is all business as he speaks and Caine waits a step behind him like hired demon muscle.
I lean against a thin pine and watch them work.
If I’m being perfectly honest with myself, Tanner is fierce. Deadly. And it’s more than the brawler from the basin or his tattoos.
He damn near screams bad ass in a yummy package. And despite Caine’s leaner build, the demon is no better with his jagged dark hair and sinister smirk. They are like really hot mercenaries.
Heat courses through me, and I take a drink of my water to ease my suddenly dry throat.
The wind shifts again, flowing over and around me as the trees sway and creak slightly.
Something drops onto my shoulder.
I look down.
A dark droplet runs like sludge over my skin.
I move away from the tree and look up.
Then immediately wish I hadn’t.
Shit.
“Tanner,” I yell over my shoulder, heart racing and my breakfast trying to come back up. “Get your ass over here.”
Chapter 14
