Page 10 of All's Fair in Lion and War
She was so small and so scared. The last thing she needed was him lusting after her like a puberty-ruled cub on the prowl.
He wasn’t that.
Didn’t want to be that.
Didn’t want the responsibility of another mate. Or the guilt of failing another woman.
He was better off alone. Why would Fate disagree? Thesoul callhe was seeing in this woman had to be a mistake. She acted like it was a mistake.
He pulled the pants up from her ankles, covering her completely once more.
“How far away is your Tribe?” She slowly lowered herself back down onto the couch. Then grabbed the blanket and covered herself with it, another layer to hide beneath.
He should pity her, but he’d seen worse. She was strong. He was proud of her for still fighting after everything he imagined she’d been through. And how long she’d been suffering at the hands of the Ka’lagh.
“I live just south.” He waved his hand toward the darkened window.
“On the mountain?”
“My Tribe lives at the base of the mountain, yes.”
“And where is here? What land are we in? How far are we from La’Tar?”
Saul blinked hard at the last comment. La’Tar? Her question didn’t make sense.
La’Tar was on Reylea.
Reylea was gone.
They were on another planet.
He opened his mouth to tell her that and then stopped himself. If she was injured and couldn’t remember what happened to her, perhaps she didn’t remember leaving Reylea at all.
“I work for a man who owns most of these cabins. I do updates and restocks and repairs.”
“Oh.” Confusion flickered across her face for a moment, but she hid it as fast as a rabbit ducking into a burrow.
He studied her, wondering what she was thinking now. Her expression morphed and raced through emotions like tumbling snow in an avalanche—fear, annoyance, fear, curiosity, fear.
Circling and circling.
Always coming back to fear.
He stepped back again, giving her more space. Anything to make her more comfortable.
“Do you like working for thisman?”
“It is good honest work.”
She nodded along with his words, her gaze still shuttered, guarding how scared and unsure she was. “They will find us here, won’t they? The Ka’lagh.”
Back to the fear.
He wasn’t going to lie to her, but he also wasn’t going to give her up. “Yes. But, I will protect you.”
“Will your tribe help me get home?”
He shook his head. “You are safe with me.”
