Mack (King #4)(14)

I looked at her and stroked her soft cheek. “Who are you?” I whispered.

“Happy,” she responded.

Happy. That was the perfect name for my Seer from another land. She made me so happy.

~~~

The next morning, I found myself alone as usual, but now I missed her more than ever. Her sweet smell, her eyes, her smile. I realized that being with this strange woman was the first time I’d ever felt I belonged somewhere, like there was hope for me. Yet, the other part of my soul knew that to be impossible. I was an outsider, not welcome in their village.

“Boat,” I heard a familiar voice speak from the doorway.

I looked up and found my goddess holding out several spotted furs and three big bundles tied with twine.

“Boat,” she repeated, urging me to take the goods.

“You did it?”

I got up, and she quickly shoved the items at me. “Ko’oten. Ko’oten!”

I suddenly had the feeling she was telling me to hurry my ass up. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t with the blessing of her tribe.

“You will get in trouble,” I said. Of course, she didn’t understand. Her response was to grab my hand and urge me to follow.

“No. I do not want you to do this.” I had no clue if these people were peaceful or savages, if her helping me to take a boat would earn her more than simply being poked with sticks as they had done to me when I invaded their shore.

I dug in hard and with my considerable size compared to hers, she couldn’t move me. “No,” I said firmly. I refused to have another black mark on my soul or cost someone else theirs.

Suddenly, deep male voices began echoing through the jungle.

Her eyes filled with panic. “Ko’oten!” she yelled.

“I will speak with them. I will tell them you had nothing to do with this.”

Frustrated by my lack of movement, she shook her head at me and blew out a breath. She then reached for my hand and placed it over her heart. “Happy.” She laced her fingers with mine, and I then started to wonder if she was trying to say that she wanted to go with me.

I could never allow that. There was little chance of any boat crossing back over that ocean. I couldn’t put her in danger.

I took her hand and placed it over my heart. “You have to stay here.”

She blinked at me and then growled, jerking her hand away. She turned her petite frame and began running.

“Gods be damned, woman! Where are you going?” I chased after her, running as fast as I was able, ducking under branches and thick vines. Still fairly weak and not yet having built my muscle back, I moved as fast as a pregnant ox at best.

I tracked her footsteps through the moist dirt, finally breaking through the vegetation, shooting out onto a warm beach covered with white powdery sand. I caught sight of her running toward a small fishing boat that was narrow with an upward-pointing tip.

She didn’t stop until she got to it, and when she did, she immediately began shoving off, motioning for me to come.

I looked up at the sky for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. I had to make her understand.

I hurried toward her, and the moment I got to the boat, now bobbing in the shallow waves with her wading knee deep beside it, I heard the men’s voices.

I looked over my shoulder at them as they came rushing toward us with long spears in their hands.

Curses of the gods. This was not good.

Happy yelled frantically, and I had to choose. She would most likely die if we shoved off and tried to cross that ocean. If she stayed, I might be able to bargain with these people and convince them this was my doing. Perhaps I could make them think that I had bewitched her in some way.

I grabbed the boat and gazed into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t take you on that ocean. I care too much for you.”

She frowned at me and a look of hurt showed in her eyes. She didn’t understand, and there was no way to explain it.

The men surrounded us, and that was when I knew that I had once again made a mistake.





CHAPTER EIGHT


TEDDI





Why did he stop? Why the hell. Did. He. Stop? I realized I’d scooted forward, literally sitting on the edge of my seat, hanging on every word in that dark room. Yes, it was a fictional story—obviously—but as he wove his tale, using that deep, hypnotic voice, I had been transported to another time and place. I saw every detail he spoke of plus many more he hadn’t—the earthy smells of the jungle, the thick texture of the air, the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy—as if I were right there with him. My heart was even pounding and my palms were sweating. I felt torn for the two of them. And the sex—dear God, had he been trying to torture me? It took everything I had not to drool on my lap. No, he hadn’t gone into too much detail, but it wasn’t necessary. Like I said, my mind felt plugged in to his memories, and anything he didn’t say, my imagination filled in.

You’re an idiot, Teddi. The story’s not even real. Just like that cheese you ate yesterday. Regardless, my heart genuinely ached for this couple.

I cleared my throat and settled back in my chair, trying to gather myself. “S-so what happened next?” I asked, sounding only slightly less desperate than I felt.

It took him a while to respond. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear this?”