Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(27)

"I'm surprised Vhyper didn't hear you." His words turned hard-edged, acid spilling into his gut. Goddess, but the thought of her with that warrior, their bodies naked and sweaty.

His jaw clamped shut.

"Don't even say his name in front of me." The venom in her words had his protective instincts leaping.

He gripped her hands. "What did he do?"

She turned away, her mouth twisting with bitter unhappiness. "I don't know. After you left, he wanted me to go with him, and I refused. I told him I needed time and he went all caveman on me and knocked me out, I woke up in my own bed just a few minutes ago."

His fingers tightened, then relaxed. He knew Vhyper as well as he knew himself, and Vhyper would never hurt any Therian woman, especially the Radiant. Particularly, his mate. Even if he'd been sorely provoked. As he certainly had been.

Kara's gaze swung back to him, her eyes filled with as much fire as fear. "I hate him. I hate it here." Tears sprang to her eyes, and she turned her face as if she wished to hide her weakness.

"I'm sorry, Kara. It shouldn't have been like this. Being chosen Radiant is the greatest of honors. Every Therian woman dreams of waking with the mark upon her breast. Every Therian woman who knows she's Therian," he amended. "This should have been a dream come true for you."

A tear glistened on her cheek, stabbing him through the chest. Her mouth twisted ruefully as she lifted her shoulder and wiped it away. "Yeah, I'm not exactly feeling like the luckiest girl alive." She turned sad eyes to him. "I just want to go home."

"I know. This will be your home, but I imagine it's hard to see that now. Believe it or not, I remember coming to Feral House for the first time. It wasn't this house, of course, but I'll never forget that feeling of being untethered, as if lost on an endless sea. Nothing familiar to hold on to. It didn't last. It never lasts. But it can be hugely unsettling while it does. You'll come to think of this as home, little one. Just give it time."

With a squeeze of his hands, he released her. "Let's get you back to bed so you can get some sleep."

At first, he thought she was going to refuse, but finally she released a noisy, unhappy sigh, and nodded.

"You shouldn't have lied to me," she said as she fell into step beside him.

"Would it have been easier if I'd told you, back in your house in Missouri, that I'm able to shift into a lion and intended to spirit you away to marry you off?"

Her soft burst of watery laughter eased his soul.

"No. I'd have run screaming into the night."

"That's what I figured. I gave you all the truth I thought you could handle, once I realized you believed yourself human." He lifted his hand, aching to touch her hair. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back.

But his gaze he could not control. As he accompanied her back to her bedroom, his eyes drank their fill of the woman at his side. Though dressed casually in snug-fitting jeans, a white sweatshirt, and running shoes, the simple attire did little to hide the slender curves of her body or the unstudied grace of her walk. A grace that made him suspect a deer or gazelle in her deep Therian heritage. Soft golden hair brushed her cheeks and jaw, accentuating a decidedly pleasing, if strained, profile.

A strain he felt mirrored in every cell of his body as he struggled against the need to touch her, as he fought for self-control. How he'd formed such a powerful and inappropriate connection with her, he wasn't sure. But he had to find a way to close it off before he permanently damaged her relationship with the man with whom she was destined to fall in love.

He'd created one hell of a mess and had to figure out a way to fix it. Eventually, she'd turn to Vhyper. She must, not only for her own happiness, but for the well-being of the entire race. The problem was, she had to do it soon. Once she accepted Vhyper, everything would fall into place. Which meant he had to break this unholy bond between them even if it killed him.

As they reached her door, Kara turned to him, gripping her elbows, trembling. Fear shimmered in her eyes and continued to wash off her as strongly as when he'd first grabbed her from behind and halted her flight.

"That dream still has you in its grip, doesn't it?" He took her hand, unable to let her suffer when he could help her. As he pulled the fear out of her, he peered at her closely. "Or is it something else, little one? Has something frightened you?"

"It's the dream." Slowly, she calmed beneath his touch. "But it felt real, Lyon. I can't shake the feeling that someone's going to hurt me."

He relaxed. "If you can get yourself to fall back asleep, your dreams will be better. You'll have forgotten this one by morning." He opened the door for her. She'd left the light on, and it illuminated the room softly. "Come on. I'll make sure there's nothing here before I go."

He checked the bathroom and peered beneath the bed, finding nothing, as he'd known he would. Radiants tended to be weak of mind or spirit, as if nature sought to balance the physical power she gifted them with, but he'd thought Kara was different. She'd seemed stronger to him. Too strong still to be quaking over a dream long gone. Then again, she'd had one hell of a couple of days.

What she needed was comforting. If he'd had his choice, he'd have crawled into bed with her and held her tight until the dream was a distant memory. Then he would have slowly peeled away her clothes and made love to her until he had her shaking for an entirely different reason.