Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Brent didn’t sleep well, plagued by nightmares in which he was too slow to reach Raeblin with bombs exploding and blaster fire going off way too close to her. He woke with an ache in his chest and an uneasy feeling, which two cups of real Terran coffee from his private stash didn’t help alleviate. As a last resort he took a headclear inject and reported for the day’s duty, where he was again assigned to a training rotation, walking new human recruits through simulated combat. He made a private decision to talk to Mateer about his next combat assignment. Doing nothing but training was making him want to climb the walls. Sure recruits needed a certain amount of input from a seasoned veteran like him, but on the other hand, he needed to keep his skills sharp.
All morning he was restless and had trouble focusing and Raeblin occupied his mind far too much, He didn’t like the way last night had gone and blamed himself. If his only reservation about becoming a claimed mate was the failed example of his parents’ marriage, then wasn’t he allowing them to ruin his adulthood too? He didn’t want to give those two losers who’d abused him and his siblings, any power over him and his decisions now. Or the ability to hurt a good woman, which Raeblin undoubtedly was.
Thoroughly annoyed with himself, he took off as soon as the lunch break came, telling his fellow instructors he might be gone a while. The only place he could think of to find Raeblin was the hospital, since she was back to working regular shifts there but when he prowled the halls, he saw no sign of her. Worried now, he sought out Dr. Megan Garrison.
“I’m looking for Raeblin,” he said, despite the fact Megan was with three other people and deep in conversation. “Have you seen her?”
Surprised, the doctor said, “She went out on a combat mission this morning. Against my advice, might I add, but the human medic scheduled to go broke his leg last night playing in the ball game at the party and the commander needed someone to fill in. It’s mostly a South Seas team out there today and Raeblin knows them all pretty well.”
Brent felt as if a lightning bolt had struck him. Pain and a white flare traveled through his entire body and he heard himself thanking Megan, turning and walking out of the hospital as fast as he could go. When he hit the outdoors, he broke into a run, heading for the admin building. By the time he arrived, he’d forced himself to appear outwardly calm although inside he was seething. He had the necessary clearance to enter the operations room, which he did with a muttered excuse and from there it was easy for him to scope out where Raeblin had been sent.
“Op going okay?” he asked the Badari monitoring the coms, keeping his voice casual.
“So far, so good. A small lab, no special experiments, nothing too heavy,” the soldier replied. “Hey, congratulations on joining the pack.”
Brent acknowledged the remark with a nod and left. He got out of the building without anyone challenging him and headed for the airfield doubletime, stopping at the armory to gear up. He always carried his basic weapons but for a combat mission he needed his pulse rifle and a few force grenades. Acting as if he had a perfect right to be there, he headed straight to a small flyer parked off to the side and opened the ramp.
“Where are you going?” Mateer stood behind him, head tilted.
“To take care of my mate,” Brent said, losing his temper. “I don’t know who in the seven hells thought it was a good idea to send my mate into combat again and without me there to watch her six but I’m going to rectify the oversight.”
The huge enforcer eyed him in silence for an uncomfortable length of time. “Got a mate mark none of us can see? Last I heard—what I scent today—is you and Raeblin haven’t claimed each other.”
“We will,” Brent said, knowing it was the truth. “We’ve been taking our time. But she shouldn’t be out there at all, not with the flashbacks she’s having, and not without me.” He rubbed his chest and saw Mateer watching the gesture with narrowed eyes. “I have a bad feeling about this and I’m going, one way or another.” Defiance wasn’t a good tactic where Mateer was concerned but the worry over Raeblin made him reckless.
“I didn’t think it was a great idea for her to go,” Mateer admitted, “But I heard about it too late to stop her.”
“Please, brother,” Brent said. “If it was your mate, you’d be there.”
“All right, you’re authorized. But if you interfere in any way with the mission objectives?—”
“You know me better—I’m not a screwup. I can keep my head straight but I need to protect her.”
Mateer waved one hand. “Go then and may the goddess be with you both.”
Brent scrambled up the ramp, closing it the instant he was inside and running for the cockpit. He was in the air in seconds, talking to the valley flight control for clearance but not waiting for them to give him a vector, which earned him a scolding he ignored. The sense of urgency was growing and he knew she was in trouble. He forced himself to take the bare minimum of evasive directionality, which pilots did to prevent the Khagrish from discovering the valley’s location and then he was redlining the engines to reach the designated target lab. He monitored communications as he flew until he heard the one he’d been dreading.
“Taking fire, pinned by Khagrish flyers, we’re going to need help getting out of here in one piece.”
He hit the coms, “I’m coming, brother, with the valley forces right behind.” Aydarr would mobilize a rescue immediately but for now he was it, the cavalry.
When Brent reached the lab, he observed one of the Badari flyers engaged in a vicious, classic dogfight with two Khagrish flyers. Even as he arrived, the Badari craft sent one of its pursuers crashing to the trees below, made a tight turn and spiraled up into the sun. “Must be Gabe,” he muttered. His friend could fly like a demon. Circling the lab complex, he found another Badari flyer crashed and burning, the snarling feline predator logo blackening in the flames and he prayed Raeblin hadn’t been aboard. He couldn’t help Gabe with the dogfight because his armament was too light and his craft had little to no shielding. Butting in now would only mess Gabe up. Taking one more pass over the buildings below, he identified a squad of Khagrish firing at a group of Badari, pinning them down in a bad location. There were bodies strewn on the ground and Brent had to lock down his emotions. The only way he could help Raeblin now was to give her his best and Brent at his best was an ice cold Tier One operator.
Banking and diving in a manner the Khagrish flyer probably wasn’t designed for, Brent made a strafing run over the field of combat, mowing down the enemy mercilessly as he flew. There was another, similar pocket of intense firefight going on but the combatants were too close for him to take a chance on hitting any Badari or humans, so he laid blaster fire in a line right behind the Khagrish, hoping they’d panic and scatter and possibly be taken out by the shrapnel.
“Time for boots on the ground,” he muttered. Picking out a landing spot on the far side of the compound, he grabbed his weapon and the grenades and was out the door and down the ramp in a burst of motion. He’d picked a good spot and there were no enemy soldiers in the vicinity. Using all available cover Brent advanced into the complex, taking down several enemy soldiers along the way who didn’t see him coming. Reaching the main building, where the actual labs and the cell blocks were, he found a group of Badari defending the entrance, with quite a large force of Khagrish gathered to oppose them.
He knew Raeblin was in that building. She would have been with the human prisoners, checking them over before they started the journey to the valley, just as she’d been doing on their mission. Tossing his grenades one after the other, he decimated the enemy, who were bunched far too closely together, and shot the few who survived and returned fire.
There was silence.
“Friendly coming in!” he yelled at the building.
“Acknowledged,” came a shout from the interior so he left his firing position and advanced cautiously toward the doors, weapon at the ready just in case.
Wyat, a South Seas senior soldier, advanced to meet him and they clasped arms as warriors do. “You’re a one man army, brother,” Wyat said. “Thanks for the help.”
Brent had only one concern on his mind. “Is Raeblin here?”
The soldier stepped aside and pointed at the lobby behind him. “Yeah, she and the human prisoners are in there, in the hall.” He grabbed Brent’s upper arm. “She’s done a great job but you need to know she’s wounded. Not too bad.”
Ripping himself from the warrior’s grasp, Brent sprinted to the door and eased through the broken frame. Badari soldiers preparing to move out gaped at him but he ignored them, running through the debris to the hallway beyond. “Raeblin!”
She slumped on the floor, leaning on the wall, a makeshift bandage on her leg, her face a mask of pain and shock but as he arrived, she tried to struggle to her feet. The humans crouching near her tried to dissuade her from moving.
Brent settled the issue by scooping her up in his arms. “Sweetheart, they never should have sent you out here and especially not without your mate to watch your six.”
For a moment her brave fa?ade held and then she crumpled, clutching him so tightly he had a hard time breathing. “Where’s your medkit?” he asked.
“Under a ton of ceiling and walls,” she said, hiccupping through her tears. “I was so scared, Brent, but I kept working and I tried to protect the humans when the attack happened.” Raising her head, Raeblin kissed him hard and he tasted the salt of her tears on his lips. “I prayed to the goddess to see you again and you came. You came for me.”
“That’s what a good mate does,” he said. Raeblin still in his arms, he yelled at the two remaining Badari soldiers. “You got a Badari healer with you here?”
“Hainn, from the South Seas,” one man answered. “I’ll call him now.”
“Tell him to hustle.” Brent found a clear space to set his precious burden down, got out his knife and cut away her already torn, blood-stained pants leg. The wound was bad, but he could see her body was attempting to heal. The problem was if it healed too fast, contaminants or shrapnel might be sealed inside, leading to further complications. “Where the seven hells is the healer?”
“On his way,” the Badari said. “Hey, thanks for the help, brother. You took out the enemy like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
“An injured mate will inspire a man,” Brent said with a cocky grin. “Highly motivating.” Turning his attention to Raeblin, who was breathing hard and seemed to be fading in and out, he joked, “Maybe you need a hit of my blood today.” He wished the damn medic would hurry up.
“Did you—did you call me your mate?” she asked, eyes wide and glowing golden.
“Well I’m not consummating the bond here and now but as soon as you’re healed and I can get you home, yeah, I’d be honored to claim you. If you want to claim me.”
Hainn arrived before she could respond. He went to his knees next to Raeblin and examined the wound with a critical eye. Taking out his kit, he warned her, “This is going to hurt.”
She grabbed Brent’s hand and held on for dear life as the South Seas medic poured an antiseptic cleansing solution over her injury, washing out grit and shrapnel and blood flowed freely. Raeblin gasped and her fangs deployed as if to challenge the healer for inflicting pain, but she quickly retracted them and closed her eyes. Hainn wasted no time in placing his hands above her shattered leg, the green glow of his healing power blazing. As Brent watched, cradling Raeblin in his arms as best he could without being in the way, the exposed bone knit smoothly and the underlying nerves and blood vessels wove themselves together, with layers of skin flowing to cover the previously open wound.
“You’ll need to see Timtur when we get back to the valley,” Hainn said as the glow faded. “He’ll make sure the healing was done properly.”
“You did a nice job, brother,” Brent said.
The healer acknowledged the praise with a tired smile and patted Raeblin on the shoulder. “It’ll hurt for a bit and don’t worry if you need to sleep for about twelve hours straight. I’ve mended the damage but your body has to catch up with the trauma.” He assessed the twenty or so humans clustered a few yards away. “I can deal with them.”
“I should help,” Raeblin said. “I’d done most of the checks before the attack began but there might be new injuries.”
“You’re taking care of yourself now,” Brent said, admiring her determination to do her job despite her own pain, but he wasn’t having any of it. Not on his watch. “And I’m taking care of you.” He looked to Hainn. “Who’s in charge of this team?”
“Wyat, you met him outside.”
“Tell him I’m taking Raeblin to the valley now. I can take a few more passengers, maybe five, if he wants. But we’re going now.”
Startled, Hainn offered no objections. “Wyat says fine and yes, please take as many humans as you can. We lost one flyer, you know.”
“I saw when I came in. Lose anyone?”
“A few injured, like Raeblin, no fatalities, thank the goddess. Several close calls.” Hainn patted Raeblin on the shoulder and moved toward the humans. Quickly he indicated five people to go with Brent and Raeblin.
“I’m moving fast,” Brent warned the group. “So keep up. I need to get my mate home.” He exited the building, careful not to let any of the jagged edges of the door touch Raeblin, and headed off across the compound. He heard rapid footsteps behind him but he honestly didn’t care. His only concern was the woman in his arms and getting her to safety.
He met Gabe as they were going. “Figures you’d show up at the party,” his friend said, “Even if you were late.”
“I like to make a grand entrance,” Brent replied. “Caught a bit of your dogfight. Nice job.”
Gabe was inspecting Raeblin with a critical eye. “She okay?”
“Hainn fixed her up but I won’t be satisfied until I get her home.”
“I’m fine,” Raeblin said in a drowsy voice. “Suffering the aftereffects of a major healing though. A bit disoriented.”
“I won’t keep you then.” Gabe stepped aside. “Heard you two are mated now?”
“In all but the deed. As soon as she’s recovered.” Brent saw no need for more conversation either and continued his determined march toward the flyer he’d arrived in.
“I love it when you call me your mate.” Raeblin pulled his head toward her so she could kiss his lips.
“I appreciate the thought but don’t make me drop you, woman.” Off balance, Brent had all he could do not to stumble on the torn up pavement.
“You saying that word to everyone and to me is all the healing I needed today,” she said.
“When I learned they’d sent you out on a deployment without me it was a literal gut punch,” Brent replied. “I was furious and I had to get to you as fast as possible. I also accepted that the time for me to stop fighting it and man up had arrived. Had a few other insights too but I’m not sharing them with five humans.”
“We can talk later,” she agreed, resting her head on his chest. “I’m going to sleep all the way to the valley.”
By the time Brent was able to take off, three other Badari flyers had arrived and he knew the site was locked down and safe for the remaining soldiers and former prisoners, which relieved his minor discomfort over bugging out before the operation was finished. He installed Raeblin in the most comfortable seat on the flyer, legs elevated on cushions and ordered the five other passengers to find themselves places. “You.” He singled out a tall woman who gave off a trustworthy attitude, shoulders squared and face determined. “Keep an eye on my mate and if anything changes in her condition while we’re in the air, you come get me in the cockpit.”
Once he was in the pilot’s seat, he took off at an angle a lot steeper than was recommended and hit the afterburners to get home as fast as possible. He did the required indirect route to avoid Khagrish detection or tracking but he burned with impatience to have Raeblin in his arms, in his own residence. Checking with the valley controller, he was assured there’d be someone to meet the flyer and handle the five incoming new humans and also told Timtur, the senior healer would be meeting him and Raeblin at the same time. Brent wanted to avoid wasting time in the hospital if he could avoid the delay. Hainn had said the healing was successful so unless Timtur detected an issue, this was simply going the extra step to be sure Raeblin would be okay. He was more than willing to do that of course, but not one second more.
Sure enough, the humans were shepherded away by Bettira, who worked for Nicolle, the valley’s human administrator and Brent escorted Timtur up the ramp into the flyer to check Raeblin in private.
The healer wasted no time in running his hands over Raeblin at the usual two to three inches distance, the green glow of his power nearly blinding Brent. He’d thought Hainn was a strong healer but clearly Timtur was way up on the scale above the South Seas’s man.
“You’ll be fine,” Timtur assured a drowsy Raeblin, as she blinked and yawned. “Go sleep off the effects and then take a few days off. I’ll tell Dr. Garrison not to schedule you for any shifts for the next week.”
They both thanked him and the healer was off, leaving them alone on the flyer.
“Can you help me to my residence?” Raeblin asked. “I’m kind of shaky on my feet right now.”
“I’ll take you there if that’s what you want,” Brent said. “I’m all about whatever you need to do right now.”
Head tilted, she studied his face. “But? What do you want?”
“Seven hells, I want to claim you right here and now, in this flyer but the idea’s not right on so many levels—you were badly wounded, it’d be like making out in the back seat of a damn groundcar in high school, I want our claiming to be special. Just had to say how much I want you.” There was silence from Raeblin so he added, “And what I really want is to take you to my residence and take care of you, let you sleep as long as you need. Then when you’re up to it, we could do the claiming properly.” The back of his neck was hot—was he blushing? The mere idea embarrassed Brent, hardened soldier that he was, but this was important.
“It’s a kind offer.” Raeblin sounded hesitant.
“One thing you need to know right now, I’ve never invited any other woman to my private residence. No one else has ever slept in my bed and no one besides you ever will. Did I date other women in the past here and were we intimate? Yes, I’m not going to deny it but the past is past. Not once was anything ever serious, not like the love I have for you. There are places in the valley where two people can get together privately and I’ve used those but my cave has always been my retreat, not to be shared.”
Eyes glowing, Raeblin was watching him with a big smile. “Then I accept your invitation with thanks.”
He helped her out of the flyer and they headed toward the residence caves at a slow pace. “Do you want me to carry you?” he asked finally, as she was favoring her injured leg more and more.
“Do you mind? Hainn said I’d be sore even though the healing was done and I have to admit he was right.”
“It’s not too far now and no, I don’t mind.” Suiting action to words, Brent scooped her up and moved out at a quicker pace.
When Brent arrived at his cave, he set her on his nondescript couch and went to the kitchenette. “Are you hungry? I sent a message to Sandara while we were cruising home and asked her to send over a special meal for you, which I see the cubs have delivered.” He opened the stasis keeper and delicious aromas wafted out. The unit was packed with covered dishes so Sandara had gone the extra mile for him. “We have a lot of choices here.” Glancing at the living room, he saw Raeblin was blinking away tears and he hastened to her, kneeling on the floor beside the couch and wiping away the tears gently with his thumbs. “What’s wrong? Should I call Timtur?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. You’re being so sweet and caring and it’s what I dreamed of and today has been so awful and then so wonderful— it’s too much for me right now.”
“I get it. No worries, don’t ever hesitate to tell me what you need.”
“I think I need the healing sleep most of all,” she said. “Much as I’d rather sample those delicious dishes and then go into your bedroom and claim each other, my body is fighting me.”
Brent scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom, where he helped her undress and gave her one of his tee shirts to use as a nightgown. “I love seeing you in my shirt,” he said as she slipped under the covers.
“I love being immersed in your scent. It’s soothing and I feel safe.” Raeblin adjusted the pillow. “You won’t leave me alone, will you?”
“Of course not. I’ll be right here and if any of those bad dreams show up, I’ll help you banish them.”
“Then I can sleep.” She closed her eyes and he tucked her in. “Brent?”
Pausing on the threshold of the bedroom, he turned. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
There was no choice but to walk to the bed and kiss her on the lips, a soft promise for what they’d be doing later, when she was recovered. He took a deep breath. “I love you too, which I’ve never said to anyone else, never wanted to say to anyone else.”
With a contented sigh, Raeblin scrunched lower in the bed. “See you on the other side.”
He sat in the living room reading for the most part, although he checked on Raeblin frequently. She was sleeping peacefully; however, at one point he heard her talking and when he walked into the bedroom she was obviously in the grip of one of her flashback nightmares. He sat on the bed, holding her tight, murmuring reassurance, and although she didn’t awaken, she settled in with a contented purr and returned to deeper, peaceful sleep. He decided to curl up with her for however much longer she was going to need to sleep. His habit was to sleep in the nude, so he stripped out of his clothes and climbed into the bed carefully, so as not to wake her. Lying on his side, he drew Raeblin close to him, to spoon in the curve of his body. The Badari Daughters were on the petite side, not as big and muscled as the men, so he had a few inches on Raeblin, which he had to admit he liked.
Brent was in a mood of rare content and he drifted off to sleep easily.
He woke much later to Raeblin running her hands over his body, exploring his cock, which of course was already hard and aching, and his balls, which were drawn up tight to his body. “Good morning to you too,” he said, hugging her. “I could get used to waking up like this.”
“Actually I think it might be afternoon, but who cares?” she asked, kissing him.
“Does this mean you’re done with the healing sleep?” he asked, chuckling as she toyed with his flat nipples and ran her hand over his stomach, tracing his six pack.
“Definitely. I’m ready for action now and I only want one thing.” Raeblin changed position and took his manhood deep into her throat, swirling her tongue over the head, exploring the notch on the underside and putting him instantly on the edge of coming.
“Keep this up and we’ll be having an epically short encounter,” he said, stroking her back. He bit off a curse as she began to purr and the vibration traveled right to his cock. Brent fisted his hands in the sheets and fought for control as she continued to play. “Much as I love this, I want to give you what you need too, sweetheart.”
Raeblin allowed him to slip from her lips. “Oh, I’m ready for this, believe me. Waking up to find you naked in my bed was all it took.” She gave him a push. “On your back and get ready to be claimed, mate.” Pausing, even as he obligingly positioned himself per her command, she focused on his face and asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He took her hand and kissed the palm. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
With a satisfied smile, Raeblin rose up and seated herself on top of him, rubbing the hot wet silk of her folds on his shaft. “The Badari—the actual Badari—has to claim first. Or so I’ve been told.”
“Don’t waste all the good work you’re doing, let me inside where I want to be,” he said. “I can help with this.”
“Oh you’ll do your part and do it well, I’m confident.” Her laugh was sensual and happy at the same time. Rising a little, Raeblin grasped his manhood firmly and slid herself on to the weeping tip. Brent thrust upward to meet her and sheathed himself deep inside her core,
With his next move he plunged further, reacting to the way she was riding him, and stroking him with her internal muscles. Hands on her hips to brace her and keep her exactly where he wanted her, Brent enjoyed the view. Raeblin had a luscious body, with curves a man could hang onto and lose himself in. She rode him with energy, moving her hips in a circular motion which drove him to distraction. He saw stars and felt the white lightning gathering in his balls.
“I’m close, sweetheart.”
She tossed her hair with an adorable chuckle. “Me too. You have my permission to lose control, mate.”
Brent exploded in an orgasm so intense he was close to blacking out, holding her so tightly as he arched and shot his seed he was afraid he might bruise her with his grip but he couldn’t stop. He might not have an inner predator like she did but this moment was so good, so powerful, he was elevated outside his own remaining humanity, into something else.
With a deep groan of pleasure that vibrated in his bones, Raeblin climaxed. Her claws raked his belly, not enough to draw blood but with a hint of pain sending his nerves into overload. Then she leaned over and bit him hard where his neck met his shoulder. Brent came off the bed, ecstasy rushing through his entire body like the hit of a mainlined major feelgood, or a bolt of lightning maybe and to his astonishment his cock pulsed and there was a second, even more powerful orgasm.
“Mine,” Raeblin said on a mixture of a human voice and what must be her predator’s cry. She licked the spot where she’d bitten him and Brent relaxed into her embrace with a grateful exhalation. Raeblin tapped him over the heart. “I Claim you as my mate.”
Although he should have needed at least a few minutes to recuperate before he’d have been ready to initiate staking his own claim, Brent was still hard inside her, hot and ready to go. More Badari blood miracles, he thought with a tiny sliver of his mind as he rolled her off and came over her. There was no time for more introspection because he began driving into her for the next orgasm, the one where he could claim her. Raeblin was an enthusiastic partner, taking everything he gave her and asking for more. Poised on the edge, Raeblin coming right along with him, without hesitation he maneuvered their bodies so he could bite her in the same location, although since he didn’t have fangs, his blunt human teeth had to do the job.
He tasted the spicy elixir of her blood on his lips and swallowed hard before licking the spot on her tender skin, as she’d done for him. Gazing into her flushed, happy face, he said emphatically, “Mine. My mate, Claimed.”
He collapsed onto her, immediately taking most of his weight on his arms so as not to crush her and nuzzled her nose with his. “I want to marry you too, if you’ll have me. I want to do this up completely right and tight. Now, the Afterlife, the whole thing. No loopholes.”
“I love you,” she said in a quiet, contented voice. “Even though neither of us is human, I’d be proud to go through the human ceremony as well if it makes you happy.”
His heart was so full he could barely get words out. I love you, he thought.
I love you more, she said in his mind.
Not possible, he shot back. We’ll have to call it a draw. “Holy shit, now I’m telepathic?”
“The goddess must be pleased with us since she granted the gift immediately,” Raeblin answered. A pensive expression settled over her features and she asked hesitantly, “Do you—do you sense the mate bond at all?”
Brent slid to the side and rolled on his back, rubbing his chest where something had been aching and twinging for days. Now there was no pain. He was content and fulfilled. Closing his eyes, he blinked and shut the lids again to doublecheck. There in his mind’s eye was an intricate golden cord, running from his heart to hers. “Incredible. I do see it.”
“Can you feel this?”
He wasn’t sure what she was referring to but then like a sunburst unfolding warmth spread through his chest and a sensation of being loved and cherished engulfed him. Brent kissed her hard. “Can you teach me to do that for you?”
“I’m sure. We don’t have to master all the nuances of being Claimed mates in the first hour.” Her laugh was sweet and satisfied.
Brent curled his hand around her breast, thumbing the nipple. “Maybe if we practice some more?—”
“After dinner,” Raeblin said. “I’m starved and now is the time to explore all those goodies the chef sent over. Our mating feast.”
“Don’t move a muscle.” He scrambled off the bed and hastened toward the living room. “I’ll dish us up a first course and we can be decadent and eat it in bed.”
“I’ll pick dessert,” she called after him and he was pleased she liked his idea.
Loading up two plates with food from the containers in the stasis keepers, Brent couldn’t remember a happier moment in his entire life than right now, with a Claimed mate in his bed, about to bring her what she needed and then later—he had no doubts—he’d take care of her other needs again. He was glad he hadn’t brought any other woman to this residence so it could be special for the two of them alone.
He was in for quite a few changes in his life now, he guessed and he welcomed the idea, as long as Raeblin was by his side. I was stuck in my ways and my beliefs for too damn long. Comfortable in my rut. I let my parents set the parameters of my happiness years after they passed on and I should have known better. Pausing in his tracks, hands full with plates, he closed his eyes and directed a thank you to the Badari goddess, for sending him Raeblin to set him free of his narrow boundaries and push him into a new path.
There was no answer although he caught a whiff of an incredibly beautiful scent but then he was rushing to bring his mate her dinner and start on the rest of his life.