God, it'd been so long since he'd last slept with a woman. Felt her breath and hands on his skin as he lost himself to absolute pleasure.
For many reasons, he'd done his best to stay away from women as much as possible. It wasn't that he didn't trust them.
He didn't trust himself.
After enslaving himself to the last woman he'd been with and allowing her to completely and utterly control him against all sanity, he had no desire to surrender his will or body again to any female. Not even long enough to scratch a base urge.
It wasn't worth it.
And that succeeded in reminding him why he didn't need to think of this one as an attractive woman in the least. She was just another stranger who would be out of his life in a matter of days.
No more. No less.
In the back of his mind, he saw an image of her stabbing him. But that, too, he pushed aside. He knew to watch out for it. So long as he kept his guard up, there was no chance of her harming him. He was too lethal a warrior for that. He wasn't the same man who'd allowed Windseer to take control of his hatred.
I am the Thunderbird. The fiercest of all legends. The deadliest of predators.
The only thing that had ever defeated Thunderbird was the Thunderbird when he'd allowed himself to be tricked by Raven.
And that will not happen to me.
Never again.
His thoughts finally where they should be, he narrowed his gaze on the deep gash that ran along her rib cage. It looked painful and terrible. Having received more than his fair share of wounds, he knew how much such a thing stung. It amazed him that she'd lasted as long as she had before passing out.
Heaven knew, Coyote had never been so strong.
Tasting the bitterness on his tongue brought up by that particular memory, he pulled his T-shirt off, over his head, and used it to apply pressure with one hand while he called Talon with the other to let his friend know that he'd found their target.
Talon didn't answer.
Frowning, Ren tried Choo Co La Tah next. When Choo didn't pick up ... that made him nervous. Don't panic. They're not back in this realm yet. That's all it is. Hard to get cell phone service when you're beyond the reach of cell towers.
It could be true. They'd each gone to different realms where the woman could have been taken. Since his friends didn't know he had her, they would keep searching for a while.
Which meant he was stuck with her until their return.
Alone.
It's not the same as before. He wasn't the same.
And she definitely was not Windseer.
Yeah, but look what that got you. A quick kick in the teeth and crotch, and a gelding would have been far superior to Windseer's treachery and abandonment.
It was why he didn't want to be alone with this woman.
I can resist anything except temptation. But at least he knew that about himself and he accepted it. He now understood what to guard against. It was why he was a recluse to the worst extent of that word. Why he, unlike the majority of other Dark-Hunters, didn't have a human servant to look after his affairs.
The fewer people around him, the better. For centuries only Choo Co La Tah had been trusted as his friend. And a hundred years ago, after Buffalo had been reincarnated and then slain, Ren had taken his one true friend under his wing to protect him.
He didn't need anyone else in his life.
But as he tended her side and the warmth of her skin caressed his, he remembered a time when he'd wanted so much more than this barren existence. A time when he'd craved being a part of the world. Having friends and family to share his fire with.
Why? He had no idea. The world had never welcomed him. His family damn sure hadn't.
Prove to me that you're at least worth the grain it takes to feed you. Protect your brother. At all cost. Even if it means your own life. That had been his only use to any of them.
Bleed for others.
And it was still his sole reason for living. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Grinding his teeth, Ren pushed all those thoughts back to the place of darkness where they belonged.
If only they would stay there.
Angry at himself for a weakness that shouldn't exist, he finished cleaning and binding her wound, then got up to put away his bloody shirt and get a fresh one.
As he stepped away, lightning flashed brightly and was followed by a clash of thunder so loud, it jarred his entire home.
At midnight, the Reset would officially begin. A ten-day festival of counting down to the opening of the gates. The first day of fun would be violent storming. Followed by tornadoes, floods, and hail so severe only a fool would venture into it. And with the dawning of every day, Windseer would be one step closer to release.
Once she was out, then she would set free the Grizzly Spirit.
And then, they would come for him.
Ren ground his teeth as he remembered the day Windseer had taken him before her master. At first, Grizzly had appeared old and withered. It'd only been when their gazes met that Ren understood the power of the immortal bastard. What it would take to restore the ancient being to health.
"Release me and I will make all your dreams a reality."
The Grizzly had required a blood sacrifice from a child of the Stars. His heart filled with utter hatred and contempt for the world that had kicked him in the teeth one time too many, Ren had gladly performed the ceremony and restored the Grizzly Spirit to the human realm. And just as gladly, he'd welcomed Grizzly to use his body as Grizzly's own.
In blood and sweat, Ren had been reborn a new man. But not a better one. Strange how he hadn't really found his humanity until after he'd sold his soul to Artemis. Only then had he learned what mattered most in life.
Only after he'd lost absolutely everything.