But before Zane could answer, I heard the pounding of paws against the ground. The soil rumbled, and the sounds grew louder. Soon, I could hear the sharp and predatory cry ring out above the trees. Zane turned to look up, but everything went silent. He circled around, suddenly looking very worried. “What the fuck?”
Cadmar inched forward, closing him in. “This is not your world,” he said, smiling.
Zane gulped and slowly started to walk backward. “Look, just give her to me and let me go,” he said.
Cadmar followed, issuing a few quick and sudden sonar clicks with his throat.
Zane jumped and placed his hands out, trembling with fear. “Okay, I take it back. I don’t need her. You want her? Take her! She’s all yours, just let me—”
His back hit something sturdy, muscular,
and breathing. He spun and came face to face with Mag who grinned and slowly clenched his palm around his throat. He lifted him into the air, suffocating the life out of him. “What a gentleman you are.”
“Chh-kk-heellpp me,” he choked.
Quickly, I reached into my bag for a cure to the poison that was taking me under. I found a small vial and held it to the moonlight, observing the liquid contents. Finally, I clamped my teeth around the top and drank it down. Within seconds, I felt relief. “Took you long enough,” I growled.
But I was taken aback at what I saw when my vision cleared. Adeline walked out from the trees and placed her hand around Mag’s flexing forearm. She pushed it down and removed his palm from Zane’s throat. “We don’t kill,” she said.
Her body was soft and mesmerizing, like an ancient rose. She was gorgeous, warm, and sexy, all at once. Her round breasts heaved against her shirt, inspiring me to walk closer. I sniffed the air, delighted by her tantalizing scent. The girl we’d met so long ago was all grown up.
“Adeline,” I whispered. “It’s... it’s really you.”
“It’s me,” she said. She was unable to recognize us, but I’d expected that. When she came through the first time, she was so young. She probably had no idea what she actually did, but she saved us. She made our lives better.
My senses went wild as I gazed upon her, but I managed to subdue my darkest urges. I bowed in front of her. This was the best day of my entire existence. “We knew you’d come back,” I said.
At her orders, Mag subdued Zane by heaving him to the ground and tying him with a thick rope Cadmar removed from his bag. Finally, he was in our hands, but Mag didn’t look too enthused. ”We can talk later about the fact you didn’t set up the alarm systems at the greenhouses.”
“Mag, I didn’t think about it. He was trying to—”
“That’s exactly the point!” Mag sneered. “You never think about the consequences. Your head is always in the stars.”
A flash of anger rushed through me. My cheeks grew hot. “Well, someone has to find a way out of here, and it sure as hell isn’t going to be you.”
Mag’s nostrils widened. I could see his eyes shift into red dots, the first time he had looked at me as a predator in ages. “Don’t make me skin you alive, friend.”
“End this,” Cadmar said, placing his foot down on the base of Zane’s spine. ”We have a guest.”
Cadmar glanced at Adeline. She looked bashfully at the ground and lightly coughed. Taking her hand, he led her away from the tussle. “You must forgive them. They are just trying to protect our home,” he said. “And I’m afraid I must also apologize for our encounter earlier. Had I known it was you, well, it’s been some time since we’ve seen a woman.”
She blushed and stared into his eyes and, next, mine. My heart rocked me, and I felt my chest tighten. Still, she was silent in the presence of that human. It made me wonder if she was living two existences and couldn’t decide what path was right. “I understand,” she whispered, surprising to say the least. “It’s been a long time, but I found a way back here.”
“You—you remember?” I asked.
She nodded and stepped forward, extending her palm loosely in front of her. She touched my lips, gliding across my cheeks, smoothing through my coarse facial hair. Her vitals were going crazy, but she did not fear us anymore. No, she wasn’t like the others. She seemed enthralled by us.
Zane twisted and groaned. “Adeline, don’t just stand there. Do something,” he whined.
He got her attention, but not in the way he wanted. She kicked his chest and grinned like a child. “God, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.”
Cadmar reached down and picked him up with one hand, swinging Zane’s gangly body onto his shoulder. Groaning, he started to walk. “Come on. We can all talk at camp. It’s not safe to be out here at this time.”
“Not safe?” Adeline asked.
“We aren’t the only ones here,” I muttered.
A howl rang out over the valley. Mag chuckled. “Don’t worry. They are lower level animals. Once we get out of the forest, we will be safe.”