by Mikayla Lane
Grai knew he had the upper hand and wanted to help push Scaden and Amun into agreeing with the plan. He looked at Amun. “You can scan him from a good distance can’t you? So we can give him some privacy with his mate but still find out if he is well enough to continue with her?”
Amun nodded his head. “Yeah, I can check him from several yards away as long as there isn’t too much dense material between us,” Amun admitted, liking the idea the more they spoke about it.
Amun had to agree with Decano and Niklosi, he would never forgive them if they had tried to come between he and Jess like this. And they should have learned from the last time they tried to interfere.
Amun turned to Scaden and squeezed his shoulder, hating to remind his friend of the past but knowing that he had to in order to save the friendship between them all.
“Scaden, you know what we put you and Cari through when we tried to interfere, thinking we knew what was best for the both of you. You, of all of us, should agree that Grai’s plan is the best way to do this,” Amun said gently, not wanting to hurt his friend.
Scaden growled and turned to pace in front of the fireplace. “Fine! Damn… fine. I get it, I do. Let’s just find him,” Scaden said, giving in. He knew they were right. Grai’s plan was the best for his friend and his potential mate.
Scaden turned back to Grai, his eyes narrowed. “We will leave first thing in the morning?”
Grai nodded his head. “Before daylight. We can drop a little further in and catch up to them by the end of the day,” Grai said, confident that would be the case. He knew the route that Becca would take and was more than sure that they could easily catch up to them.
“You’ve been out here before, haven’t you?” Scaden asked, his sharp eyes picking up on Grai’s confidence and knowledge of the area.
Grai smiled and nodded his head. “This is where Tristan was born. In this cabin. And in the cabin a few miles away, is where I brought a small, hybrid baby girl to live with her only known living relative. Luke Carson. Rebecca’s grandfather,” Grai admitted.
Scaden sucked in a breath. “You knew she was his mate?” Scaden asked accusingly.
Grai chuckled and shook his head. “I have no damn idea if she is or not. What I do know, is that he may think she is and if it’s true, it’s not our place to interfere. The fact that she is a hybrid, leads me to believe that even his subconscious knows his mate and is determined to have her,” Grai said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Amun added. “That’s why you had no doubt that it was possible. You knew all along she was a hybrid,” Amun said, unsure if he was angry or not that Grai hadn’t told them earlier.
Grai nodded his head. “I also know that she’s been around more than two dozen of our people over the years and not one of them has called her mate. I honestly didn’t expect Gracus to run into her at all, much less find her to be his own,” Grai admitted.
He’d kept tabs on Becca over the years and knew that she’d grown into a beautiful and confident woman. Grai also knew that one day she would follow her grandfather’s journals to the mountains. He had just hoped that it wouldn’t have been under these conditions. It was going to make it difficult for him to keep his promise to her grandfather, but he would figure it out. He didn’t have a choice.
Grai was brought out of his thoughts by Decano. “If we’re leaving early, then I’m going to bed,” Decano said as he went upstairs to one of the empty guest rooms.
Grai stood. “We should all get some rest. The mountains are beautiful but harsh.”
Grai stayed in the living room while the men went to bed. Pulling out his comm, he checked with Traze and ran through the information that his brother had found for him. He moved out to the back deck and breathed in the fresh, clean air as he stared off into the darkness.
“The time has come my friend. Time for your Becca to take her rightful place. I will keep my promise to you,” Grai whispered into the night.
Chapter Eight
Grai was already awake when the others came down the stairs in the morning. He had filled coffee cups waiting on the counter for them and was finishing breakfast as they filed into the kitchen.
“Damn, Grai, do you sleep at all?” Niklosi asked as he gratefully sipped his coffee.
Grai chuckled. “Of course, I just have learned to do it much less than most. Eat up, the transport will be here in ten,” he said as he put the food down on the table and let the guys dig in.
“Damn, Grai, this looks great. When did you learn to cook?” Niklosi asked, as he dug into his breakfast.
Grai looked down at his plate and cleared his throat. “Things were not always easy on my father’s ship. Only the strong were allowed to survive and my brothers needed to eat. I found out at an early age that you can eat anything if you don’t recognize what it was before you cooked it,” Grai admitted before finishing his plate and standing to clean and put it in the dishwasher.
Grai tried to erase the memories of some of the things he and his brothers were forced to eat before he was old enough and strong enough to fight for them to have better food. Being their father’s heirs didn’t mean anything to the bastard who had spawned them and they were treated even worse by those who hated their father and wanted to take it out on the brothers.
Everyone at the table had gone silent after Grai’s admission, most trying to quell the pity they felt for the strong and brave man. It was difficult for them to imagine the horror he must have suffered as a child and none felt worse than Niklosi for bringing up bad memories.
“Grai…,” Niklosi began before Grai turned and smiled at him.
“Don’t. There is no need to apologize. I am grateful for how I grew up. It enabled me to save two brothers from becoming like the bastard cell donor who called himself a father. I do not regret that. Now, let’s get the hell out of here and find Gracus,” Grai said.
Niklosi nodded his head and headed out of the door first, followed by the rest, Grai taking up the rear. He was the last on board the transport and was surprised to be greeted by Gibly and four other Sibiox cats.
Grai smiled at the large cat who stood in front of him as he strapped himself into a seat. “Welcome Gibly, are you hitching a ride somewhere?”
The majestic cat snorted and twitched his whiskers. “You offend me and my kind,” the cat said without anger before he began to pace in front of Grai.
Grai was taken aback by the statement and scoured his mind for something that he didn’t think of in the care of the cats since they had arrived and his mind drew a blank.
Gibly sniffed and raised his chin haughtily. “You do not even know how!”
Grai looked to the others for help and when they just shrugged in surprise he turned back to Gibly. “What is it I have done to offend you?”
Gibly stopped pacing and turned glittering black eyes to Grai. “We came to help. Yet you do not call my kind when we are more suited to the situation than your,” Gibly turned to the others and sniffed. “Warriors. It is my kind who can find Gracus faster and protect him and his mate. It is my kind that can protect yours if there are dark ones in the forest, yet you do not call for my kind,” Gibly said, his eyes betraying his hurt feelings.
Understanding dawned on Grai just as the pilot called for the drop. Grai stood and bowed before Gibly. “After you, my friend,” he said, gesturing to where the doors in the bottom of the craft had opened.
Gibly sniffed and walked proudly to the opening, the other four cats following him. Grai shrugged at the others as they watched the cats drop to the ground. “I guess we have some help,” he said with a grin before he followed the cats to the ground.
Gibly waited until all of the men were on the ground before he turned to Grai. “Would you like us to find Gracus or hunt the Relians?”
Grai smiled broadly at the proud cat. “I would like us to stay together until Gracus is found. Once we know that he and his mate are safe, we can split up into groups, one to protect Gracus and the other to hunt. Is th
at acceptable to your warriors?” Grai asked, with a bow of respect.
Gibly twitched his tail back and forth and nodded his head. “We will scout ahead,” the cat replied as two of the other cats sprinted into the forest ahead of them.
Grai knew he had a lot to make up for with the leader of the cats and decided to start now. “Gibly, can your warriors scent the Relians?”
The proud cat sniffed the air for a few minutes and nodded his head. “They have been close, but are no longer. Their stink will be easy to follow,” Gibly said with his face scrunched up in disgust.
Grai smiled broadly. “I am very glad you were smarter than I in realizing how much we would need your unique skills. Thank you, for coming, my friend,” Grai said with a heartfelt bow before he followed the cats who were scouting ahead of them.
Gibly sniffed, raised his head high and walked proudly on Grai’s right side.
*****
Gracus was awakened early by the ranting and raving of his beast, Clatz, and he was so happy to have the connection back again that he ignored the blustering and grinned stupidly at the ceiling of the tent.
He could hear the faint sounds of someone moving around outside of the tent and he sat straight up and listened more closely to determine what or who it could be. When he thought he heard the sound of a tent being taken down, Gracus panicked, assuming that Rebecca was trying to sneak off without him.
He crawled to the flap of his tent and struggled with the stuck zipper. Gracus grunted as the tent shook and flapped wildly in his frustration to get it open. When the zipper finally gave, he poured himself out of the opening before fully unzipping it and tumbled out in front, with his foot still caught in the tent.
He turned to see Rebecca was sitting wide eyed in front of the fire with a light jacket on, staring at him. “You ok?” She asked, not sure what to think of his frantic journey out of his own tent flap.
Gracus flushed in embarrassment and nodded his head. Looking over, he could see her tent still in place and he realized he’d panicked over her putting her jacket on. “Yeah, I… uh… the zipper got stuck,” he said, motioning to the tent flap.
Rebecca grinned and concentrated on finishing the coffee that she desperately needed this morning. All because of that same gorgeous man, now standing on the other side of the fire. She was grateful that he’d passed out early and hadn’t noticed that she’d tossed and turned all night.
She still hadn’t made a decision about where she was taking him this morning and he certainly wasn’t helping the case for him going back to town the way he’d freaked out over the tent zipper.
Rebecca asked politely, “Did you sleep ok?”
She looked him up and down slowly, taking in his tousled brown hair, his clearer, brighter eyes and that drool worthy body that looked so yummy no matter what time of the day it was. If she was going to be honest with herself, she had to admit that he looked a hundred percent better than he did the day before.
Gracus saw that she was making coffee and was tempted to kiss her. Ignoring his beast’s warning that it wouldn’t be a good idea since he’d embarrassed himself enough already, he pulled his own coffee out of his gear and started making some, figuring they both needed it.
He nodded his head at her. “Yes, I feel amazing this morning. How about you? Did you sleep well?” he asked, wondering at the dark circles he saw under her eyes and hoping he wasn’t the cause.
Rebecca smiled and lied to him. “Yeah, I’m great.”
They both sat in silence for a few minutes while they waited for the water to boil and poured their first cup. Rebecca couldn’t stop her moan of pleasure at the first taste. Opening her eyes, she saw Gracus staring at her from across the fire, his mouth hanging open slightly and his hands suspended in mid-air as if frozen.
“Are you sure that you’re all right?” Rebecca asked curiously, wondering if he was really fine or not. He was certainly acting strangely.
Gracus was very glad that he was sitting down across from her and she couldn’t see his body’s reaction to her. There was no doubt in his mind at all that Rebecca was his mate and he was more desperate than ever to stay with her.
Clatz laughed in his mind. “You’re never going to keep her if you can’t stop acting like an ass! I tried to tell you not to eat that damn candy!” His beast warned him in his mind.
Shaking his head to clear it, Gracus smiled up at Rebecca. “I’m fine. I saw an owl in flight behind you and I couldn’t help but admire it,” Gracus lied, unwilling to give her yet another excuse to take him back to town.
Rebecca turned to look, even though she knew the owl must be gone by now. Not seeing anything she turned back to the fire and smiled at him. “The local wildlife is amazing around here. There are hundreds of different animals that call this place home,” she said conversationally.
Gracus blushed and nodded his head as he finished making his own cup of coffee and took a healthy sip of the lukewarm liquid. He closed his eyes and sighed as he felt the caffeine begin roaring through his system.
Not wanting to speak about the local animals and end up talking about his newfound knowledge of bears, Gracus decided to change the subject.
“It looks like it will be a beautiful day,” he said as he looked around at the slowly lightening sky around them.
Rebecca nodded. “We’re supposed to have good weather for the next few days,” she said, feeling a little awkward sitting across from him like this.
She couldn’t help but notice that he seemed nervous this morning. More so than he did yesterday and she wasn’t certain if it was the drugs or if it was because he wasn’t sure what they were doing today. Unable to stand the strained silence, Rebecca decided to tackle the elephant in the room. Or the bear in the camp, she thought with a grin.
“I need to know how you are feeling. Honestly,” Rebecca said, looking him in the eyes from across the small fire.
Gracus chuckled at her bluntness, almost relieved that they would get this conversation over with. “I am very, very well this morning and can honestly say I am more than ready to finally see this forest. Minus drugs and bears,” he said with a grin, hoping that the light hearted talk would convince her that he could handle himself and wouldn’t be a burden to her.
Rebecca sighed in relief, not realizing until that moment that she really didn’t want to take him back to town. There was something safe and charming about him. And for reasons she wouldn’t name or explain, she wanted to spend more time with him.
Rebecca drained her coffee and stood, her mind made up. “Good. Let’s get moving then,” she said with a smile before she headed to her tent to start packing it up.
Gracus sat there for a minute in stunned silence. He’d expected to have to argue or at least explain himself and was a little surprised that it had been that easy.
“You keep sitting there like a fool and she’s going to change her mind,” Clatz growled in his mind.
Gracus jumped to his feet and quickly disassembled his tent and packed his belongings. He was done before Rebecca and began cleaning up the campsite in order to leave as little trace of their presence as possible.
Rebecca stood near where the fire had been just as dawn broke and looked around, nodding her head. “Not bad. If I didn’t know better I would think this wasn’t your first rodeo,” she said, impressed with his effort.
Gracus looked at her blankly, unsure what a rodeo had to do with camping and afraid to ask in case he sounded like a fool for doing so. Instead he grinned and grabbed his gear, slinging both heavy packs over one shoulder.
Rebecca grabbed her own packs and pointed towards a ridge in the distance. “That’s where we’re going,” she said as she began walking in that direction.
Gracus grinned and followed behind her, keeping his pace slow to match her smaller stride. “Why that particular ridge? Is that where the caves are that you spoke of?” he asked, wondering why she would come out here, alone, to find some caves when he knew there were hundreds of t
hem much closer to her cabin than that ridge. He and Scaden had noted them when they were studying the area and he had planned on seeing a few of them.
Rebecca nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s where the caves are. When do you have to return?” Realizing that may have sounded pretty strange, she quickly added, “I’m just asking because I’m not sure how long it will take to find the cave once we reach the ridge.”
Gracus grinned. He could feel her interest in him through her energy and had never been so grateful to have his nagging, sarcastic beast back. Knowing that she was attracted to him and being able to feel her emotions through her energy would give him an edge in bonding with her, he hoped.
Clatz interrupted his thoughts. Again. “Stop being an idiot and talk to her. Thinking to yourself may be a fun form of mental masturbation for you, but the silence is creepy and you’ve been creepy enough already don’t you think?” Clatz said sarcastically.
Gracus caught himself before he growled and cleared his throat instead. “I have more than a month to stay in the area, so time is not a problem for me. Do you have a map to the caves?”
Rebecca chuckled and half turned to him with a smile that sucked the air right out of his chest. Her eyes shone with excitement, wisps of hair that came out of her ponytail framed her face with the rising sun behind her. She looked like what the humans described as an angel.
Gracus managed to pull himself together as Rebecca turned back around and said, “No, not really. I read about the place in my grandfather’s journals. He never really says where the caves are. Not exactly anyway.”
Gracus tried to clear his thoughts of her beauty and how drawn he was to her in order to concentrate on the conversation. He damn sure didn’t want to prove Clatz right by being a fool again. “How do you mean, ‘not exactly?’” he asked curiously.
Rebecca laughed again. “Why? You plan on heading back if you don’t like the answer?” she asked teasingly.
Gracus didn’t hesitate. “Of course not! I’m just curious what it is about these caves that has intrigued you into hunting them and what, if any, landmarks we’re looking for in order to find them. Four eyes are much better than two,” he said, enjoying her happy and light hearted banter.
