Mitch tended to her, helping her get up and about, fed her, helped her to the bathroom…and found himself being drawn further and further under her spell. Everything about her captivated him. Despite his vow to keep his distance, to not touch her in any way, he found himself leaning closer to listen to her when she spoke, her soft voice drawing him in. Their hands would brush occasionally, sending heat spiraling through him. The physical attraction continued to spark between them until it burrowed so deep under his skin it was all Mitch could do to control himself. He’d never been so attracted to a woman before, the need to be close to her, to lose himself in her body nearly overpowering. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he seem to distance himself from her? Being an empath meant that he was naturally wary around people and tended to keep his distance to protect himself. His reaction to Kate wasn’t normal for him. Could it have something to do with the drifter in him?
On the morning of the third day, Mitch decided it was time to teach her how to use the bow and arrow. He needed to send her packing, and soon. He didn’t tell her of his plan to get rid of her, because he knew she would protest. Kate was better off without him. Safer away from him. And he was much better off alone. Even if being around her made him feel good for the first time since he’d lost Lisa. He couldn’t get lost in her goodness. It was time for her to go.
He’d reached a sort of “truce” with the drifters. By “marking his territory” around the crater like a dog or a wild animal, he forbade them from going anywhere near Kate. He was more powerful than they were, and they sensed it, knew when to keep their distance. It wouldn’t stop them from attacking him if he were to get in their way, but they respected his superiority over them and by marking his territory, he secured Kate’s safety as long as she remained within that territory. The drifters never went beyond any areas he’d “marked” in the crater. He should have done that in the beginning, but it hadn’t even occurred to him, because he hadn’t planned on staying this long. Now that Kate was up and about, he warned her about certain areas the drifters roamed so that she wouldn’t accidentally encounter them again. The beasts generally stayed on the opposite end of the crater, their home deep in the tunnels they’d burrowed into the earth. Since they only ventured out at night, Kate’s chances of running into them again were slim.
Mitch had no doubt that Ronin had healed from Kate’s knife wound and was probably hunting them again. They needed to be extra vigilant when they ventured out of the crater. But it was time now. They needed to move on. He needed to find Ethan and get to the mountain.
He needed to send Kate on her way so he could complete his task and take Ronin down. And if he succeeded—not likely, though one could only hope—then he might seek Kate out again. See if she was interested in pursuing a relationship at that time. Because with Ronin gone, life might be worth living. Mitch might even have a future. And sharing that future with someone like Kate would bring him happiness.
But first things first.
Right now, she needed an archery lesson.
Kate came up behind him where he stood at the crater’s entrance, scanning the savannah for danger. He sensed her before she reached him, her scent, the soft sound of her footsteps giving her away. He felt her nervousness, along with a hint of anxiety. Was she afraid of him still? He hadn’t sensed any fear from her for several days now and had believed she’d gotten over her initial fear of him.
Mitch turned to face her. “You ready?”
She nodded. “It’s high past time I learn how to protect myself.”
He agreed. Every woman needed to be able to protect herself, especially in these hard times. “Come on.”
The early morning sun peeked over the horizon as they walked out of the crater. Mitch quickly surveyed the area again, checking for danger. A small herd of zebras grazed off in the distance. Two lionesses prowled toward the zebras, slinking closer. An Augur buzzard perched in a nearby acacia tree, searching for prey. He glanced back toward Aftermath, which was just under two miles away. Ethan had once told Mitch that he’d built Aftermath close enough to his dinosaur dig so that he wouldn’t have to travel too far to reach it each day, but that he’d wanted Aftermath far enough away from his dinosaur dig so that strangers would be less likely to come upon it and discover what he was doing there and try to steal his research. The only person Mitch could imagine who would be interested in Ethan’s “research” was Ronin. Mitch didn’t even want to contemplate what might happen if Ronin discovered a pack of drifters lived there. If he learned all the secrets Ethan had uncovered about them...
Mitch shoved the thought aside. There was nothing stopping Ronin from coming here. Perhaps he already had. The dinosaur dig looked exactly like an excavation pit of fossils, which it was. Mostly. Unless Ronin encountered a drifter inside, discovered their lair, he would have no clue that they lived here. He would never discover all the secrets hidden inside.
“Is that Aftermath?” Kate pointed to the south.
“Yes.” The acacia thorn fence was just visible from where Mitch stood and he was able to see the top of the building that rose beyond the fence. He watched, looking for movement, but all was quiet back at Aftermath. Good.
He turned to Kate, who’d stopped beside him. “Let’s go over to those trees. It’s a good place to start. We can shoot at the trunks.” Mitch headed toward the small grove of acacia trees with Kate at his heels. He paused about fifteen feet away and plucked an arrow from his quiver. He motioned Kate closer, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm him as she stepped up to him.
He slipped the nock of the arrow into the string of the bow. “Archery is first about mastering the correct stance, then making the shot. Once you get your form right, the shot will follow.”
Mitch demonstrated by turning sideways from the closest tree. He straightened his spine, spread his legs to shoulder width, situating his toes at a ninety-degree angle to his target. He turned his head toward the target, the tree trunk, and aimed.
Kate watched with obvious interest, mimicking his stance.
“You try.” Mitch handed her the bow and the arrow. He showed her how to hold the bow, how to slip the nock into the string. “When loading the arrow, the odd-colored fletching should face away from the bow and toward you.” He motioned to the white fletching. The other two were brown. “You place the nock of the arrow—the split end at the back here—on the string like this…” He realized in that moment that he was going to have to touch her, guide her hands to the right position.
You can do this, Mitch. Just teach her how to use the damn bow. It’s not as if you haven’t already touched her.
He steeled himself for the contact, then gently grabbed her hand, showing her how to hold the bow. Her warmth, her emotions slid into him. Excitement. Worry. Attraction. Awareness. Mitch’s breath caught. Ignore it. He determinedly pushed the feelings aside, trying to ignore the way she affected him. He guided her other hand into position, showing her how to pull the string back and aim.
“Straighten your back, lock your knees. Good.” He stepped back, releasing her.
And puffed out the breath he’d been holding.
That wasn’t so hard now, was it?
Hell yeah. That was damn hard. I don’t know how I’m going to survive being around her and not be able to touch her. She needs to go.
“Straighten your hand with the bow ahead of you, but keep it flexible with a slight bend in your elbow.” Kate did as instructed. “Don’t lock your shoulder. Use these three fingers—” he stepped close to her again and placed her pointer, middle and ring fingers on the string, “—and draw back below where the arrow is placed.” Kate followed his instructions. “Now keep the elbow of your drawback hand up in line with the arm holding the bow. Good. Anchor your drawback hand on your face around your mouth and cheek—yes, like that—so you can see down the shaft of the arrow.”
Kate’s hand shook. She turned her head toward him. “I’m having a hard time concentrating with you standi
ng so close. Can you step back a little, please?”
Heat scorched through him. Mitch stumbled back a few steps. He wasn’t the only one who was affected by their closeness. A part of him just wanted to make love to her and screw the consequences, but he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t risk bonding with her and sharing his empathy. It wouldn’t be fair to her.
She’s tougher than Lisa. She might be able to handle it.
He cleared his throat, shoving the thought aside. “Now, relax your hand holding the arrow and make the shot.”
Kate let loose and the arrow whizzed in between two tree trunks before slamming into the ground. She scowled. “I smacked my arm with the bow.” She lowered the bow and rubbed her arm.
“It takes lots of practice. I can make you an arm guard if you want. The best way to avoid bruising is to make sure your stance is correct. If you still keep hitting your arm with the bow, then you can try twisting the arm you hold the bow with. This will move your arm slightly more out of the way of the shot.” He took the bow from her and demonstrated.
She nodded. “Can I try again?”
Mitch set the quiver of arrows by her feet. “Yes. Keep practicing. I’ll keep a lookout for danger. Once you’ve mastered hitting stationary objects, you can practice hitting things that move. Trust me, it’s a lot harder hitting a moving animal than a tree trunk.”
Kate lifted her arm, aiming for the tree again.
He walked off, needing distance from her. He didn’t know how he was going to get through the next few days until he sent her on her way. It was going to be pure hell.
But he’d promised he’d help her and he would.
He wasn’t looking forward to her reaction when he told her she couldn’t stay anymore. He was sure she would put up a fight. So he would have to come up with a good excuse why she needed to go.
Except that deep down he didn’t want her to go. And he couldn’t think of any excuse that wouldn’t be a lie. This attraction, this connection between them wasn’t normal. At least not for him. It was special. Unique.
Making her leave would be harder for him than for her.
Because he wanted her to stay with him.
And that scared the hell out of him. Because he’d never wanted a woman to stay before. Not since Lisa.
Kate could well bring him to his knees.
And that would be bad.
Because he needed to be strong to defeat Ronin.
And Kate made him weak.
* * *
Kate practiced with the bow and arrow for over an hour. By the time she decided to quit, her arms were aching and a bruise had formed on the side of her arm from where the bow had smacked her several times. Mitch had moved to the shade of a nearby tree, where he sat and made her an arm guard with a knife and a piece of leather he’d found in Ethan’s dinosaur dig. She’d tried it on and it helped, but archery was a lot harder than it looked. She had only managed to hit her target a handful of times.
She paused at the large sausage tree where Mitch sat, leaning back against the trunk. He’d washed his clothes in a bucket earlier while she’d been practicing archery. Now his clothes hung from the tree branches above him, drying in the sun. Kate needed to wash her clothes too. She only had one clean outfit left. She would do that as soon as they went back in the crater.
Kate lowered herself to the ground next to him. His eyes filled with wariness and he stiffened, sitting up straight. Kate felt guilty for disturbing his peace, but not enough to leave him alone. He still hadn’t answered all of her questions and she was tired of waiting. She handed him the bow and set the quiver of arrows on the ground next to him.
“Do you think Ronin is still hunting us?”
He stared across the savannah in the direction of Aftermath. “Yes.”
Kate was hoping he would say “no”. If Ronin hadn’t discovered them at the dinosaur dig yet, maybe he’d either given up the chase or he was searching for them elsewhere.
Or maybe we’ll get lucky and Ronin’s now dead.
Mitch’s gaze darted to hers. “Not likely.”
Heat crept into Kate’s cheeks. Had he read her mind again? How could he do that? Read it sometimes and other times have no clue what she was thinking?
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know how it works. I can’t explain it. Sometimes your thoughts are so loud I can hear them. Other times, you’re like a puzzle I can’t solve. It’s like you let your thoughts flow freely sometimes and other times you put up a shield to block me.” He paused, plucking at a feather in one of the arrows. “Have you figured out your gift from the drifters yet?”
She hesitated. She’d had a suspicion the past few days, and his words just confirmed it. But she needed another demonstration first. “What about my emotions? Can you still feel them?”
He turned his head toward her. “Right now, no. It’s like you’re not feeling anything. Or you’re blocking me.” His eyes widened. “That’s…impossible. No one’s ever blocked me before.”
“That’s it!” Kate turned to him excitedly. “I can block my feelings, put a shield around them, so no one can detect them. That’s why you can read my thoughts sometimes and others you can’t.”
Mitch scrunched his brow. “What? How does it work?”
Kate closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk. She let herself feel all the things Mitch brought out in her: giddiness, anticipation, nervousness, attraction, excitement, sexual awareness…
She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Can you feel that?”
He swallowed hard, nodded. “You’re sending a shit load of emotions my way. It’s almost too much. I can’t decide if I want to rip your clothes off and fuck you or run as fast as I can in the opposite direction.”
Kate’s cheeks heated. She closed her eyes again and concentrated, forcing the emotions into a secure place where Mitch couldn’t detect them. She opened her eyes again. “And now? Can you feel anything?”
“No.” His gaze locked on hers. “How the hell do you do that? I wish everyone else could do it.”
She shrugged. “I started experimenting the day I woke from the coma. I found I could push the emotions way back, hide them, yet still feel them at the same time. It took me a while to figure it out, but this confirms it. Now I can have some privacy when I’m around you.”
Color crept up his neck into his face. “I don’t enjoy being an empath, Kate. If I could avoid feeling everything that everyone else feels, I’d be in heaven. I didn’t choose to be like this.”
Kate squeezed his hand. “I know. But don’t you see? If I can hide my emotions, then maybe we can get closer without worrying about bonding and—”
“No!” Mitch leapt to his feet. “That’s not going to happen. Let it go, Kate. As soon as you learn how to use the bow and arrow well enough to defend yourself, I’m taking you to another colony where you can live. Believe me, you’re much better off without me.”
He turned on his heel and strode back to the crater, leaving her wondering if she’d only imagined the physical attraction between them, the connection she was certain he’d felt.
A little dagger skewered through her heart.
He doesn’t want you, Kate. Maybe he never really did.
CHAPTER TEN
The fact that Kate could block her emotions from him was a sign that Mitch desperately tried to ignore. It meant they’d begun bonding even before she’d been bitten. When bitten creatures began bonding, a previously unknown gift could slowly reveal itself, and when it did, it oftentimes countered a gift from the creature they were bonding with. Hence, Kate’s ability to block her emotions from Mitch. It freaked him the fuck out. He hadn’t met Lisa until after she’d already been bitten, and their relationship had started out as a friendship that gradually turned into something more. With Kate, the sexual attraction had been instant, all-consuming. It pulled at him, urging him to get closer to her, to possess her and make her his. No woman had ever made him feel that way before. It terr
ified him. What if he became so caught up in her that he lost sight of the goal? He didn’t have time to be happy. He needed to find Ethan and get to the damn mountain. He’d been gone for over a week. Gabe would soon be wondering where they were.
With each drifter bite, Mitch felt his humanity slipping farther away. This last attack made his predatory instincts grow even stronger, the urge to hunt, chase, subdue, kill and devour nearly overwhelming him. He waited until Kate was asleep each night, then slipped out of the crater and went hunting. Sometimes the drifters accompanied him. Other times he went alone. He didn’t like being part of a pack and chased them off if they interfered with his hunts. But the beasts were drawn to him in the same way that he and Gabe were both drawn to the mountain. They were all linked by the mountain’s power. And now Kate was a part of this, whether she wanted to be or not.
Mitch had perfected his archery skills over the years. It had saved his life more times than he could count. He was glad he was able to teach Kate something that would help her defend herself in this harsh world. But he didn’t dare take her hunting with him. That was something he couldn’t do. If he did, she would witness the beast in him, and it would scare her away. He might even turn that beast on her. She would just have to be satisfied with the archery lesson he’d given her.
Kate wasn’t safe around him anymore. If she showed any signs of fear, it would trigger him to chase. And he couldn’t predict when he might do something that made her afraid. He also couldn’t predict what he might do if she ran and he captured her. And that scared him. He didn’t want to believe he might hurt her, but what if the drifter inside him became too strong? What if he lost all his humanity and turned into a beast? What if he killed her?
Mitch kept his distance from Kate over the next few days while she practiced her archery. He felt she was a decent enough archer now and was confident that she could defend herself. He’d even carved a bow for her so she wouldn’t have to use his, and made her a quiver and filled it with arrows. Kate was ready to head out on her own. He just needed to give her the push out the door. But he found himself reluctant to do so.
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