55 A Different Kind of New
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*****
~ HARTH ~
Tarkyn, his brows pinched over his nose, searched her gaze a moment to make certain she was listening, then he spoke in her head, his words quick but sure, and every word hummed with the authority of an Alpha.
‘No one remembers me the way you do, Harth. No one. I’ve shared nothing of myself with these females. We’ve comforted each other. Enjoyed companionship. But there was nothing of hearts. Nothing of souls. What you and I shared... Harth, I gave my soul to you and I do not regret it. The bond, this love... it is as new for me as it is for you.’
Something twisted in her stomach-the joy of her memories of taking him warring with the rage and grief of sharing that knowledge of him with others.
But he’d put his power behind the words and her defenses crumbled in the face of it. His urgency broke through to her heart-her heart that was already so tender, so raw because of him.
They stared at each other for a long breath, then he tipped his chin down, still holding her eyes. ‘If I let you go, will you promise me you won’t hurt her? It’s not her fault that you’re hurt, Harth. If you should be angry, it’s with me.’
.....
Angry? At him? Grief won the battle and she slumped forward, her forehead on his chest as he wrapped her in his arms.
‘You own me to my soul, Harth. Never doubt it.’
The words rang with truth, and yet Harth found herself trembling as she stepped out of his arms and prepared to face this female-her mind suddenly imagining walking through a city full of females that her mate had shared himself with.
How could she do it?
She shuddered, but Tarkyn let her step back, though he watched her with a laser focus, his stance poised to intervene again if it was needed.
Which was when Sarayu chose to step forward.
“Can I... reassure you, Harth?” Sarayu asked with more caution in her words than Harth had heard from her yet.
Harth growled instinctively, but then swallowed it. Still, she didn’t answer, but looked past Tarkyn to meet the female’s gaze.
Sarayu had her hands up, palms forward to calm. “I’m a healer,” she said carefully. “There are times that the burden is great and... times when fear or discouragement can be consuming. Especially in war or when we lose someone precious. When I’ve sought comfort, it needed to be from someone who understood the pressure and wouldn’t add to my burden. Tarkyn is a friend. Nothing but a friend.”
“That is not how I find comfort in my friends,” Harth said through her teeth.
Sarayu glanced at Tarkyn’s back, which made Harth tense, but her expression seemed afraid... for him? Then she dropped her hands and shrugged.
“I wish you no pain, Harth. I wish Tarkyn, my friend, all the joy that the Creator can give. But our peoples are... obviously different. You... you will have a battle to fight with this. But if there is a male among us worth the fight, it’s him. And I wish you success with it.”
She felt Tarkyn tense. His back was still to Sarayu, his eyes still firmly fixed on Harth. He reached for her hand, his fingers twining with hers, and now that she was calmer, her heart raced even at that little touch, her skin prickling in a rush as her belly clenched.
She wanted her mate. Wanted him badly. And couldn’t have him because this female was here-
She tore her eyes off the female, suddenly sick with the images that wanted to rise, filling in all the blanks she hadn’t known before-all the ways he’d had touched, or kissed, the feel of him inside her-how many other females shared that sense of him? She shook her head to rid it of the images and turned to her mate, who stared at her with uncertain hope in his eyes.
“Let’s get this done,” she said quietly.
“Harth... do you understand? Sarayu has to examine me... has to reassure the Queen that I’m recovered enough to be of use. She will have to touch me to do that. There is nothing in it but a healer to a soldier. I need Elreth’s confidence. It’s the only way for me to begin building the bridge between our people. Please...?”
Harth looked at the woman, braced her body against the rush of rage that wanted to close teeth on the female’s hands that had touched her mate-that planned to touch him again! But she nodded, setting her jaw.
“I said, get it done,” she muttered, then turned away from both of them. “I’ll gather the food we have left and... and shake the furs.”
She kept her back to them both, not trusting herself if she saw the female touch him again. But her ears remained perked, listening to their low voices, her hackles rising until Sarayu dusted her hands and spoke quietly. “I’ll inform Elreth,” then started towards the cave mouth.
“Sar,” Tarkyn said quietly, his voice tight. “Thank you... for understanding.”
Harth did turn then to see the woman’s expression.
But Sarayu only ducked her head in a single nod. “You’re welcome. And I really do mean it, Harth,” she added, licking her lips as she caught Harth’s gaze. “I know he has waited for you, and I am so glad that he’s found you. You’ll take no challenge from me. I vow it.”
Harth swallowed as the woman turned and took a few running steps before throwing herself from the path outside into the sky, her wings snapping wide and a high call echoing across the WildWood below as she sailed through the morning sky.
Then Tarkyn turned to Harth, his eyes uncertain and pleading. “Harth?” He hesitated, then spoke through the bond. ‘I love you. Only you, beautiful. Please, you have to believe me.’
For a moment she resisted comforting him. For a moment, anger flared hot, and vengeance beckoned.
But then she met his eyes and saw in him the reflection of her own heart-the precious joy.
She couldn’t deny him.
Throwing herself across the space between them, she landed in his arms and he pulled her close, squeezing her so tightly she shouldn’t have been able to breathe.
But his intensity, his care, was the only reason she could breathe at all.
*****
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