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Elian smiled, feeling a warmth spread through his chest at the words. He knew that he should be afraid, that this couldn't last — but he couldn't help it.
Chapter fourteen
The deep wilds of Vasz were no place for the unprepared.
It was a dangerous plan, navigating the planet's treacherous landscape on foot, choosing to avoid the main roads in favor of the unpatrolled wilds. But with Korvax still no doubt hunting for their trail, they had no choice. Over the few days since their encounter with him, they'd been alert for any sign of him.
As the two of them moved along the narrow, winding mountain pass, Rael's every sense was on high alert. The instincts that had been honed by years of war and survival now served him as he scouted the path ahead. Rocks that could hide an ambush, the telltale signs of a predator's territory, the distant sound of a river far beneath them — he took it all in, his mind working to keep himself and his mate safe.
His mate. The thought still sent a thrill through him, deep and hot. As the alpha of his clan, Rael had his pick of potential partners. He'd never lacked for attention. But now…
Now, there was something different. Something sweeter, more profound. Something that made his blood burn and his heart ache, all at the same time.
Beside him, Elian talked to him, his voice a bright counterpoint to the harsh landscape. "What's that plant over there? It looks like it's got thorns the size of my head."
Despite the danger, Rael couldn't help but smile. "That's a marrat plant. It's poisonous."
"Of course it is. I swear, everything on this planet is dangerous," Elian said, putting his hands on his hips. The movement tugged at the borrowed cloak he was wearing, and Rael's eyes were drawn to the shape of his body under all that fabric. "Does Vasz have any daisies? Petunias? Or are they all bloodthirsty carnivores, too?"
His mate was a strange creature. But, smiling, Rael wouldn't have had him any other way.
When he'd first met the human, he'd been nothing but a curious means to an end, a strange and fragile thing that Rael had saved for mercenary reasons. But Rael had watched that same fragile thing grow.
Like a plant reaching for the sun, courage had blossomed in Elian, fed by his own determination and Rael's careful tending. Now, despite the fact that he was as out of place on Vasz as a fish on land, Elian had become something else.
Under Rael's tutelage, he'd become a survivor.
And more than that: a proud survivor, eager to test himself, quick to learn, brave in the face of any challenge.
In Rael's bed, the human had been a sweet temptation. But here, in the wilds of his home, as he proved himself to Rael over and over again, he'd become something else entirely.
He'd become a mate.
A faint sound reached his ears, nearly entirely hidden beneath the birdsong. Rael's smile faded, his senses sharpening. "Hush," he said, his voice low.
Elian immediately fell silent, his blue eyes wide as he looked to Rael.
Rael pivoted smoothly, hand falling to the hilt of his blade as he moved to shield Elian. "We have company," he growled, low enough for only the human's ears.
Elian tensed, fingers twitching like he wanted a weapon of his own. Smart man. "Korvax?"
"Most likely." Rael's lip curled in a sneer. Damn. Over the last few days, he'd begun to hope that he'd managed to throw Korvax off their trail. With the bounty on Elian's head, through, that was too good to be true.
Without an alpha to keep them in control, clanless Borraq could be very persistent vermin. Rael narrowed his eyes.
There. Rael heard the softest of sounds from ahead of them, the faintest scrape of boot on stone. "Show yourself, Korvax!"
There was a rustle from behind a nearby outcropping of boulders. Rael braced himself, muscles coiled tight, and then the other Borraq finally slunk into view. Korvax stepped out onto the narrow mountain pass, scowling, and spat scornfully down the drop to his side.
"Well, well," Korvax drawled, flashing an insufferably fake grin. "You're truly showing off those alpha talents, Rael." His gaze slid over to Elian, dark eyes glittering with greed. "And you've managed to keep a hold on that pretty little pet of yours."
Rael growled low in his throat, a warning rumble. "Leave, Korvax. He's not yours to take."
The other Borraq shrugged, all fake nonchalance. "Then I'll just have to kill you and take him anyway." He twirled his blade lazily. "Should be easy enough. That human scent has your senses all scrambled, doesn't it?"
"You'll regret those words." Rael's fingers flexed on the hilt of his blade.
He'd let Korvax go once. That was all the warning that an alpha owed a challenger.
