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“Sorry,” he mumbles, then slightly turns to stare out over the barren terrain. Without looking at me, he adds, “To answer your initial question, I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
Andred saddles up beside me and I hear Tekil let out a long, frustrated sigh. It’s pretty obvious that they really don’t get along.
Tekil glances around before catching my gaze again. “We need to go back and rescue the others.”
“Are you delusional?” Andred explodes, his eyes narrowing as his mouth twists into a snarl.
“Look around.” Tekil waves his arm at our surroundings. “This area is barren; it appears that nothing can grow here. There are no shrubs, no vegetation, no water…it just looks dead.”
My jaw drops. Just thinking about heading back makes my hands tremble. “Seriously?”
Tekil holds his hands out, palms up. “If either of you have a better idea, please, let’s hear it.”
Yeah, nothing pops to mind. I can’t even see a way to get off this planet, and I sure don’t want to spend the rest of my life here. Looking around, I’m pretty sure we will starve to death. Either that or die of thirst.
After a moment of silence, Tekil scoffs. “I need to rescue my team, hopefully free the others, and find a ship so we can get off this Acradidia-infested planet.”
An image of the two blue men pops into my head, making my heart rate increase. The way they looked at me…I knew they would protect me. I felt it all the way to the marrow in my bones. It was both exhilarating and confusing.
“What team?” I ask slowly, still thinking of those two men. “There’s only three of us.”
I am cautious in the way I approach my words; I understand he doesn’t want to leave the others at the mercy of those spiders. I don’t either—no one deserves to be someone else’s lab rat. But there’s only three of us.
“I didn’t say I would help!” Andred interjects incredulously, kicking a tiny, non-existent pebble.
Tekil glares at Andred, then huffs out a harsh breath.
“Do you not wish to free your own team?” he asks calmly. “Or would you leave them enslaved?”
Andred narrows his eyes, snarling angrily. What an asshole, only thinking of himself. Granted, I don’t want to go back, but I don’t feel right about leaving them there either.
My eyes shift between the two of them until Tekil turns his back on Andred, addressing me directly.
“Right now, we need to find a place to rest and hopefully find some food,” he says. “We will figure out a rescue plan later.”
That sounds good to me. Food and a little rest will help clear our minds and allow us to think straight.
“I am going to search for my own resting place,” Andred adds. “Somewhere with less…” He glances at the sky. “…light.”
Transforming into his wolf form, he trots off. I try not to stare. Earlier, when Andred stood naked in his natural form, I tried to not look down there…but I managed a glance or two. Okay, maybe three. But then Andred caught me and smirked, and I didn’t look anymore after that. I don’t think Tekil noticed. At least, I hope he didn’t.
I mean, sure, Andred is nice to look at with his tan, muscular body but…something draws me to Tekil. I don’t understand why. It’s not like I know him, and he certainly isn’t that friendly. In fact, he seems irritated when I try to talk to him. Still…
Stealing a glance from the corner of my eye, he’s squinting hard. I scan the ground and find the cloth he’d discarded earlier, picking it up. Holding the cloth out, I step closer. “Let me tie this over your eyes.”
“Thank you.” He lowers his head, making it easier for me to reach him.
My heartbeat increases as his warm, powerful scent surrounds me. I have to fight the urge to reach out and caress his fur. It looks so soft, inviting… Taking my time, I wrap the cloth around his head again and cover his eyes.
With the cloth securely tied in place, Tekil’s shoulders visibly relax.
“You don’t like him much, do you?”
“Andred?” he asks.
“Yes, who else?”
