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As much as I didn’t want a mate, I was also envious of them. To be so in love with someone. And have them feel the same about you.

Strolling inside, I spied an old man standing behind a counter, folding towels.

I greeted him in his native tongue, and he nodded at me.

“Do you have rooms left?” I asked in Mandarin.

“Yes. One.”

“One?” I sighed. “Can it fit four?”

“It can fit how many you pay for, but only one bed.”

Of course.

“Fine, we’ll take it.” I pulled out money, exchanged it for a key, and headed back outside. “Here.” I tossed the key to Cooper. “Get her in bed. I’ll take care of the horses.”

He didn’t hesitate to lift her into his arms, sliding off the horse and taking AB inside. Sprig was settled somewhere in the bag she had on.

Stroking Caramel’s nose, I watched Kat in my peripheral vision, overly aware of every move she made. Something had shifted between us. I could sense all the tiny connections between us.

“I’ll take them,” I said gruffly. “Go ahead inside. You girls can have the bed.”

Kat stood there, her head down, staring at her boots. A strange awkwardness threaded the air, reminding me it wasn’t just finding her that was notable; it was how every time I was around her, I couldn’t stop touching her. Craving the taste of her skin, craving the taste ofher. My cock was so desperate to be inside her, I stopped breathing. I needed whatever this was to end. To go away and never return.

“Go.” I reached for her horse’s reins, stepping into her. Kat didn’t move when my boots hit hers, my body looming over her. Her nearness did something to my brain, keeping me from moving back. I stood over her, watching her chest move up and down. Her long, silky hair tempted my fingers to tangle through it, to take what wasmine.

I sucked in at that thought, and her head tipped up, her gaze looking straight into me.

“How did you find me?” It was practically a whisper. She was begging me for a good explanation, something we could both chalk up to nothing. A reason I could track her down over a mile and pluck her almost invisible tiny black body from deep in the bushes.

My mouth opened, but no answer came out. I had nothing.

Her eyes went back and forth between mine, tearing at every barrier I was trying to keep up.

“Go inside,” I huffed out, looking away. “I’m gonna sleep in the barn tonight.” I clutched the leads and tugged the four horses toward the stalls out back, my gaze shooting away for a moment, making sure Kat did what I asked. My body knocked into something, and I whipped my head around to a thin, hooded figure stumbling to the side.

“Oh shit, sorry,” I said in Mandarin, reaching out to grab them.

“I’m fine,” a woman replied in the same language, holding up one hand, keeping her body and face turned away from me. “Wasn’t watching where I was going,” she muttered, moving away quickly.

I watched her hustle away, disappearing into the shadows, her cloak hiding her completely. Something triggered in me, her voice and her movements, but once again, I couldn’t say what had bothered me about them. Her accent was slightly off, as if she wasn’t from here, but neither was I. Many people here weren’t.

Turning back for the barn, I tried to shake off the odd feeling, knowing I was tired and over-stimulated. Everything was off, and I blamed that on Katrina.

Why the fuck couldn’t I stop thinking about her? I spent centuries without thinking of her…

That’s a lie. She was always there in everything you did. Especially the bad shit, like you needed to exorcise what you did to her from your soul.

Trudging the horses in, the nagging sensation still worming through me. My dick ached, my body hurt, and my mind wouldn’t shut down.

I needed a fucking drink.

The thought triggered something, my hand slapping over the pouch I kept the money in.

Empty.

“No. No. No.” I searched the bag. “Fuck!” I bellowed, my head tipping back. “That fucking thief.” Anger and embarrassment roared through me.I wasthe thief, not the other way around. That woman had meant to run into me, playing it off as if it was my fault, while she took my money.