Page 35

NATALIE

I slept a few hours but I was awake again by noon. Ideas buzzed through my brain, generating nervous energy that insisted I should be up doing something.

No. Scratch that. I knew exactly what we needed to do.

We needed to move.

DSC knew where we were, and while the KORE had returned to the ocean for now, none of us liked knowing such a massive creature had been on our beach.

Not to mention Snyder knew too much about our location and how the squad operated here.

We didn’t know if he had another human body in the area to use.

How many squads he might have access to.

Or if he was too busy defending himself to the syndicate to worry about us.

I’d rather be safe than sorry and get the fuck out of here while we could.

Rizan gave a light tap on the bedroom door and stuck his head in. “I’ve got some sites to show you if you’re up to it.”

“Sure.” I sat up and shifted around so I could lean back against Kroktl’s broad chest as he lounged behind me. His stomach gurgled, reminding me that he’d been denying himself time to hunt because he had to stay and protect me and the baby.

I tapped into the grid and found his stats, checking his hunger and strength levels. Not as quickly and efficiently as Snryx could do, but I was figuring my way around the grid better every day without getting too overwhelmed by the constant stimuli.

Kroktl rumbled, a deep low vibration that rolled up my spine. “I fed last night before the attack.”

“Just checking. You also burned a lot of energy, so you should probably hunt again tonight.”

I started to grab one of the pillows for a makeshift lap desk, but Rizan set a padded half-moon-shaped desk across my lap along with my laptop.

Aw. I hadn’t ever used this lap desk before, so it was new. He must have seen me using a pillow before and decided to look for something that might make my life easier. “Thank you, Rizan. I love it.”

He let out a happy chirp. “Purple, of course, because is there any other acceptable color?”

“I love other colors too,” I protested, laughing.

Kroktl trailed his fingers along my outer thigh to my knee. “Like red.”

“I hear green is nice too.” Rizan fluffed his iridescent teal feathers as he opened my laptop.

“I created a slideshow of all the possible sites, both in this general area as well as across your planet, narrowed down to places remote enough we can still hunt without human witnesses yet still close enough to more urban areas for food and delivery services. Most of these houses are located in the Americas, ranging from Patagonia to Saskatchewan, but there are some interesting possibilities in South Africa and Mongolia as well.”

“No oceans,” Kroktl said.

“Check. All have good hunting and wilderness areas to roam at will. Some are more mountainous. Climate ranges significantly as well. Are you interested in tropical regions or are you open to more extreme temperatures?”

“I don’t know.” I watched the images flick past one by one. “Wouldn’t dinosaurs prefer a more tropical climate?”

Rizan clacked softly. “We can live anywhere. There’s good hunting even in deserts if you know where to look.”

“And I guarantee we’ll always know where to look for prey.” Kroktl sat up, wrapping his arms around me, settling me back fully against his chest. “Let’s play a game. Close your eyes, baby.”

Sighing, I did so.

“What do you remember best about this place?”

I couldn’t help but snort. “I’ve mostly been in this bed.”

He huffed out a warm breath against my ear.

“Oh, trust me, this bed is coming along with us. How about sitting outside on the patio, either here or at the other house by the lake? Sitting outside with the breeze fluttering over your hair. Sunny and warm but not miserably hot. Crystal blue water as far as you can see or rolling hills of lush green jungle.”

I’d only sat outside a couple of times but yeah. That’d been nice.

“Okay, now imagine we’re somewhere else. We’re sitting outside enjoying the view. What do you see?”

“I like water,” I admitted, cracking my eyes open. “It doesn’t have to be an ocean, and not close enough for something like Axxol to surge up out of the water and snatch me again.”

Rizan blinked and some of the pictures disappeared. “Got it. What else?”

“Something pretty to look at. Mountains, maybe? Forests, jungles, lots of interesting animals and sounds at night.”

The images shuffled again.

“Somewhere to sit outside,” Rizan mused. “Either a large porch or patio area, preferably both. Are the mountains verdant with trees and bushes, or are they starker and rocky?”

“Verdant. I don’t mind seasonal temperature changes but if I’m going to be naked most of the time, I’d rather not freeze to death.”

Only two pictures remained. A sprawling low house set into the mountainside with a long porch of weathered wood. Faded turquoise shutters lined the large windows. The other house was a modern two-story with dark gray concrete and black steel.

The first one was perhaps a bit too rustic…

But the second one looked more like a military command than a home.

Rizan clicked on the rustic ranch-style house. “These are the views from the front porch.”

I gasped. A deep-looking lake cradled by mountains on all sides. “Is that Lake Atitlán?”

“It is. Have you been there before?”

“No, never, but I’ve seen pictures during my research. The Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel peoples live in the area. The lake itself formed from a volcanic caldera so it’s extremely deep. Some of the Maya people believed it was the center of the world.”

“The house itself is on the upper slopes of Volcán Tolimán.” Rizan flicked through several pictures of the landscape.

“Below the property, the humans grow coffee but it’s not heavily populated.

Though there are certain areas we’ll want to avoid during the daylight hours when hikers and tourists may be in the area. ”

“Snack time,” Kroktl said. Though when I elbowed him in the ribs, he laughed. “I’m kidding. Mostly.”

“The house itself is surrounded by nature preserves and cloud forests providing plenty of wilderness for us to roam and hunt. If the house is too rustic for your taste, we can always update it, but it has all the modern conveniences including a private natural hot spring for long soaks under the stars.”

Rizan flipped through pictures of the interior, and the rustic charm was growing on me.

Natural wood finishings, terracotta floors, thick cozy, colorful rugs, and tons of windows providing views of the lake from nearly every room.

It even included a small cottage so Holly could have her own space yet still be close enough to walk over for coffee and meals anytime she wished.

“I love it.” Though as soon as I said the words, my anxiety spiked. “Unless it’s very expensive. We can keep looking?—”

“No need.” He cocked his head to the side. “It’s yours. Simply waiting on the final transmission.”

I couldn’t resist throwing my arms around him. “Are you sure we can afford it?”

“Don’t be a Cheapasaurs Rex,” he chided, making me laugh. “Money is just another form of frequency. It’s an easy thing for me to manipulate, along with generating simple documents to transfer ownership.”

The downy feathers sprinkled down his neck and chest smelled like the lush, green jungle around us. I breathed him in while sinking into his presence on the grid. He’d been injured last night…

Though I couldn’t detect any pain or inflammation in his injured shoulder. “Snryx did a good job.”

He arched his back and shoulders over me, creating a warm, safe haven beneath his long arms. “It wasn’t Sn who healed me, though I agree he always does a good job.”

“Me? Or rather the mrions. I’m glad they were able to help you.”

“You did more than heal me. You gave them permission to work inside me however they wished. I can feel the layers of DSC engineering shearing away, breaking their strict coding like chains weighing me down. I’m becoming more me than ever thanks to you.

The me I never could have developed into after hatching in their breeding grounds. ”

I rubbed my cheek against his downy chest. “I’m sorry I marked Lohr ahead of you.”

“I don’t mind in the slightest. You needed to be able to hear him better until you could escape the jump ring.” Rizan chirped softly, mixing with a very human-sounding chuckle. “As long as Axxol goes last.”

RIZAN

“Where would you like to mark me?” The husky timbre of her voice rolled over my inner membranes, creating the perfect resonance. The frequency of her voice was enough to turn me on, providing a delightful mental and biological scratch deep inside me that no one had ever touched before.

“Anywhere I’m allowed.”

Her head tipped back so I shifted backward to meet her gaze. “You’re allowed to mark me wherever you want. Right, Kroktl?”

Still casually stroking her leg, her primary mate flicked his red eyes up at me. Unconsciously, I braced for his denial. Even an attack. Yes, I’d shared their bed before, but he could change his mind anytime he wished. He had enough power now to rip my wings and head off. Effortlessly.

“Right,” he drawled lazily. “As long as his mark doesn’t touch mine.”

I couldn’t help but look at the red mark on her shoulder, a glittering tattoo etched by his raptor teeth. Bigger than his current human-shaped mouth, but not quite his full raptor’s jaws. Meaning he’d shifted partway into his beast, whether voluntarily or not.

If I risked shifting to my pteron, I needed to mark a less vulnerable part of her body than her throat. To be safe, I pinged Snryx to make sure he was on standby.

:You won’t need my assistance, but yes, I’m outside, ready to intervene medically if necessary.:

Easy for him to say. He didn’t have a long beak lined with a double row of razor-sharp teeth. “How about your right arm to balance out Lohr’s?”

Her fingers danced down my breastbone to my softer underbelly without feathers. “Where do you want me to mark you?”