Scet stood, staring at the door, contemplating the Alpha's words. The man had no shortage of bizarre behavior and Scet found his instincts riding him two ways.
The first was to leave immediately, to protect his mate...no, she wasn't his true mate, he reminded himself. How was it that the truth could feel so much like a lie? He needed to protect Adda, from what he couldn't quite determine. There was a definite malicious energy around the Alpha's actions, though he had been nothing but pleasant outwardly.
His second instinct was to question the old man unrelentingly, with whatever force necessary, about what was happening to him. Alikeye-Baroth they had named him. And what did they know of such things? Scet suspected it was far more than he did.
Which wouldn't be difficult, he admitted to himself ruefully, since his condition was nothing but a constant barrage of surprises to him.
The trouble was, he didn't have any knowledge of either path, and he was tired of being kept intentionally ignorant.
He might not be able to work answers from the old man just yet, but there was one place he could get them.
He turned his determined gaze to Adda. She was staring at the single pallet, a strange look on her face. She felt his eyes upon her, though and turned, her own widening in surprise and a little dismay. She knew his intent.
Good, he grinned, and there was nothing friendly about it, then they understood each other.
***
Adda studied the pile of furs. It looked soft and inviting, better than the hard ground at any rate. Along with the pleasant warmth of the fire and the calming scent of drying flowers, sleep was a temptation she didn't know if she could resist.
Another thought was occurring to her, as well. There was only one bed, and it wasn't a large one. Her mind quickly turned to temptations other than sleeping. Maybe she could just stay awake. She turned to Scet, intent on discussing how and where they would be spending the night.
His eyes were already focused on her, fierce and determined. Light from the fire flickered against the bare planes of his chest and shoulders, the muscles there tense, ready to pounce.
Six.
He stalked toward her, one deliberate step at a time. Each step put her body on edge. She imagined he was the flame itself, heating her until she thought she would burn alive by his fire.
He growled, an animalistic sound, lighting her skin with little sparks. Hungry, insatiable. Gods she was burning. She struggled to hold her place, fought to keep from retreating like a coward.
He neared close enough and snatched her, dragging her against him.
Six help her, she shouldn't allow this, shouldn't want it.
“I want your secrets, Adda,” he murmured huskily, ending with a vivid purring noise that drove her breasts to tighten. “Tell me what it is that you hold from me.”
It was not a question, but a demand, dominant and sure. She sucked in a long ragged breath. He slid his hands along her hips, edging them up her waist and against her ribcage.
She should resist. The mating was only pretend, after all. And where would she be when he'd taken what he wanted? Once he'd forced the truth from her?
Alone, that's where. And in danger.
He did not crush her to him, as she might have expected. He held her near, but she was still very much supporting herself on her own two feet, his body a breath from hers. An invitation, he held back, waiting for her move.
“You have no idea of your beauty, do you?” he asked.
It jarred her a little. For the last few weeks, she had felt anything but beautiful. Yet once, it felt a lifetime ago, she had. Was she still so? Would the scars on her soul allow it?
She closed her eyes against his words.
He tipped his head to hers, the growth of his unshaven jaw rubbing against her forehead, as he placed a small kiss on top of her head.
“Tell me about it, give me a reason to keep fighting for you, Adda.”
Her body was so tense it created a euphoria of its own, rubbing against the robe she wore, her skin aching to be released to the night air.
His hands trailed upward, until they cupped her breasts. First lifting and then kneading through the fabric, and finally closing his fingers on her tightened nipples. He made a sound deep in his throat.
“Do you want me, too Adda? Does it invade the very air you breathe until you can think of nothing else?” Pulling back, he searched her face.
Silence. She wouldn't admit what he was asking, couldn't give him that much power over her. But she couldn't deny it, either.
He groaned, his hands leaving her breasts to circle her back. One around her waist, pressing her to him, against the rigid muscles of his chest and his thick erection.
His face dropped to hers again and he pressed gentle kisses onto her forehead and eyelids, making his way slowly to her mouth, where he hovered.
“Tell me,” he murmured, touching his mouth to hers. His tongue darted out, running a line along her bottom lip.
She gasped. Her lips parted, an invitation for him to continue...to proceed.
But he didn't. He stayed where he was, not taking and not giving.
“I want you, Adda. But I want all of you. Tell me what you are hiding,” his voice was soft, almost pleading.
She closed her eyes against the panic.
She couldn't tell him. She had thought about it. Wished for it even. Would he fight against the possession with her? What if he was like everyone else, ready to end her for the good of the world?
Six, maybe it would be better.
Tears of frustration built behind her eyelids, not because of Scet, but because if he knew what she was everything would change. He most certainly wouldn't be holding her in his arms, nuzzling her jaw like some long lost lover.
“Tell me,” he insisted and nipped her neck. Hard.
A shudder ran down her body. She swallowed. The words were there, right on the edge of her tongue.
Scet licked the place he had bitten, as if contemplating doing it again.
She gathered her courage, and it was like drowning and trying to collect enough air. She was drowning. Six help her.
“I am possessed,” she whispered. Her stomach climbed into her throat.
There. No secrets any longer. She waited for him to put her from him in disgust. Waited for Nex's scolding.
Neither happened.
What Nex was doing she couldn't say. His presence was still there, she could feel the pressure of it, yet his attention certainly wasn't and hadn't been for some time, she realized.
Scet tangled his hands in her hair. “Alright,” he said against her neck, “but it isn't just any possession, is it?”
He knew and he was still holding her?
His hands traveled up and down her arms, leaving trails of heat and gooseflesh, alternately.
“No,” she whispered again, willing now, to tell him all. “I was touched by one of the...glyphs...I think you called it. There are demons trapped inside them.”
He grunted and she felt him nod. “This begins to make more sense.”
“Don't you want to destroy me? Kill me now before it gains ground?” she pressed, still unable to believe otherwise.
He pulled back from her, his eyebrows shooting for his hairline. “Should I? I don't know what you think of me, Adda, but I am hardly a murderer.”
“I am a danger. Damaged.”
“That is not what I see. I see a woman who has done everything in her power to protect those she loves from her fate, but a woman who is not able to simply give up on life, either. I see a woman with great strength and character, able to withstand a demon inside of her for far longer than should be possible. And with an inner fire unmatched in anyone I have ever met. A woman that sends desire thundering through me until I can barely think.”
To prove his point, he crushed her to him until her breasts were flattened against his chest and his very solid desire prodded her hip.
“How can that be, knowing what I am?”
“It simply is. I have no need to chase the why of it. I want you, Adda, far more than I have desired anything else for a long time.”
She shook her head. “The demon could win, eventually.”
Scet growled, startling her. “I will not let that happen. Tell me about the orb, do you truly seek one?”
“I do,” she nodded. “When I was in the cavern there was another man, Harvok. He was from this pack. He spoke of the orb, spoke of it saving him. I think he knew it could somehow cure a possession. At least that is what I hope.”
“The man Illaise killed,” Scet's lips folded into a tight line. “Fool of a woman.” He met Adda's gaze. “And you think the orb is here somewhere?”
“I think the Alpha knows where it is.”
Another frown.
Scet's head whipped up, and he glared toward the door, eyes narrowing.
“Alikeye-Baroth.”
It was the rasping voice of the Alpha. Adda's heart thudded against her chest. How long had he been out there? Had he heard their conversation?
Scet released her and strode toward the door. When he pushed the mat aside, the Alpha filled the archway. He glanced at her and then away quickly. At least he had the grace to look sheepish.
Scet said nothing, simply stared at the man, waiting.
“Uh...I realize that you were likely...resting. But if you truly do mean to leave at dawn, it occurred to me that there was something I should speak with you about.”
Adda stepped forward.
“Alone,” the Alpha added, not looking toward her again. “Do not worry, great one, your mate will be kept safe.”
Scet glanced back at her, his face carefully neutral. She frowned at him. She didn't want him to go. Couldn't he see that the old man was sly and manipulative? Separating themselves around him was likely to be unhealthy for them...or her rather.
He looked at her long enough that she got the impression that he was trying to communicate something to her. Maybe now that he knew about her dilemma he was reconsidering his words of passion. She worried the inside of her lip. Or maybe he thought he had a better chance of learning of the orb without her presence.
The last part was likely to be true, but was it what Scet was thinking, as well? She couldn't help the worry that his words had simply been that: words. And that now that he had proof of her dilemma, he would be eager to be rid of her. Just like Bakkus. It was too late now, however, to do anything but trust him. Trust that he would not betray her.
Slowly, she nodded her acceptance, and without a word, Scet and the Alpha left the dome, leaving the door flap swinging behind them.