“There are no villages near here. At first, I assumed you must have been banished from your group if you are a raider or you became separated from them and lost your way. It was clear that you were alone since there were no other tracks. Raiders seldom travel alone. The forests are far too dangerous even for them,” she mused, trying to determine how Alexandru had ended up on the road. “But, you do not have the mannerisms of a raider, so I have determined you are not one. The only other option is that you are a merchant of wealth. Your clothing is too finely stitched to be that of a servant or farmer. Even the Elders of my village do not wear clothing so finely woven. Perhaps you were captured by raiders and escaped. That would explain how you were alone and injured.”

“That sounds… more reasonable,” he agreed in a terse tone.

Ka’ya briefly glanced over her shoulder at Alexandru, but he was looking down over the edge of the narrow road. She returned her focus to the path. Their journey at the moment was easy, but soon they would have to leave the winding road and travel a much more difficult trail. The road would take an extra four sunrises if they followed it, and it would leave them vulnerable to those who preyed upon unsuspecting travelers.

Instead, they would cut through the Mist River Pass. She had only been through it a couple of times before. If time had permitted, she would have preferred to take her chances along the road. Once she returned for her mother and brother, she would have no other choice. Neither would survive the route through the Mist River Pass.

“If you are wealthy, perhaps you can pay for your own release. It would be worth the cost of coin for my protection,” she said, glancing over her shoulder again with a frown. “You are not going to pass out on me again, are you?”

“No,” Alexandru replied. “If you have determined that I am not a raider, but a possible client in need of your services, is it possible for you to free my hands?”

“Perhaps – later,” she said. “I am not convinced yet of my conclusions. After all, you could be the leader of the raiders and simply wearing fine clothing stolen from a wealthy merchant who you killed when he did not give you the coin you demanded.”

Alexandru’s groan made her grin. She knew she was goading him, but his silence was beginning to worry her. He looked flushed. She was worried that his injuries might be worse than she first thought and perhaps he had received more damage to the inside of his head than the outside. She remembered a farmer who had been kicked in the head once by one of his beasts. The wound had healed on the outside, but he had never been quite right again.

“Are you…,” she started to ask.

“I’m not…,” he said at the same time.

She slowed to a stop and turned to look at him. He had his face averted from her still, as if he was trying to hide something. He jerked to a stop. Ka’ya stepped closer to him and lifted her hand to touch his face. She was surprised when he pulled back. Hurt at his reaction dissolved when he turned to glare at her. Her lips parted on a soft gasp when she saw his mouth. Her gaze swept up to meet his in inquiry.

“Your mouth,” she whispered.

“I know,” he bit out.

Ka’ya frowned. “But, how is it possible for your teeth to grow like that?” she asked.

Alexandru shook his head and gestured with his hands. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

Ka’ya could see the confusion, frustration, and – a hint of pain in his eyes. For a moment, he reminded her of Dru – lost and forlorn when none of the other children would play with him. She lifted her hand again, more slowly this time to give him a chance to understand what she was doing. His shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t pull away this time.

She gently lifted his lip. His canines were even longer than they had been last night. Curious to see what he would do, she ran her thumb over the tip. Once again, a drop of blood welled up from where the sharp point had penetrated. A soft rumble escaped him and his tongue swept out and around her finger.

Her breath escaped in a startled hiss when she felt a tug on the front of her vest and found herself pressed as close to him as his bound hands would allow. He sucked on her thumb, pulling it deeper into his mouth. Ka’ya swallowed, mesmerized by the feel and sight of what he was doing.

Her gaze moved up to his eyes. They were glowing with a dark fire. She released a soft moan when he ran his tongue over the pad of her thumb. Pulling her thumb free from his mouth, she stared up at him with wide eyes.

“You did the same thing last night,” she informed him.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“Your…. Your teeth grew, but not as long. The tip is sharper than my blade. It pierced my flesh and you… you… licked my blood from it.” She glanced at the pad of her thumb. “It is healed. How?”

“My saliva,” he said without thinking. His eyes widened at the admission. “Ka’ya….”

There was a need in his voice that drew her to him. She didn’t know what he wanted, but there was something in his voice that made it difficult to resist. Her hands slid up his chest and she leaned closer. Her breath mingled with his. Before their lips could touch, the alpha pushed against her leg and released a soft growl of warning.

Ka’ya stiffened, her eyes clearing at the soft alarm. “We have to get off the road,” she said, pulling away and glancing around. “There! Hurry.”

She didn’t wait for Alexandru’s response. Pulling on the cord wrapped around his wrists, she tugged for him to follow her. Ka’ya hurried over to a grouping of rocks and thrust the cord she was holding into Alexandru’s tied hands. They didn’t have much time.

“Climb the rocks and stay down,” she instructed.

“Why?” Alexandru started to ask before his eyes darkened with understanding. “There is at least a dozen.”

Ka’ya turned to look at Alexandru in surprise. “How can you know that?” She shook her head. “Go, I will follow you.”

“What about the wolfhounds?” Alexandru asked with concern.

Ka’ya gave Alexandru a quizzical smile. “You are a strange man, Alexandru Carson. My wolfhounds will be fine. It is ourselves that we must hide. Now, go,” she instructed.

She turned and waved a hand at the wolfhounds. In a flash, they disappeared into the woods on the other side of the road. Returning her gaze to Alexandru, her eyes widened when she got her first good look at the formfitting blue trousers he was wearing – well, it wasn’t truly his trousers that she was looking at, but his ass. Her hands itched to reach up and run over the tight fabric.

“What are you doing to me?” she growled under her breath.

“Nothing, but I can share a few things that I would like to be doing,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder with a grin.

Once again, Ka’ya was startled by his excellent hearing. She ignored his comment and began to climb behind him. They crouched down behind a large boulder and waited.

The heavy sound of war beasts, the creaking of wood and metal, and the muted sound of men talking were soon heard along the road. Ka’ya silently counted the number men in the caravan – twelve. Her eyes narrowed when the man in the lead suddenly stopped and held up his hand. The other men immediately halted behind him and grew silent.

She watched him dismount his beast. Two other men dismounted behind him. A frown creased her brow when another man nudged his beast forward.

“They noticed the wolfhound tracks,” Alexandru murmured.

She looked at him in surprise. “How?” she mouthed, touching her ear.

Warmth filled her when he winked and grinned. She turned her attention back to the men and their caravan. The men stood up from where they were kneeling on the ground and gazed around them before turning to the man on the horse. He said something to them and they nodded. A few minutes later, they returned to their beasts and resumed their journey.

Ka’ya watched them leave. They would stay where they were for several more minutes before they climbed down. The wolfhounds would return and alert her when it was safe.

Turning around, she sat down and warily gazed at Alexandru. He had heard the men approaching with the same accuracy of the wolfhounds. He had climbed up the rocks with ease, even with his hands tied. He moved with the skill of a hunter – not a merchant. Then, there was the strange way his teeth elongated, their sharpness, and his saliva. The design and sharpness reminded Ka’ya of the wolfhounds, but his saliva and the fact that his teeth transformed were like nothing she had encountered.

A shiver of awareness ran through her when she glanced at his mouth. Her lips tightened and she mentally rebuked herself for losing her focus. Any good hunter knew that if you lost focus, you could easily go from being the predator to the prey. There was something Alexandru either wasn’t telling her or he honestly didn’t remember. One thing she was sure of – he was a dangerous man. Her instincts were never wrong on that.

“The wolfhounds are back,” Alexandru said.

Ka’ya glanced around the rock and saw the alpha slowly emerge from the woods. Nodding to show him that she had heard him, she twisted and she stood up. She glanced each way along the road before carefully climbing down over the boulders back to the road.

“Will we have to do this each time someone comes down the road? It seems like we won’t be traveling very fast if that is the case,” he said, jumping down beside her.

Ka’ya shook her head. “No, we will be leaving the road shortly. While it is the easiest route, it is not the fastest. There are foot trails that cut through the mountain passes. They are not widely used because some can be dangerous,” she explained.

“Dangerous?” Alexandru repeated with a wary expression.

“Yes, but… I will protect you,” she replied. She reached for the rope he was holding in his left hand and turned away. “We’d best get moving. I want to be off the road and over the first mountain before sunset.”

“Why?” Alexandru asked, following her when she started walking.

“There are creatures that live along the cliffs that feed at night. Not even the wolfhounds are stupid enough to stay near the cliffs,” she explained without turning around.

“Creatures…. Wouldn’t it be better to take our chances along the road?” he demanded, following behind her.

“I told you, we do not have the time,” she said with an impatient wave of her hand.

“What is so urgent that you’d be willing to risk your life by cutting along a mountain path with creatures that feed on you?” he asked in irritation.

Ka’ya stopped and turned to look at him. Anguish flashed through her eyes before it was replaced with determination. She took a step closer to him.

“If I do not return to my village before the new moon, my brother will be given to the village Spiritual Leader – an evil man who has already sacrificed three children. I have to secure a way to send my brother and mother to safety – away from Jorge’s reach. I cannot – will not – stand by and watch my brother die,” she stated.

She returned Alexandru’s steady gaze. She blinked when he raised his hands to gently brush a strand of hair back from her face. His gaze softened and a slight frown creased his brow.

“Then, we had best hurry,” he replied.

Indecision pulled at Ka’ya for a moment before she pulled the knife from the sheath at her waist and slipped the blade between the cords of rope tying his wrists together. She grabbed the rope as it fell away, never taking her gaze from his face. He didn’t flinch or look away. Instead, he continued to gaze down at her with an intense look that made her wish they had more time.

“We will move faster if your hands are free. The trail can be challenging at times,” she said in a quiet voice.