Reclamation (Book 3 The Ravening Series) (17 page)

I could only pray that he was right as I held my bag open for the next handful of clippings. My heart swelled as I looked over at Cade, but no matter what I would stay strong. I wouldn't make him feel bad for going; I wouldn't cry and beg for him to stay even if it was the
only
thing I wanted to do. There was no reason to make him feel bad for something he was going to do no matter what.

Cade,

"So if you can get us on through here, we could make it to the Hallowed room within an hour."

Jessica lifted her head to look at me. Her brown eyes shimmered in the dim light of the lanterns as she gave a brisk nod. The subtle aroma of our species wafted from her. There was nothing on earth that our scent quite compared to but I supposed the closest thing would be the scent of a fresh spring rain. The many rivers that had once flowed through our planet seemed to still be engrained within our essence somehow.

"If all goes well," she confirmed.

I leaned back to survey the people in the room. Rosemary stood at the head of the table with the lamp to the right of her. Greg's face was pale and drawn as he glanced between the plans and Rosemary. "We should be allowed to come," he asserted.

"You'd be discovered in a heartbeat, but don't worry because Rosemary's not going either," I informed him bluntly.

Rosemary did a double take. "What!? Why!? I can be of use."

"You could have been," I admitted. "But there are too many changes in you, I can see them, even the humans can see them. There's too much of a risk that you could alert The Ancients to our presence on that ship."

She looked about to protest further but then her face fell and she looked helplessly toward Greg who couldn't contain the smile that curved his mouth. "What about you? Won't they be able to pick up on changes in you too?" Bethany demanded.

I'd been avoiding her gaze. I couldn't stand the sadness I knew would be reflected back at me in her amethyst eyes. "There are fewer changes in us."
And even less in me
, I added silently.

Bethany's face remained immobile but I could sense the thoughts rapidly running through her mind. She gave a subtle shake of her head and dropped her eyes to the floor. I wanted to go to her, but I remained where I was as, Cory, one of the Tintagelians Rosemary had brought in to help, took a step forward. Despite his Tintagelian heritage, Cory's hair was so light that it was nearly blond and his eyes were almost honey in hue. I'd heard that there were a few fairer ones amongst us now that had exhibited signs of their DNA already beginning to adjust to life away from the three suns of our planet, but Cory was the first one I'd ever seen.

"There is far less in us," Cory agreed. "We should be able to fly under the radar, but not you Rosemary. Maybe one day we'll be where you are as we're all steadily becoming more human in some ways, but we're not there yet."

My gaze ran over Betty, Craig and Steve, the other three Tintagelians that Rosemary had thought would be best to go with us. I had to agree with her choices. Over the past week I'd met everyone within the camp and though Rosemary had been highly affected by Greg's soul, there were others that had been even more so. These were the four least affected and most powerful within the camp.

"We can take more," Jessica suggested.

I was greatly tempted too but more of us on that ship just felt like begging to be caught. "No, I think six of us will be enough."

I felt my gaze slide to Bethany. She remained immobile, her shoulders thrust back and her gaze focused on the wall behind me. I'd never known fear before I'd met her. Never known what it was like to worry for someone or care about them. I'd never known anything except for an emptiness so complete that it had been like a black hole within my body. I don't know if this was the way that all of my kind felt, or if it was only those of us that had someone out there waiting for them that felt as if there was absolutely nothing within ourselves before we found them.

Then I'd seen her standing there all those years ago with her freckles, skinned knees and pigtails and I'd known fear, almost instantaneously. I'd also known a hunger the likes of which I'd never experienced before and that hadn't even come close to being sated until I'd finally tasted
her
soul. And what a soul it was, even now I could see the golden edges of it surrounding her and tempting me as it called to me in the way that only she could.

I could still taste the sweetness of it, still feel it filling me, seeping within my body and warming me in a way that no deer, bear, cougar or other human could. I'd loved her and been troubled about her from the second I'd first seen her, but now, I found myself beginning to like Aiden, Abby, Bishop and the others too. And not only because Bethany loved them but because I found myself beginning to care and worry for them too. I was even beginning to be able to stand Bret better now, though I couldn't acknowledge the fact that he had once hugged and kissed her too. I'd driven her into that relationship, I'd done nothing to stop it from forming, but then there was nothing I could have done without risking her life.

No, I'd never known fear before her, but it had been a constant part of me since I'd first laid eyes on her. I'd been convinced she would reject me for what I was, that she would hate me, but I'd been even more afraid that she wouldn't. That she would love me as much as I loved her and her life would be a never ending battle of misery and death.

I'd had a choice before, to let her live her life, a normal
human
life, but that choice had been taken from me when my kind had decided that it was time to invade. Now the only concern I had was what would become of her if I didn't return.

I'd put her in this highly perilous position and I'd do everything I could to make sure she remained safe, even if it meant I never came back from that ship. She'd survive, I knew that. I'd break her heart again, I'd leave her in a precarious world, but she'd survive her broken heart, and her loved ones would be there for her. Including Lloyd, who still grumbled about aliens and watched me like a hawk, but I'd given him more than a few chances to attack me and he hadn't taken them. He wouldn't have succeeded but at least I knew where he stood, and if he did go after Bethany I was certain she would be able to take him down with much more ease than she'd shown with that cougar.

I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe and the only way to ensure her safety was to get on that ship and destroy the Tintagelians that had driven us into this remote corner of the state, and to each other. I still didn't entirely trust the Tintagelians in the room with me, but I saw the love between them and the ones they loved. If they had one ounce of the same amount of love for their Souls as I had for Bethany then they would also sacrifice everything in order to ensure that they stayed alive.

My gaze slid back to Bethany as Bret bent to whisper something in her ear. Jealousy slithered down my spine, not that they would get back together as I knew that wasn't a possibility, but that he would get to see her when all of this was over. That he would continue to be in her life when I highly doubted that I would be. It wasn't a suicide mission exactly, but it was on the borderline.

"When would you like to go?" Jessica asked.

I forced myself not to glance at Bishop who had assured me his concoction of every deadly thing he could get his hands on would be ready to go tomorrow. It wasn't nearly as much time as I wanted with her but the longer we waited the more likely the chance we would be discovered here.

"Tomorrow night."

I didn't miss the sudden, harsh inhalation of Bethany's breath or the flutter of her eyes as they darted past me to the window beyond. Less than a day, it was all we had left together. I wasn't willing to spend one more second standing here amongst this group. Striding over to Bethany, Bret took a step back as I slid my hand into hers and clasped it before me.

"We'll leave at sunset," I added.

I didn't look back as I led Bethany out of the small cabin and down the steps. Avoiding the main gate of the encampment, I led her through the deeper shadows, passed the shanties crudely assembled from tin, plywood, and even some tires. She didn't labor to keep up with my pace anymore, but walked at my side with her gaze focused straight ahead. This new woman beside me was fascinating to watch grow and learn new things about herself, but I'd also loved the girl who had stumbled over her own feet and sat in gum at lunch.

I stopped at the back fence and pulled aside the hole I had discovered in it days ago. Bethany slipped through it with me close on her heels. Though the others would stay within the camp, or outside the main gate, we were going to stay in the small shack on the outskirt of the fence that had been established as an outpost for the encampment.

Arriving at the door of the hut I released her hand and opened it cautiously. I poked my head inside but I smelled nothing off within and I didn't hear the pulse of any heartbeats. Taking hold of her hand I led her inside and lit the small lamp sitting beside the bed. There was so much to say and yet there were no words that I could give her, no promises that I could make.

She seemed to understand this as instead of trying to talk me out of it, instead of trying to convince me to take her with me she simply came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. A contented sigh escaped me as I embraced her against my chest. I hadn't expected tears; I knew she wouldn't cry, not in front of me, she would save her tears for when I was gone.

I inhaled her sweet scent as I buried my face in her hair. In school she'd smelled of strawberries or apples, depending on which shampoo she was using at the time. Now she smelled of woods and earth and a scent that was inherently
her
. Something sweet and magnificent that made my blood race and my breath quicken as her hands slid up the back of my shirt and around to the front of it.

I had planned to talk and kiss and hold her as I savored every second of the time we had left together, but as her fingers slid down to the waistband of my jeans I knew that what I wanted more than anything was to lose myself in her. To bury myself in the taste and feel of her, to become consumed by the pleasure that only she could give me.

Too fast, it was far faster than I had anticipate for it to be, but she didn't protest as I lifted her up and deposited her on the small bed within the room. It was too out of control but as I lost myself within her body and soul I knew there was nothing controllable about what was between us.

***

"Cade?"

"Hmm?" I inquired as I traced the contours of her slender, pale back.

"Do you still have your crystal?"

I frowned as my hand stopped moving. "No."

She turned her head and rested it on her folded arms as she looked up at me. "You got rid of the crystal that allowed you to see your homeland?"

"The day I met you."

I brushed the hair back from her face as her mouth parted. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her as I memorized every minute detail of her, right down to the different shapes of her freckles. She wasn't beautiful, not like Jenna's refined and delicate perfection. No, Bethany's beauty was far more understated but her soul was nearly tangible as it radiated from her like the sun and lit her from the inside out.

"That was the only piece of your home you had," she whispered.

"You're my home Bethany; I've known it since the day we met."

S
he moved closer to me and buried her face in my neck. I enveloped her within my arms and held her against me. The press of her body against mine was the only thing that could ease the ache within my heart. This could be the biggest mistake of my life, leaving her like this, but I didn't know how else to protect her. I didn't know how else to give her a chance to survive in this world.

I wasn't leaving an unruly and precarious creature behind that couldn't defend herself. She could control her appetite and knew how to feed on prey that wasn't human in order to ensure her survival if the meat supply ran low. She was better able to defend herself than I ever would have imagined six months ago and not because she was stronger and faster than most humans now, but also because she had struggled to survive with the others. She hadn't spent the past few months hiding from the monsters but rather she'd spent that time learning how to fight them. It would be difficult for her without me, but she'd live, I
knew
that.

"No matter what happens Bethany, to me or to you, I need you to know that I love you." Her eyes shimmered with tears when she lifted her head to look at me again.

"And I love you," she whispered. "But you'll come back, I know you will."

"I'm going to do everything in my power to come back to you."

I couldn't bring myself to issue promises to her that I would definitely come back. There was a good possibility that I wouldn't be back, and I refused to lie to her. I wiped away the tears that slid from her eyes.

"I'll be here," she promised. "I'll
always
be here for you."

She was finally beginning to realize what I'd known all along, she was stronger than she'd ever given herself credit for. Even after her father's death, when she'd been so broken and lost, she'd had a rod of strength within her that few humans possessed. She had her weaknesses, but they no longer crippled her, she faced them head on and dealt with them as they came at her. She would face my loss with the same stalwart determination she used to face everything else in her life.

"They have a child Cade."

I smiled as I wrapped a strand of her hair around my finger. It was nearly as golden as the aura she radiated. "They do."