The birds squawked, descending from the sky at the same time, causing the moonlight to filter through.
He collapsed to his hands and knees, the fur already rushing over his skin.
After several breaths, he realized that not only had he changed into a furry animal, but he was staring at a garden. The dark clearing was instantly replaced by a garden now rolling out into a maze of concrete, grass, and flowers.
He looked over his shoulder. The lower half of his body remained on the other side of a tall, concrete wall that had sprung up out of nowhere, and if he didn’t move, there would soon be too many birds to fight.
This didn’t make any sense, but he could smell Alex.
This is where she’d disappeared to.
He crawled forward, following her scent, until the savage rumble of his stomach consumed all his other thoughts. The delicious smell of ripe flesh pushed everything else from his mind. For a second, he couldn’t even remember who Alex was.
The only thing that mattered was satisfying the hunger twisting his gut, as the sharp presence of the moonlight urged him forward.
Chapter Nine
There was a lot more to Alex than her stunning looks and tough attitude. The small swell of magic Damon felt radiating off her body enticed him. He’d never felt an ounce of true magic within anyone else before. Sure, all living things had a little sparkle in their essence, but no one in Eden connected to the arcane like he did.
Now that he’d felt it shimmer from her, he was fascinated. Alex also made him feel strange- happy-and mixed up at the same time. She amused and excited him on a level he couldn’t explain.
Damon ripped off the shirt he’d ruined in order to bandage the space traveler’s arm and threw it in the trashcan in the corner. Of course, he missed, but a little concentration and a lift of his right hand managed to place the tattered shirt where it belonged.
He hadn’t shown anyone the full extent of his magical control, but it seemed to be increasing all the time. As long as the others thought it was only available for seeing and healing, that suited him fine. He hated to be paraded around in front of everyone. He didn’t doubt that if Priestess Aleena learned of his newfound power, she’d encourage him to show it off.
All his life, he’d felt different. Not because he was mistreated-he fit perfectly into Eden’s society-but by being singled out for his power. No one ever pointed a finger his way because the color of his skin and hair were different from theirs. It was almost as if they didn’t notice such details but unintentionally singled him out by continually pointing out his use of the arcane.
Damon shook the thoughts away, instead trying to recall every inch of Alex-starting at her glossy brown, curly hair and down to her curvy body. The memory was enough to cause his magic to short circuit. That he’d been able to control himself and not do something completely stupid while in the jungle was a testimony to the control he had over the arcane, because his body had almost caved several times.
Using his way of protection as an excuse to put his hands on her had served as a good enough distraction, but how long would it work? He tried to hint at his interest in her, but she misunderstood his intentions…babysitter or bodyguard, he didn’t want to be either. Though, he
If he kept touching her without context, she might eventually push him away.
He’d already seen her feisty side after forcibly taking her over the fortress barricade, but if he hadn’t, the birds would have mauled her. The dangerous threats outside the walls of this sheltered part of the planet were very real. Eden was marked with opposing terrain and creatures ready to take a bite out of anything human. Well, except for him.
Though he couldn’t explain what had caused the roar in the jungle.
Damon also didn’t understand what the parasitic worms had been doing inside Alex’s ship, but he supposed she had her own secrets. Now that she was stuck here, he had a lifetime of getting to know everything about her, including every inch of her body.
He licked his lips at the thought.
The knock on his door roused him from the lusty thoughts he knew he couldn’t keep to himself forever. Sooner or later, he’d let her know exactly how she made him feel, because no one had ever roused both his human and magical sides before.
“Come in,” he called.
The door opened, and Elroy appeared. He paused just inside the doorway. “I need to speak to you, Damon.”
He glared at Elroy. The head of Aleena’s security certainly wasn’t his favorite person to chat with. The man hardly had time for him, so Damon couldn’t help but wonder what had suddenly changed. “What do you want to speak to me about?”
“The woman you invited into our sanctuary-the space traveler.” His lips were set in a grim line. The man never smiled. Well, unless Aleena favored him for the night.
“What about her?” Damon walked across the room, to one of the storage cubes. He pulled out another shirt and added a new pair of pants as well. With the amount of fluffing about that the Priestess did in most of her conversations, he’d have enough time for a quick shower. Besides, he’d made sure to leave Levi behind to keep an eye on Alex.
“She’s dangerous,” Elroy said.
He closed the storage cube and held his clothes to his chest. Yes, he could vouch for how dangerous Alex was. Her curves were going to prove lethal. He wanted to touch her, found himself looking for any excuse to put his hands on her.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes, I heard you, but I don’t know what you mean.”
“Something feels wrong about this woman.” Elroy crossed his arms. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s a change in the air, and I don’t like it.”
“That’s funny, because she only feels right to me.”
“That’s because you’re not thinking straight. She’s probably bewitched you already, and I refuse to let her do the same to our Priestess.”
Damon couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, is that what you’re
Elroy scowled. “I don’t see that woman as a threat. I know where I stand with Aleena-”
“Yes, you stand in line with a whole lot of others,” he interrupted, with a laugh. Elroy liked to think that because he was the head of Priestess Aleena’s trusted security detail, she considered him the most important lover in her life. Too bad everyone else knew she didn’t feel that way at all.
“I’m not here to argue with you.”
“Then, what are you here for, Elroy?”
“I’m here to warn you about the traveler. Be careful with how much trust you put in that woman. Most of all, watch her very closely. Mark my words, things will get a lot worse around here, now that she’s invaded our home.” His eyes narrowed. “I intend to keep a very close eye on her, too.”
