It was as frustrating as ever, having so many questions and not enough answers. I wished N’Ashtar was there, as annoying as he was, because he would at least know some of what I needed. Instead, I was the foreigner, the one on a planet that made no sense. Biting back a sigh, I flicked another strand of hair out of the cart, watching it drift away in the wind. For all they were covering our trail, I hoped these would leave some remnants of my scent for N’Ashtar to find. For anyone to find, really. Would N’Ashtar even be following me?
I cringed at the thought. We’d done little but snipe at each other, and when he had tried to get fresh with me, I’d punched him. It had done more damage to me than him (his laughing still irked me, even the memory), but he’d pulled back and assured me he would only touch me when I begged him to. I’d given him the middle finger and stalked away.
Maybe he’d decided I wasn’t worth following, wasn’t worth saving. I swallowed thickly at the thought, then forced it away. No matter what, I couldn’t dwell on that. I didn’t have time to worry about being rescued. No, I was strong, capable, and smart. I could save myself.
3
N’Ashtar
Opening my eyes and seeing Dana not by my side was more displeasing than I had figured. I wanted to close my eyes and lose myself in my dream, in the thought of Dana curled against me, her belly round with our child. I wanted that to be my world, what I went to sleep next to and woke up with. I wanted her to be the last thing I saw every night and the first thing I saw when the suns rose. Now I just had to get her back.
While I did not have R’Asha’s strong belief in fate, I still recognized that Dana was my mate. One of the hallmarks of a N’Akron male was their protectiveness of their female, and even though Dana was not yet mine officially, I knew I would do anything to keep her safe. Including giving up my claim to a tribe I was born into.
The thought made a pang of hurt race through me. I had not expected my father to be pleased, but I hadn’t expected him to disown me, either. Yrrix and I had been his only young, and with Yrrix gone, I was the heir. Had his words simply been that, just words meant to hurt and threaten? Or would I come back to N’Akkar to learn I was no longer welcome? It would pain me greatly, that was true. I had been raised from birth to prepare to look after the tribe. It, along with taking care of Dana, was as close to a destiny as I could feel. Yet now it was looking like I could not have both.
I packed my camp up quickly, because I was not certain how long I had been sleeping and didn’t know how far ahead the Caterri had gotten. Since they were still using their sense-burning air, my tongue felt burnt and I didn’t think I could sense her that way. Instead, I would be relying on my sense of intuition, and my knowledge of the Caterri after years of hunting them. The Caterri were smart, cruel though they were. No, they would not take the most obvious path back to Kohta, nor would they take the least obvious. They would add a few days to their travel at most, which gave me an opportunity to catch up with them if I was swift.
And I would be. No matter how much it took out of me, I would find them and rescue my mate. For all the scent-burning air hid the smell of Dana, it also made an easy trail of its own, so I followed that, trying to breathe as little as possible. Like water, we did not need to breathe as frequently as the humans seemed to need to, so I hoped I did not inhale much, although there was no guarantee. There was no guarantee of anything.
When I came to a parting of the road, I slid to a stop. Both smelled equally of the acrid smell, and even when I strained my senses, all I could taste was a hint of Dana that could have been either direction. Anger and desperation twined and rushed through me, my hope threatening to drain out of me. I could not give up, but even I could only do so much. Had the Caterri finally beaten me?
Then I saw it.
Moving forward, I picked up the thin, pale thread and looked at it. It was the same color as the fur on Dana’s head, the same texture. I knew this from a brief touch I had managed before she had slapped me, much to my surprise and amusement. When I lifted the strand of fur to my tongue, I could smell Dana underneath it. Pure Dana, not the scent altered by whatever was in the air. Relief threatened to knock me over.
My mate was smart, that was for sure. The thread was a few hands-lengths down the right path, telling me that was the direction she’d been taken. Immediately, I headed down it at a quick run, knowing I wasn’t far behind the Caterri but not wanting to give them the opportunity to get further ahead. Except as I continued, it became clearer and clearer that I was moving away from Kohta, not going towards it. Even the least obvious of Kohta trails should have been going more in its direction. Was it possible the Caterri were lost? Or were they rogue Caterri?
The thought burned me. The Caterri of Kohta were predictable in their cruelty. Those that existed outside Kohta were different, since
