Chapter 129
Tempest was pissed.
Mexyn was pissed.
Gerax was pissed.
The three of them were in the transport, all stewing and ignoring each other. Tempest didn’t think she had done anything that bad. Sure, she could understand that they were worried about her, but she was a grown woman who should be able to make her own choices. She didn’t want to apologize any more than she already had, but Tempest knew that letting everyone stay mad at each other was only going to make their time together so much more difficult. Still, she didn’t know how to broach the subject without seeming bitchy.
The silence continued all the way back to her home. The transport settled onto the landing platform with a soft hiss before the doors slowly slid open. Tempest was the first one out, followed by Mexyn and then Gerax. None of them said a word as they walked toward the front door. The house somehow felt even emptier than it had that morning. Every time Tempest came back without Dron, the silence seemed louder, as if the walls themselves were reminding her that he wasn’t there. She had only managed to get the door open when Gerax adjusted the strap of the bag hanging over his shoulder and cleared his throat.
"I think it would be best if I returned to my laboratory."
Tempest stopped with one hand still resting on the door. She knew he wanted to escape before the tension between them exploded, but she wasn’t going to allow that to happen. They would only go home, stew in their anger, and return the next morning acting as if nothing had happened. Tempest couldn’t continue doing that. She was already fighting too many emotions to add unspoken resentment to the growing list.
"You don’t have to leave," Tempest said as she turned to face him.
Gerax blinked. "I believe some distance would benefit everyone."
"No." Tempest stepped farther into the house and folded her arms over her chest. "No, we’re doing this now."
Neither Gerax nor Mexyn spoke. They stood near the doorway, watching her with the same guarded expressions they had worn throughout the entire ride home. Tempest took a deep breath, already feeling the anger bubbling back to the surface. She wanted to remain calm. She wanted to explain herself without snapping at either of them, but she was so tired of feeling as if she had no control over her own life.
"I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m going to shatter into a million pieces the second someone takes their eyes off me," Tempest began. "I understand why you’re worried. I really do, but I’m still an adult. I should be allowed to make my own decisions without having to report every move I make to the two of you. I shouldn’t have to ask permission before I go for a walk or spend time alone. You both keep saying you’re here to support me, but it doesn’t feel like support when I can’t take two steps without someone watching me."
"You disappeared," Mexyn said.
"I went for a walk."
"You disappeared," Mexyn repeated more firmly. "There is a difference. You slipped away without saying anything, disabled your location device, and left us searching the entire market for you."
"I knew exactly where I was."
"We didn’t."
"Because I wanted to be alone." Tempest threw her hands into the air. "Is that really so difficult to understand? I needed a moment where no one was staring at me, checking my heartbeat, or asking how I was feeling. I needed to breathe without someone waiting for me to have a breakdown."
"And if something had happened while you were alone?" Mexyn asked.
"Nothing happened."
"That isn’t the point."
"Then what is the point?" Tempest snapped. "Because from where I’m standing, it feels like neither of you trusts me to make even the smallest decision without supervision. I understand that Thraqe has different rules about omegas, but I wasn’t raised here. I’m not accustomed to being followed everywhere I go or having people decide what is best for me before anyone bothers to ask what I want."
Gerax remained quiet, but Mexyn took a slow step forward. There was anger in the omega’s expression, but there was also something else. Something that looked a lot like hurt.
"It isn’t about whether you’re capable of making decisions," Mexyn said.
"It certainly feels like it."
"No, Tempest. It’s about the fact that your decisions no longer affect only you." Mexyn gestured around the house. "You aren’t taking into account everything people have sacrificed to keep you safe. Dron left his home and his mate behind because he believed you would be protected here. Gerax has practically abandoned his laboratory to make sure you remain healthy. I’ve rearranged my entire life so you don’t have to spend every moment in this house alone. Maznik checks on you every day, and now Rynax has apparently involved himself as well."
Gerax looked away at the mention of his laboratory, but he didn’t deny what Mexyn had said. Tempest’s anger softened slightly, though she wasn’t ready to admit they had a point. She hadn’t asked them to rearrange their lives for her. She hadn’t asked Dron to recruit nearly everyone they knew to watch over her, but that didn’t erase the fact that they had done it because they cared about her.
"What would it prove if you went through all this hardship simply to die because you find yourself in a bad situation, on your own?" Mexyn asked.
The words lingered between them. Tempest’s chest tightened at the thought of Dron returning home to discover something had happened to her while he was gone. She could imagine the guilt he would carry even though none of it would be his fault. Still, that wasn’t what had happened in the market, and she refused to let either of them act as if she had knowingly put herself in danger.
"I wasn’t in a bad situation," Tempest said more quietly. "I was with Rynax. He would’ve protected me."
Neither Gerax nor Mexyn answered immediately. The glance they shared irritated Tempest all over again. It was as if the two of them were having an entire conversation without including her.
Gerax finally narrowed his eyes. "And what did you have to offer in return for his protection?"
Tempest stared at him. For a moment she wasn’t certain she had heard him correctly, but the questioning look on his face made the implication clear.
"What?"
"You said Rynax remained with you for several hours. I simply wish to understand the arrangement between the two of you."
"The arrangement?" Tempest’s voice rose sharply. "You think I slept with him?"
Gerax’s eyes widened. "What? No. That isn’t what I said."
"That’s exactly what it sounded like. What else would I have to offer him for his protection?"
"I was asking what reason he had for risking himself on your behalf," Gerax clarified. "Rynax isn’t known for involving himself in situations unless there is some benefit to him."
"Maybe he did it because he wanted to help me." Tempest took a step closer to Gerax. She couldn’t believe he would think she had been intimate with another alpha, especially when he knew how much she loved and missed Dron. "Maybe everyone keeps assuming the worst about Rynax because no one has ever bothered getting to know him."
Mexyn shifted between them before the conversation could spiral any farther. "It doesn’t matter whether you were intimate with him."
"It matters to me," Tempest snapped.
"I’m not saying it doesn’t. I’m saying the people of Thraqe will believe you were." Mexyn’s voice remained calm, though the anger hadn’t completely disappeared from her expression. "You disappeared from the marketplace with another alpha. You disabled your location device so no one could find you, and then you returned with him after the skies had already started to darken. People aren’t going to care about what actually happened. They will care about what they believe happened, and reputation is everything here."
Tempest looked away. She thought back to the crowd gathering around them and the way several people had whispered while the guards held Rynax against the wall. At the time, she had assumed they all thought he’d kidnapped her. She hadn’t considered what they might say after learning she had gone willingly. Tempest hated that she had to care about the opinions of strangers, especially when she knew the truth, but she also remembered Dron warning her about the scandal that could surround an omega being seen alone with another alpha. She didn’t want anything she had done to embarrass him or make his mission more difficult.
"I was hesitant at first," Tempest finally admitted. "I didn’t trust him. I still don’t know if I completely do, but Rynax truly was only being a friend. He took me somewhere quiet. We sat down, talked for a while, and watched the sundrizen. That’s all that happened. He never touched me or tried to convince me to do anything I didn’t want to do. He didn’t even make a move toward me. He listened, and for the first time in days, I didn’t feel like someone was waiting for me to fall apart."
Gerax’s expression softened. He glanced toward Mexyn before looking back at Tempest. "I believe you."
"So do I," Mexyn added.
The tension in the room eased slightly, though none of them looked completely comfortable. Tempest unfolded her arms and rubbed her hands against the sides of her clothing. Now that her anger was beginning to fade, exhaustion filled the space it left behind. She wanted to go to bed, pull Dron’s blanket around her, and stay there until he came home. She knew that wasn’t an option. She had already spent too many mornings hiding from her life.
Mexyn leaned back against the kitchen counter and studied her. "Then tell us why."
Tempest frowned. "Why what?"
"Why did you feel the need to run away in the first place?"
The question struck harder than Tempest expected. Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and she looked away before either of them could see how quickly her emotions had changed. She hated that she had spent the last several minutes yelling at them only to start crying now. She was beginning to feel as if she had no control over herself.
"I’m lonely," Tempest admitted.
The words barely escaped her mouth, but the room still fell silent. Gerax and Mexyn no longer looked angry. They simply waited for her to continue, and somehow that made it harder.
"It’s because of Dron. I miss him." Tempest wiped angrily at the tears running down her cheeks. "I miss everything about him. I miss his voice and the way he always makes too much food. I miss the way he watches me when he thinks I’m not looking. I miss him holding my hand while we’re walking somewhere for absolutely no reason. I even miss him telling me that I’m doing things wrong and insisting that everything is too dangerous for me."
A weak laugh escaped her, but it quickly turned into a sob. Tempest pressed one hand against her chest as the pain she had been trying to ignore finally pushed its way to the surface.
"I don’t know what’s happening to me. I feel empty all the time. I wake up and reach for him before I remember he isn’t there. Every time a transport passes the house, I think it’s him coming home. Every time the door makes a sound, I expect him to walk through it. It feels like half of my soul is missing, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep pretending that I’m fine."
Gerax’s expression changed almost immediately. The sympathy in his eyes gave way to concentration as he considered everything Tempest had said.
"The bond," he murmured.
Tempest wiped her face. "What?"
"The fated mate bond." Gerax moved deeper into the room, already appearing lost in thought. "I’ve been wondering whether there would be psychological consequences if the two of you were separated for an extended period. The bond between you and Dron is still forming, and it has never been documented between a human and a Thraqen before. If it functions similarly to the historical accounts I’ve studied, then prolonged separation could affect your emotional and mental state."
Tempest stared at him. "So I’m not going crazy?"
"No, I don’t believe you are." Gerax looked at the device around his wrist as if he expected it to give him all the answers. "It could be a form of withdrawal. You and Dron shouldn’t be separated by this distance, especially so soon after the bond formed. Your body may be reacting to the sudden absence of his presence."
"Then why are we keeping her here?" Mexyn asked.
Gerax looked up. "What?"
"If the distance is making the bond worse, then perhaps we should shorten the distance."
Tempest frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
Mexyn looked directly into Tempest’s eyes. "Maybe we should go to Skoq."
The room became deathly quiet. Tempest waited for Mexyn to laugh or explain that she wasn’t serious, but the omega’s expression never changed. Gerax let out a disbelieving sound and shook his head.
"You cannot be serious," Gerax said. "Skoq is forbidden territory. It is incredibly dangerous, and there is already a military operation underway. We could be imprisoned before we ever crossed the border."
"I know all of that," Mexyn replied.
"Then why would you suggest it?"
"Because I know Skoq."
Both Tempest and Gerax stared at her.
Mexyn pushed herself away from the counter. "I know some of the safer routes through the countryside, and I know which areas should be avoided. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be dangerous, but we wouldn’t be walking into the territory completely blind."
"You’ve never mentioned this," Gerax said.
"No one ever asked."
Gerax’s skepticism slowly gave way to curiosity. Tempest could almost see his mind racing as he looked toward the floor. She knew exactly what he was thinking before he spoke.
"The human settlement."
Tempest looked at him. "You believe it’s real?"
"I believe it’s possible," Gerax answered. "If there truly are humans living somewhere in Skoq, finding them could answer dozens of scientific questions. We could learn how they arrived, how long they’ve survived there, and whether they have any connection to Tempest’s arrival on Thraqe."
Mexyn looked between them. "Tempest wants to find Dron. You want answers about the human settlement, and I want to prove that Skoq isn’t simply a country filled with monsters. We all have a reason to go."
Tempest felt something she hadn’t experienced in days. Excitement. Real excitement. The idea was dangerous, reckless, and almost certainly against every rule on Thraqe, but it also meant she wouldn’t have to remain in the house waiting for news that might never come. She could move. She could search for Dron and close the distance that seemed to be tearing her apart from the inside.
"I want to go," Tempest said.
Gerax closed his eyes for a moment. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
Tempest looked toward the window. She knew it wouldn’t be as simple as packing a bag and crossing the border. They needed supplies, transportation, and someone who could protect them if they encountered danger. Mexyn knew the landscape and Gerax had scientific knowledge, but neither of them was prepared to fight their way through the Forbidden Lands.
"If we’re going, we’re going to need another fighter," Tempest murmured.
Mexyn didn’t have to ask who she meant. The expression on her face made it clear that she already knew.
"I guess I have to ask Rynax," Tempest continued.
She thought back to the look he had given her in the marketplace. There had been surprise in his eyes when she defended him, followed by something far more intense. Rynax had promised Dron that he would protect her, but she didn’t know if that promise extended beyond the safety of their village. Asking him to enter Skoq with them would mean asking him to break the law and risk his life so she could find another man.
Tempest wondered if the friendship they had unexpectedly begun to build was strong enough for that. Strong enough for Rynax to follow her into the Forbidden Lands so she could find her mate.