Page 23 of Seas the Day
He wore simple dark clothing that somehow made him look more dangerous than his formal Alpha attire. His storm-grey eyes met hers with a piercing intensity that made her knees wobble, but his expression remained carefully neutral. Professional. As if that earth-shattering kiss had never happened.
Good,she told herself firmly.That’s exactly how this needs to be.
“Navira.” His voice was rougher than usual, like he’d spent the night fighting his own demons. “These are my Beta, Kaelen Veyras, and my head enforcer, Sylar Tsdeken. They’ll assist with your training.”
She shook hands with both men, noting Kaelen’s calculating assessment and Sylar’s barely contained skepticism. They didn’t trust her yet—fair enough. She’d have to earn her place here through results, not destiny.
“I look forward to working with you both in the ocean.”
“Great. But we’re not going to the ocean today.” Kaelen’s tone was matter-of-fact as he led them toward a waiting vehicle. “We have a pool facility in town that’s more secure.”
Navira’s heart sank. “Why not the ocean?”
“More pirate activity.” Sylar’s blue-gold eyes scanned their surroundings with warrior vigilance. “The ocean isn’t safe right now.”
Just great. Now I can’t even train where I feel most alive.
Thalric must have sensed her frustration as they climbed into the sleek vehicle—him in the passenger seat, her in the back with Sylar while Kaelen drove.
“It’s just a precaution,” Thalric said, his voice carefully controlled. “For now.”
She crossed her arms, not trusting herself to speak. Being this close to him made the mate bond hum with renewed intensity, threatening to unravel her carefully constructed resolve.
“Will you be attending all the training sessions?” The question slipped out, though she tried to keep her tone neutral.
Thalric’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Just this one. To ensure everything goes smoothly and the pack understands your role here.”
Good,she thought, even as something inside her protested.Distance is exactly what I need.
“I’ll give you space to work after today,” he added, and she caught something that might’ve been regret flickering across his features.
She nodded, staring out the window at Nova Aurora’s alien landscape. Maintaining distance from Thalric should be simple. Professional. Easy.
But as the mate bond continued to pulse between them in the confined space, Navira suspected that staying away from him might be the hardest thing she’d ever attempted.
FIFTEEN
THALRIC
The air in the sleek vehicle was thick with everything left unsaid. Thalric sat rigid in the passenger seat, the leather groaning under his controlled stillness as Kaelen navigated the winding coastal road. Thalric’s eyes remained fixed on the passing blur of purple foliage through the window, but every nerve ending tracked the woman in the back seat.
Navira’s silence was a physical presence, a cold front emanating from behind him that made his wolf snarl in protest. He could smell her sharp citrus-vanilla scent, now edged with frustration. The memory of that scent tangled with the taste of her lips was a brand on his soul.
We crossed a line, his rational mind repeated for the hundredth time.
But the kiss hadn’t been a crossing—it had been an annihilation. It had burned away his carefully curated Alpha persona and left only raw, desperate need. For those few breathless minutes in the pink ocean, he hadn’t been performing leadership. He’d just been a man undone by his fated mate, and the freedom of it had been more intoxicating than any victory.
Then she’d called it a mistake.
His wolf had been a caged storm ever since, pacing and snarling at the rejection. Yet Thalric understood, with a strategic clarity that felt like swallowing glass, that pushing her would only make her run. He had to respect the boundary she’d drawn, even if every instinct screamed to tear it down.
He knew he shouldn’t be here today. But he’d told himself he was attending as Alpha to introduce her, to lend his authority to her role and ensure the pack’s cooperation. It was a solid, defensible reason. Necessary, even.
It was also a lie.
The deeper truth, known only to the beast within, was that he’d needed to see her. To assure himself she was still here. The twelve hours of silence after she’d run from him had been a special kind of torture. But seeing her now, alive and vibrant and so painfully distant, was both a relief and a fresh agony.
He felt her gaze like a physical touch, a brief, hot glance at the back of his head before she looked away. The space between them in the vehicle felt like a chasm, and the mate bond thrummed across it, a taut string vibrating with discordant energy.
