Chapter 187: The Meadow

~ SASHA ~

Sasha was half-stunned, half-embarrassed by the fact that even now, walking the trail to a nearby valley, her body thrummed whenever she looked at him.

He wasn't naked anymore, of course, but his thick shoulders looked even broader in his fur jacket, and even the furs didn't hide the trim waist and thick thighs. And nothing could obscure the way he walked with such strength and assurance.

She'd encouraged him to go first on the trail since he knew where they were going, and she'd spent most of the walk just staring at him, admiring him.

He'd finally turned and told her dryly that if she didn't stop stinking of desire he was going to tear her leggings off and take her against the rock wall.

She might have suffered a whole new surge of desire then, that had Zev raking a hand through his hair and growling. So she'd started talking, hoping that if they discussed it, she could stop thinking about it.

"Do you think all the Chimera feel that way?" she asked him, after clarifying that those incredible feelings the night before had, indeed, been the bond taking hold. That Zev had felt it too—it wasn't just her. And that apparently, the humans had indeed been wrong about him not being able to form the bond.

She hadn't really questioned it. Not really. But there was always the thought…

"I know every Chimera who takes any mate at all has the bond. And they remain loyal—unless they go stark raving mad," Zev growled.

Sasha thought of Xar the day before and her stomach plunged to her toes.

Had she really killed a man? With her own hands?

"Hey, hey, don't focus on that," Zev murmured, stopping to turn and take her hands. "You were just protecting yourself. Don't let him steal your joy, Sash. I shouldn't have brought it up, I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I just… remembered."

The crack of bone under the rock in her fist and the way his eyes emptied before anything else—

"Sash, babe. Look at me."

Sasha blinked.

Zev's face was serious, and kind. "The first time you kill a man is always going to stick with you. It's not easy for anyone—no matter why it had to be done. But you are my mate, and I'm yours. It's instinct to fight to the death in protection of your mate—and yourself. He was going to take you, Sash. He was going to kill me, and take you against your will. The Chimera… we don't do that. You understand? You were right to stop him."

She nodded and let herself lean into his chest for a minute.

"Don't let him steal this from us, Sash. I'm not going to."

"We have to talk about it at some point."

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"Sure. But let's wait until the end. When we're headed back. Let's turn our focus then. Until then… let's just be here together." His voice rumbled in his chest under her ear, and Sasha sighed happily, pushing away the dark thoughts.

"Okay," she murmured, pulling out of his arms. "So… the mate bond. Chimera have it and you think it feels that way for all of them?"

"I don't know if it feels exactly like that. What I know is that once they're bonded, they can't ever be separated. It's why being apart from their mate will slowly kill them. And if their mate dies…" he trailed off, watching her carefully.

Sasha swallowed. If Zev died… Her entire body wanted to shudder at that thought.

He put a hand to her face and made her look at him. "It's not going to happen, Sash. Xar is gone. The people are following you. I'm here. Things are… better than they've ever been. We'll figure out how to keep the humans out. How to get the females back. We'll figure it out. And in the meantime, we're still here. Together."

She nodded, but a shadow clouded his bright blue eyes. She needed to stop worrying him.

Sasha took a deep breath and threw off the thoughts of the future—and of the past. What they needed to focus on just then was right now. Today. The time they had together, uninterrupted. And the bond that she could feel, tied into her gut, pressing her closer to him.

They started walking again and as the trail widened, he pulled her up next to him and put an arm around her shoulder.

"What does the bond do… other than… that?" Sasha asked, trying not to blush.

"It will keep us together," Zev said quietly, looking at the high walls of the ravine over head. "Even when we're fighting, even when we're in a pain… there's always going to be this core of certainty that we have to be in it together. That we can't leave. It cements us together, Sash."

"I kind of feel like we've already had that part," she admitted.

Zev smiled down at her. "Me too."

"It really is beautiful," she said with a soft smile. "I wish humans going to have this too."

Zev frowned. "I think they do. I mean, I'm half human and I've got it. You're all human, and you do. We can't be the only ones capable of it. I think it's there, but humans are just less aware. Like we were when we were apart. We felt the draw, but we didn't understand what it meant. I think humans do have the bond, they just don't pay attention. I mean, maybe that's why getting divorced, or losing a spouse is so hard? Because they weren't ever supposed to leave?"

"Or because they weren't supposed to be together in the first place," Sasha said dryly, thinking of her own parents and how miserable they'd been in recent years.

Zev shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, for Chimera, when they form the bond it's there, regardless. Who knows if they were fated, or just chose each other? I don't. All I know is, they don't betray it. This is real, Sash. We're bonded now. And that's never going to leave us."

She smiled up at him, about to celebrate that fact with him, when he turned and looked ahead. The shadows of the ravine suddenly disappeared as they stepped out of the end, and a gorgeous smile broke on his face.

Sasha turned to follow his gaze, and her entire heart throbbed with the beauty of it.

"Welcome to The Meadow, Sash," Zev said quietly, tugging her forward. "I can't wait for you to see it all."

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