HerMatesEmbrace (2 page)

She gave them credit for noticing that. She did trust Avan
more and she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. He was one of the few males she felt
completely comfortable being near for any length of time. She didn’t think that
Linc and Colm would physically hurt her. The two men were a threat in an
entirely different way. She didn’t like the speculation she’d seen in their
eyes lately. She’d caught them staring a few times. By the expressions on their
faces, it wasn’t because of her scar.

“We should probably get started with this, then. I don’t
want to hold them up.” She looked at the stalls. There weren’t all that many.
It shouldn’t take long to find some serviceable cloth and buy it.

“Hold them up? They’re not in a hurry. We’re staying the
night here. They’re arranging for accommodations. Apparently, they stop here
often enough to be friendly with the locals.” Avan stayed close to her as they
strolled into the market. It wasn’t too crowded.

She walked past the stalls selling fruit and vegetables and
one offering cooked pastries. There were a couple of stalls selling cloth, but
she didn’t see anything suitable on the first table. Moving on to the second,
she found a few bolts that would work. She particularly liked the vivid green,
the yellow and a deep blue. When she began to take out the coins for the cloth,
Avan stepped forward and handed the amount to the woman behind the wooden
table.

“They gave it to me to pay for the cloth,” Avan said without
her doing more than looking at him.

“I don’t need their help to provide for my needs. I’m
capable of doing it on my own.” She straightened and glared at him.

“It wasn’t my decision. That’s something you’re going to
have to argue about with them.” He held up his hands.

Oh, she would and she knew it probably would be an argument.
They weren’t accustomed to people questioning them, especially for something
such as this. But she wasn’t part of their
Thent
. They had no right to
pay for what she would wear. She wasn’t their responsibility.

“Let’s go. I assume since you know so much that you know
where we’re supposed to meet them.” Her anger built with every breath, and more
frightening than that, the magic rose with the emotion. She tried to push the
anger down and get control of her feelings. It didn’t work. Fear spiked through
her. She couldn’t let the magic escape her control here. There were too many
people who could be hurt.

“We’re supposed to meet them at the inn. You’ll have a room
of your own. They assured me of that, just in case you were worried.” Avan
urged her back down the same street they’d taken to get to the market.

“I take it from your remark that some people will be
doubling up.” She drew in a deep breath and focused on calming her emotions.

“Yes, doubling and some sleeping in rooms in people’s
homes.” Avan shrugged. “It’s just the way it’s done in these smaller towns if
the group that comes through is too big for the inn. They’re willing as long as
they’re paid.”

She didn’t reply. Calming down wasn’t working. The magic
churned even without the emotion behind it. Nothing she did tamped it back
down. This was bad. She didn’t know what she should do. Linc, Colm and their
chatar
were at the inn. A
chatar
served as their advisor, wise man and seer.
She frowned as she thought about that man. The dark-haired
chatar
and
his knowledge of her worried her. Before she’d met him, she’d suspected that
all
chatar
were fakes as the one at
Scali Thent
had been. That
fake hadn’t been wise at all and he definitely had no ability to see the
future. Definitely not true of the
chatar
with Colm and Linc.

She couldn’t do anything about the
chatar
. She needed
to stay focused on the main issue. The magic. If Colm and Linc helped, that
would be great and no one would have anything to worry about today, but if not…
She hesitated. This could be a disaster. If she went into the forest, as long
as she was far enough away from the city, no one would be hurt.

“Is something wrong? If you need to talk with the Ardin, I’d
suggest you do it now. They were talking about getting a few more supplies and
that could take a while if they have to haggle.” Avan took her arm.

She didn’t have time to think, much less force the words
past the panic boiling inside of her. Avan led her to a good-sized wooden
building near the town’s east edge. Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears. Her
chest ached and she felt as if she couldn’t pull in enough air.

Indecision made the choice for her. She didn’t resist as he
pulled her up the stairs onto a porch that ran along the front of the hotel.
Dread filled her. Something bad was going to happen. Her heart raced and her
mind seemed to lock. She couldn’t think of a way to make him understand that he
had to let her go.

He’d chase after her if she just took off. She doubted he’d
consider her power a problem. None of them had seemed too concerned since she’d
told them about the magic inside of her and that it was building. If she didn’t
find some way to suppress it, they were going to get a firsthand demonstration
of why it was a problem.

“I can’t go in there, Avan. I need to calm down, maybe go
for a long walk or run.” Her voice quivered with stress. She winced at the
sign. She tried to get him to understand. “The magic—”

“They’ll teach you everything you need to know about your
magic, you just need to be patient. They can’t teach while we’re traveling. And
as long as Laed and Kynar are still out there, going for a run or walk with
just one person isn’t a good idea.” Avan opened the thick wooden door and
switched his hand to the small of her back before she could even think about
making a run for it.

She found herself being urged into the inn. The main door
opened into a dining and drinking area with a long, scarred dark-brown bar and
several tables. She didn’t take a step more once the forward pressure had
stopped. His attitude and insistence as well as the fact that there were at
least ten other people in the short distance between her and the first table
were making her feel trapped. She wanted out and she wanted to be away from
everyone.

“Linc, Colm, Cami needs to talk with you.” Avan stepped
forward.

Her mind automatically locked onto the fact that there was a
clear path behind her. She didn’t get a chance to think about it too much
before she noticed that both men were coming toward her. Unable to stop
herself, she let her eyes wander as they approached.

Colm’s golden eyes fixed on her and his face set in
aggressive lines. She’d never seen them soften and sometimes wondered if he
looked as if a predator lurked ready to pounce even when he slept. His skin was
a dark-brown and the
trika
, the spots along his jawline and ribs, only a
little darker. Those markings identified him as Santir, a shapeshifter, and
they were also sensitive to touch. Grabbing and pinching there could be very
painful, but a caress… She shivered at the thought of the pleasure it could
bring or that could be given. His long black hair hung in a straight fall to
just below his shoulders. A cream-colored shirt stretched across his muscled
chest drawing her eyes and many appreciative female stares, but not as many as
his black leather pants.

Linc followed a little behind as they wove their way between
the tables. His long golden hair was clubbed back with a leather thong, but she
knew it reached more than halfway down his back. Glittering green eyes seemed
to take in everything. Light golden skin stretched over his cheekbones. She let
her gaze drift over the dark
trika
along his square jaw as she continued
her perusal. He was a little shorter than Colm, but every bit as broad and
muscled. His dark-blue shirt wasn’t as tight as Colm’s, but those leather pants
emphasized every flex of his thighs.

Ogling them didn’t help lessen the magic, but she loved the
view. It was as close as she could let herself get to them. Everything she knew
about them and what they wanted only told her she’d be setting herself up for a
lot of pain if she wasn’t careful.

“No, I don’t need to talk to them right now. I need some
time alone.” She slanted a narrow-eyed look toward Avan. He was lucky she didn’t
have something heavy in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” Linc stepped in front of her.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just want to go to my room if it’s
ready.” The words came out from between clenched teeth. It gave obvious proof
of the lie, but she couldn’t do this now and hold onto her control.

Colm laughed softly. “I think we do need to talk about
something. I’m also sure that time alone isn’t going to make it go away.”

She took a deep breath to try to control the immediate surge
of frustration. Her nerves stretched taut with the strain. She didn’t need her
feelings ramping up the magic any more than they already were. “No, we don’t. I
need some peace and quiet away from everyone else.”

“It’s not ready. None of them are. That gives us time to
discover just what it is you don’t need to talk about.” Linc gently clasped her
arm.

“Let me go. I’m tired of being led, herded and told where to
go and what to do. I don’t want to talk right now.” She jerked at her arm, but
she might as well have been trying to move a rock wall. His hand didn’t budge.
Her heart began racing. Panic began to push away everything else, but the fear
that she’d lose control right here.

“No, take a few breaths and calm down. We’re going to talk
about whatever is bothering you, and don’t lie to us again. There is something
bothering you.” Linc’s voice was smooth and utterly calm.

“Why won’t anyone listen to me?” Her voice rose and her
throat felt tight. The magic was rising. She could feel it swelling, but didn’t
know how to make them understand without blurting it out, which could be
disastrous in such a public place. She tried, but she couldn’t push it back.
“Please.”

“No, now we’re going to go sit down. You’re going to tell us
what’s behind all of this argument.” Linc began leading her over to the tables.

“No!” She reached for his hands, intending to use her claws
to get him to release her. She’d be even more surrounded, more trapped there.

Cami felt a snap of magic go through her as soon as she
touched him. He flew back away from her. She stared, horrified, for only a
moment before she spun and ran out of the room. She’d thrown him across the
room with her magic and she hadn’t even intended to do it.

Gods, she was a menace to anyone around her. She ran through
the streets toward the forest. The streets seemed to close in around her,
making her feel caged and hunted. Her vision narrowed. A low roar sounded in
her ears and her heart raced.

She hit the grassy field at the edge of town and kept going.
Her pace didn’t slow until the sparse trees and bushes thickened and the light
was partially blocked by the thick canopy of leaves of the surrounding trees.
The sharp tang of the sap and leaves of the trees hit her first, calming her a
little.

She looked around and saw the dark bark of a stand of
manoga
trees. The sweet scent of
minsi
drifted to her, but she couldn’t see
any of the vines anywhere or a hint of their yellow and orange bell-shaped
flowers. She drew in a deep breath and walked a little deeper into the forest.
Stopping when she got to a stand of conical
vetin
trees, she dropped
down to sit against one of the thick trunks.

The grass and leaf-covered ground was soft and cushioned
her. The tree at her back felt solid. She put her hands over her face and
simply breathed, letting the chitter of small animals and the feel of the
slightly moist breeze ground her.

That had been a disaster. Doubts began to crowd her mind.
She’d thought she could be around people safely as long as she had someone near
to teach her control of the magic. It hadn’t been a priority for them. She
hadn’t pressed them on it. Maybe she should have, but she wasn’t certain that
it would have made a difference to what happened. She would have felt
pressured. She doubted she would have learned enough to stop that slip.

She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms
around them. Resting her chin on her knee, she closed her eyes and tried to
think about what she should do next. She wanted to stop Laed and Kynar, but
that wouldn’t happen if she was a danger to everyone who was with her. That was
all too likely if she couldn’t somehow get control of the magic. Alternatively,
she couldn’t simply let Laed and Kynar continue to hurt others and she was
certain that they would.

Either way someone could get hurt. At least Linc, Colm and
their men had been warned. Laed and Kynar’s potential victims wouldn’t have
that advantage. On top of that, the men could take care of themselves. Laed and
Kynar would go after the weakest targets they could find. The only question was
would she be welcome to stay with them any longer?

Chapter Two

Colm followed the muddled scent through the streets. No way
to mistake that strange smell. He hadn’t been able to grab her before she
dashed out of the inn. He’d been stunned when Linc had flown backward. Then
before they could go find her, one of the patrons at the inn’s bar, filled with
courage and too much alcohol, had decided that since a woman could throw one of
them, they were obviously weak. The resulting bar fight had lost them their
rooms for the night.

He growled. Frustrated and irritated, he searched for any
sign of her. In spite of her panic, he didn’t think she’d go too far. She
wasn’t trying to leave. The woman was smart. She’d slip out at night if she
wanted to go. No, fear of what she’d done and what happened had ruled her
thoughts. It had been a long time since he’d lost control, but he remembered
how it felt.

She’d told them that the magic scared her and that it was
growing. He hadn’t realized that it was that bad. Part of that was their fault
for not taking the matter more seriously. Still, he wasn’t taking all the
blame. She should have pressed them for more attention instead of keeping them
at a distance as she’d done since she’d found them.

She was healing emotionally. She’d been fragile when she’d
met them outside a gatehouse not too long ago. Every time they’d approach,
she’d step back. The fear in her eyes was obvious. It wasn’t simply because
they were Ardin, as the two men who’d hurt her had been. Slowly, she’d stopped
retreating from them, but more than fear held her back. There was a caution in
her eyes he was sure had nothing to do with physical fear.

He looked over at his bond brother. Linc had noticed that
she’d grown accustomed to the other men with them and didn’t seem to be so
cautious around them. When he’d pointed it out, Colm hadn’t put much credence
to it. If he’d gone through what she had, he wasn’t sure he’d be here, much
less chance putting himself under the control of anyone ever again. Her
reaction to them hadn’t changed much. With them, there was always a distance
and deliberate avoidance of spending any time with them.

On top of that, there was the way Vin, their
chatar,
looked at her. Speculation simmered in the wise man’s eyes. Colm knew that Vin
had known she’d be waiting for them. The seer knew more of her than they did,
but he hadn’t told them much about her. Vin had pushed to keep her with them,
even when it would keep her in possible danger.

Colm didn’t buy that the only way they were going to catch
the false Ardin, Laed and Kynar, was if she was with them. There had to be more
to it, but his mind shied away from the most likely possibilities. He didn’t
want to think about that. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t make himself vulnerable
in that way.

As they left the city, he looked at the trees. He should
have realized she’d head straight for the forest. She’d wanted to be alone and
have time to calm down before all this happened. The forest offered a haven
away from the people and buildings.

Colm spotted her. She sat on the ground, scrunched up with
her chin on her knees and her eyes closed. She must be lost in thought, because
she hadn’t heard them approach. Her black hair hung over her arms. The ends
fluttered around her calves in the light breeze. It partially covered the minor
scar on her cheek, although he knew the mark wasn’t so insignificant to her.

Her position hid her curvy form. A cream-colored shirt
covered lushly full breasts that made him want to reach out and cup them. Not
that she’d given any indication that she’d stand still for that. He took a deep
breath and focused. Time to see what conclusions she’d come to while she was
thinking, but she had better realize they weren’t letting her disappear. The
woman deserved safety and security and she’d get it even if she didn’t realize
she needed it.

“Whenever you feel like talking, we’re waiting.” Linc’s
voice silenced the animals in the forest.

Cami gasped and her eyes popped open. Her head snapped up
and smacked into the tree behind her. The thud made him wince even as her hands
rose to cradle her head. Her eyes clenched shut. She moaned a little before
opening her eyes and blinking furiously. He’d guess she was having a little
trouble focusing.

She drew back against the tree and her eyes widened. He
frowned. Was she afraid of them? It took him only a moment to realize that
given her history, she probably expected some kind of retaliation. Not to
mention they probably looked larger than normal given her position on the
ground.

Her eyes moved to Linc. After studying him a moment, she
relaxed a little.

“Are you all right? That sounded as though it hurt.” Colm
took a step closer.

She reached up and rubbed a hand over the back of her head.
A grimace crossed her face, but when she pulled her hand back, he didn’t see
any blood.

“It hurts. I’m not going to try to stand just yet, but it
should be fine. What did you want to start with?” She took a deep breath. Her
hands loosely looped around her legs.

He didn’t want her afraid of them. How were they going to
get past the distrust she now had for anyone in a leader position?

“Let’s start with how this all started. Maybe it will help
us understand how this happened.” Linc stood with his feet braced apart.

Colm waited. She licked her lips and her hands clenched.

“I was frustrated. First my power was already a little high,
but it’s been staying that way. So until it began feeding on my emotions, I
wasn’t too worried. Then I became angry when Avan paid for the cloth on your
orders.” She narrowed her eyes at him specifically as if she thought he was
behind it.

She was right. Linc had mentioned her not having much with
her, but he hadn’t been going to press it until they reached the
Thent
.
Colm saw no reason to delay. He’d arranged for Avan to take her to get some
cloth. He hadn’t guessed how that would end.

“You’ll need more clothes when we reach the
Thent
. Go
on with your explanation.” Colm smiled and hooked his thumb on his belt.

“I was going to take it up with you, but by the time we got
to the inn, the magic was too high. I knew it and there was the chance that I
couldn’t control it. I told him that I needed some time and that I wanted to
wait. He ignored everything I said, just as you did.” She shook her head, but
then groaned. Her hand cupped the back of her head.

“We weren’t ignoring what you were saying. We were going to
talk to you about it.” Linc’s voice softened.

“No one has been listening to me. And then the room was so
crowded and you wanted to take me to a place where I’d be surrounded.” She
sighed heavily and brushed her hair away from her face.

She had a point there. They knew she didn’t like crowds.
Part of it was being trapped and surrounded. That was understandable after what
the two false Ardin had done to her. Colm suspected the other part was simply
that she’d been alone and on the run for so long that too many people made her
nervous.

“One word about how much you were worried about your magic
would have gotten results.” Linc raised an eyebrow. “And I might not have
suddenly hit the wall.”

“That’s just the type of thing that I’d say out in public
with strangers around.” She rose slowly to her feet.

Colm laughed shortly. Some people feared those with magic.
He could understand her not saying it in public. “I’ll grant that you couldn’t
have said anything outright and we hadn’t prepared for such a situation. You
bear a little of the responsibility in this too. You could have told us before
how high the magic had become and that you were afraid you might lose control.”

“I’m just feeling my way around in this situation. I told
you about it growing and not knowing how to control it the first time we talked
of it. You didn’t seem too concerned about teaching me any techniques. I didn’t
know what you planned.” She shrugged.

“We didn’t realize exactly how risky the situation had
become. If we had, we wouldn’t have waited to begin teaching you to drain off
power. You come to us if you feel as though you’re going to lose control. We
can help.” Linc stepped forward. “You’re not alone in this anymore. You’re
going to have to start trusting us.”

Colm knew they were asking a lot from her. Still, it had to
start somewhere. She grimaced and looked at them as if judging how serious they
were.

“You’re going to have to try, at least in regards to the
magic.” Colm took another step closer to her, but since he didn’t want her to
feel crowded, he also edged to the side a little.

“I’ll try, but I can’t give you any promises. I’m not sure
what to expect from you even now.” She licked her lips.

“You expect some kind of retaliation for what happened,
don’t you?” Linc’s head tipped to the side and he frowned. “That’s not our way.
We don’t wait and come at someone when they’ve had a chance to relax. If we
have a problem with something you’ve done, we’ll tell you.”

“I’m really sorry about… Even though I didn’t do it intentionally,
you did go flying back into a wall.” She shrugged, but kept her eyes on him. It
was easy to see that she didn’t believe what they’d said.

“Accidents happen, especially when someone’s just learning
to control their magic.” Linc smiled. “I’ve taken harder falls in practice, so
don’t worry about it. We should get moving. It’s going to take us some time to
get to a spot to camp and it’s already getting dark.”

Her mouth dropped open and she shook her head. “I caused you
to lose your rooms at the inn. I shouldn’t have ever tried to contact you. I
knew it could bring trouble to you, but I never thought that I would cause so
much of it.”

Colm held up his hands. He wasn’t going to let her take the
blame for that. “It wasn’t you. Sure, people were stunned when Linc flew
through the air, but most of the men there chalked it up to you pushing him and
him tripping. Now, if one of the men at the bar hadn’t started mouthing off and
took a swing at me, we’d still have a room.”

“He’s shortening the tale a lot, but in essence, after you
left, a fight broke out and the innkeeper threw us out because the other people
involved were locals.” Linc smiled.

“Still—” Cami began.

“Still nothing. This was our doing. You caused a scene. We
can handle that and the fight was our doing.” Colm frowned. It bothered him
that she didn’t believe him. Not in an irritated way, but in a
this-isn’t-right-and-I-need-to-change-it way. “The men are probably waiting
with the
mican
. We need to be on our way.”

Saddling and preparing the large, powerfully muscled riding
animals as well as the pack animals and wagons wouldn’t take much time at all.
Every man with them had done it hundreds of times.

“We’d better get moving, then.” Her eyes moved from one of
them to the other and then settled on him. He didn’t need to see how she stayed
out of striking distance to know that she considered him a bigger threat than
Linc.

“You’ll know when he’s angry. He doesn’t hide it well.” Linc
smiled, stepped to the side and gave her room to start back.

She nodded and stepped forward, but he could tell that she
still was wary. Her eyes kept moving and her body tensed as if she needed to be
ready to move at the slightest notice. That had to change. He didn’t know how
they were going to manage it, but somehow they needed to gain her trust.