Undead (Immortal West Book 1) by Kerry Adrienne & L.A. Boruff

Author:Kerry Adrienne & L.A. Boruff [Adrienne, Kerry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Earthshine Publishing
Published: 2022-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Blake

When I came back to the camp from the stream, Claire was still sitting by the fire, chin tilted toward the sky, eyes staring, probably not seeing. There were those in the world who studied stars and mapped their locations. I didn’t know enough about Claire to know if she was one of them, to know if she would realize the placement of these wasn’t the same as the ones on the other side of The Rift in her world. I hoped not, anyway.

Everything I’d done so far, from the generic human food I’d collected to the route which didn’t have to be as long as it was, I’d done to keep her from figuring out we were no longer in her world.

Claire Lowell was intelligent and observant. There was no telling how long I would be able to keep this ruse up.

I looked at her and the pang in my gut was there again. This was as close to human as I’d felt in a long time. Aside from my ever-present hunger, there was a pull toward her, and more than once I had to remind myself, she was spoken for, engaged to another.

At least the pangs of hunger were less now thanks to the rabbits. The blood wouldn’t sustain me forever, but it would hold off the cravings until I could deliver Claire to Donley.

I rattled the pot against a plate to rouse her from her thoughts enough she wouldn’t pull that pistol of hers to shoot me before she realized it was me and not a bear. As I sat across from her at the fire, she smiled, genuine and lovely. A lightness formed in my chest; one I’d never really experienced before. I wondered for a second then ignored it.

“What are you thinking about?” The words came out before I could call them back.

She sighed, and I thought she might spit the words in the bite I’d heard so many times already, but she spoke softly. “I was thinking about my Uncle Silas back in Boston. He raised me when my parents died. Gave up his life out here in the west to come back and take care of a kid he hardly knew.”

“Was it your uncle who taught you how to shoot?”

Her smile widened and this time she wasn’t smiling at me. She was smiling at her memory. Although, it was still beautiful, and the odd sensation filled my chest again.

“He taught me everything, including how to survive in the west.”

Her west, maybe. The same rules didn’t apply here.

Her smile faded. “Can I tell you something?” When I nodded, it took her a second to continue. A second and a couple long breaths she blew out through a perfect circle she made with her full, lush lips. “I agreed to marry Mr. Buchanan for the payment so I can send it back to Silas who’s fallen on hard times.”

Strings of guilt panged inside me, but I shushed them. I was doing a job. She was the job.

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