Page 41 of The Ranger
“Yes, of course,” she blurted.
Hmmm, Vale had given her an out and she grabbed it. Markhel smiled. Was she attracted to him?
The meal over, they said their goodbyes and headed for the front door. Markhel purposely brought up the rear, sensing Maida would follow.
Sure enough, she came up behind him. “I hope you feel better. Are you coming down with something?”
“I am, unsure.” Their gazes locked again, and the tightness in his chest lessened, but not enough. His hunger could no longer be denied. “Until tomorrow, little one.”
She blushed and took a step back. “Good night.”
He put on his hat, tipped it as was customary, then strolled out the front door. Vale and Makama were already at the wagon. Colin had one of his cowhands hitch up their horses for them.
He climbed onto the wagon seat, and when Vale took up the lines, didn’t argue.
“We’ll see you all tomorrow!” Makama called happily. She waved, and the Cookes and Comforts waved back.
Vale waved too, then got the wagon moving. As soon as they started up the rise, he turned to Markhel and grimaced. “Great Scott, you look awful.”
“I must feed.” He tensed, and, unable to help it, pulled his lips back from his teeth. By the Creator, he wasn’t going to shift, was he?
“Don’t snarl at me,” Vale said. “We’re doing our best here.”
“He knows, Vale,” Makama said. “He can’t help it. Trust me, I know.”
Markhel pressed his lips into a firm line as a wave of emptiness hit. “Must... feed...”
“Yes, yes, we know, but we can’t very well let you do what you do where someone can see us. Hang on as best you can.”
As soon as they topped the rise, Vale gave the horses a slap of the lines and they broke into a trot.
“Where can we go?” Makama asked.
“There... is a trail to the left up ahead. Half...” Markhel grimaced then hissed like an animal. “Oh no...”
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “I remember doing this sort of thing, but not so soon.”
He sucked in some air. “You are not full Muiraran. You... might not shift.”
“Shift?” Vale said. “What’s that?”
“We... under great duress, can shift into a physical manifestation of our inner heart.”
“What?!” Vale spat.
Makama waved at him to be quiet. “How come this is the first time we’re hearing about this?”
“One does n-not usually shift until a-after...” he grimaced again, this time in pain as the emptiness hit his gut, almost doubling him over. “Ahhch, that hurt.”
Vale and Makama looked at one another, eyes wide.
“I will b-be fine,” he assured. In truth, he didn’t know if he’d be fine or not.
“Let’s go back to the inner heart manifestation thing,” Makama said. “You shift into what?”
He held his arms protectively over his gut. “Each Muiraran is d-different. King Jaireth shifts into a great wolf. Zara, into a huge black panther.”
Vale and Makama exchanged another look, then gaped at him. “WHAT?!”