And The Shadows May Follow

It had been some time since the brute had been working on the solution Mariah desperately needed, and maybe he had found it. But approaching her with a maybe was something he hated, even if it was all he had to offer her.

Caedes watched her from a distance upon tracking her down, his emerald gaze narrowing as he took in the tension in her shoulders and the… unsteady way she picked her way across the rocky beach. Something was wrong. He could feel it. More than the dreams, the exhaustion, the fear. At least in the way her frame seemed to fold in on itself, her confidence all but gone. This, he hated the most. The way he could not shield her from the happenings within. His lips curled, fangs protruding as he thought of the perpetrator’s name.

Moros.

He approached her slowly, his steps graceful and quiet, giving her time to notice him. When he reached her side, he didn’t speak right away. Instead, his eyes traced the lines of her face, the sunken factor around her eyes. After a moment, he brushed his muzzle against her shoulder, a fleeting touch filled with meaning. His gaze searched hers, questioning, but not pushing. He didn’t need her to explain—he just needed her to know he was there to listen again.