Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Chapter 210

It took all of the self control Dron had not to dive any deeper into the fact that Rynax seemed to not be able to stop talking about Minnie. What started out as Dron trying to get him to see that there may be other options besides Tempest for him to mate with ended up with Rynax going on and on about how Minnie was the bane of his existance.

Dron could do nothing but listen.

It was nice to just talk to someone even if that someone was the same person who had tried and failed to steal his woman away.

Thankfully, Aliq found the two of them talking and ushered Rynax away so he could help with the duties.

Dron was on his own, for the first time in what seemed like a long time.

He continued to sit on the rock and just let his body relax. There was no telling how long this reprieve would last.

Dron’s eyes fell to the arid cracked ground.

Right there between his feet was the smallest of plant buds.

He reached down and gently examined the growing plant with his fingertips. He couldn’t help but smile.

Even here in the most aggressive and intense environments where it seemed like everything was destined to die, there was still life.

Still a chance.

There was hope.

Dron only hoped that this would be the same for the people that he was now in charge of.

He prayed that they would see the hope through all the misery spread around them.

For a few moments, Dron allowed himself to sit there and watch the small plant. It was strange that something so insignificant could capture his attention when there were so many other things he should’ve been worried about, but maybe that was exactly why he couldn’t look away.

Everything around him had become too big.

Too many people depended on him. Too many lives were suddenly tangled together. Too many enemies waited for them somewhere beyond the settlement, and Dron knew it wouldn’t be long before they had to start thinking about the High Royals and what came next.

But the plant didn’t care about any of that.

It had found a crack in the ground and grown.

Dron wished everything could be that simple. His eyes lifted from the ground, and almost immediately they began searching for Tempest.

It wasn’t difficult to find her.

His body seemed to know exactly where she was even when his eyes didn’t. The bond between them had been strange from the beginning, but lately it felt stronger. More demanding. As if some invisible part of him was constantly aware of where she stood, how far away she was and whether anything had gotten too close to her.

Her Heat only made it worse.

Dron shifted uncomfortably on the rock. He had tried not to think too much about it while speaking with Rynax. The conversation had been a welcome distraction, especially considering how little opportunity Dron had lately to simply sit and talk without someone bleeding, fighting or asking him what they should do next.

Still, even while Rynax had been talking, Dron had been aware of Tempest somewhere else in the settlement. Aware of what was happening to her. Aware that they still hadn’t been able to properly join during her Heat.

That knowledge had been bothering him far more than he wanted to admit. The attack had changed everything. There hadn’t been time to think about what either of their bodies wanted when people were dying around them. Dron wouldn’t have changed the choices he made. He couldn’t. Protecting Tempest and the people around them had been more important than anything his instincts demanded.

That didn’t mean those instincts had disappeared.

If anything, they had gotten worse. Tempest was close enough for him to see, close enough for the bond to constantly remind him of her, yet there always seemed to be something between them. Someone needed help. Someone needed an order. Someone needed Gerax. Someone needed Tempest. Someone needed Dron.

He understood.

They had survived an attack. People had died. Homes had been destroyed. There were injured people who still needed to be cared for and frightened people who had just agreed to abandon what remained of the only home they had known on this planet.

Dron wasn’t going to drag Tempest away from all of that simply because every part of him wanted his mate.

Still, he wanted her. Badly.

The thought made his body tense again. Dron pushed himself off the rock before his mind could wander any further. Sitting still clearly wasn’t helping. His legs protested the movement. There were aches throughout his body that he hadn’t noticed until he finally stopped moving long enough to feel them. His shoulders were stiff, his back hurt and there were several places along his arms and chest where bruises had started to form.

None of it mattered enough to give much attention.

Dron started walking. He didn’t have a destination. That felt strange too. For what seemed like cycles, every step he took had been toward something. A mission. Tempest. Tine’s settlement. The human settlement. A fight. Someone who needed to be saved. Now he simply walked.

The settlement was changing around him. People were gathering their belongings and moving together. Some carried supplies. Others helped the injured. Children stayed near adults while warriors moved around the outside of the larger groups, checking weapons and making sure nothing had been forgotten.

It should’ve looked chaotic. In some ways, it did. There were too many different people in one place for anything to happen perfectly. Humans were still wary of some of the alphas. People from Skoq watched the Thraqens carefully. Some of the Thraqens still carried themselves as if they couldn’t quite understand how they had ended up following people they had once been taught were beneath them.

Yet they were doing it. They were moving together.

Dron slowed as he walked through them, taking the time to actually look at the people around him. It was easier to see the group as a whole when he stood somewhere above them. A force. An army. People who needed food, water, shelter and protection. Walking among them made that impossible.

They were individuals.

There were parents trying to keep frightened children calm. Injured warriors refusing help until someone practically forced them to accept it. Humans carrying what remained of their belongings beside people from Skoq. Alphas carrying supplies that clearly didn’t belong to them. People who had probably never imagined they would stand beside one another were now preparing to walk the same path.

Some looked at Dron as he passed.

That was something he was still trying to get used to. Their eyes followed him. Some nodded. Others straightened slightly when they noticed him. A few looked as though they were waiting for him to tell them what to do. Dron kept walking. He had spent his life taking orders. Even after rising through the ranks and earning respect among other soldiers, there had always been someone above him. Someone who ultimately made the decision. Someone who could be blamed if everything went wrong.

Now people were looking at him.

Dron didn’t know when that happened. He hadn’t asked for it. He certainly hadn’t declared himself anything. Yet somewhere along the way, people had begun to follow him. The responsibility of it sat heavier on his shoulders than any weapon he had ever carried.

Then he saw Tempest.

His steps slowed without him meaning for them to.

She wasn’t doing anything particularly remarkable. There was no weapon in her hands. No crowd surrounding her while she gave some grand speech. She was simply there among the others, moving through the settlement like everyone else.

Dron still couldn’t look away.

His body reacted before his mind could stop it.

The awareness of her heat returned immediately.

It wasn’t just something he knew anymore. Being this close to her made it impossible to ignore. His alpha instincts sharpened until the rest of the settlement seemed to fade around the edges.

He wanted to go to her.

The urge was so strong that Dron actually took a step in her direction before stopping himself.

Not yet.

That realization frustrated him more than it should have.

He had spent so long trying to get back to Tempest. Then he had finally found her, finally held her, finally been able to convince some broken part of himself that she was alive and safe.

Yet somehow they still hadn’t completely caught up with each other.

There had always been something.

The attack had been the latest interruption, and Dron knew neither of them could simply forget what happened because their bodies were demanding something else. There were people around them who had lost everything. Some had lost people they loved. Others were injured. Everyone was frightened about what came next.

Tempest wouldn’t abandon them.

Dron wouldn’t ask her to.

But the uneasiness remained.

Her heat wasn’t something either of them could simply ignore forever.