She already knew that her heat was what brought Rex to her, at least he'd been upfront about that, but for him to directly jump to mating was a little too forward. Was that how things worked in this world? At the thought of what would happen to her body after sunset, her cheeks got warmer.
Maybe he was here to offer his help with quenching her heat? Would other women accept it? Should she? They'd only just met but if he continued to linger till nightfall, she would most likely be the one begging him to f*ck her. She had to get rid of him before that really happened.
Taking a closer look at him, he was sinfully handsome but also quirky with his long pointed ears and beautiful silver eyes that shone a bit too brightly; they looked just as inhuman as her fairy pink ones. Her eyes trailed lower to his strong but lithe body. To his broad shoulders and wide chest, his toned arms and slim hips, wishing for his clothes to vanish just to catch a glimpse of the fine muscles that clearly lined his entire form.
"So the petrified male inside the cave is not one of yours," he murmured, more to himself than to her.
"What male?" Her mind was abruptly pulled out of the gutter and her brows furrowed in confusion. Rex was the first man, the only man, she'd seen since she was reborn. The only other thing that came to mind was a cracked gargoyle sculpture.
"You don't need to worry about that." His eyes held hers as he suddenly turned serious. His aura turned sharp and she tensed. "Mira, it's extremely dangerous for a female to be out here in the Deadlands alone. It's a wonder that you're still alive."
She looked at the enchanting fairy forest at her back and then at the lush tropical forest that surrounded the island. She also thought of the coniferous forest beyond, now teeming with life. Deadlands? Was he blind? Perhaps the wintry landscape that she'd left up North would fit the bill. She shrugged.
"Come back with me to my pack's territory," he said, dropping down to one knee and bowing his head. She could see the determination and sincerity in his eyes as he raised is head and looked into her own. "I swear on my life that I'll get you there safely." He meant it.
She was starting to think that Rex was a tad melodramatic. Not that she minded it; she was melodramatic too, sometimes. It even made him seem a little more humane and a little less intimidating, cute even.
If she hadn't been worried about getting knocked up, she would've jumped his bones first. Even if he was only trying to get in her pants, at least he was committed to his act, not to mention good-looking, so she decided to hear him out.
"And where is this territory?" She would only be moving up her original plans to scope out the area by a few years and things would definitely be smoother with Rex as a guide.
"It's not too far from the Elven Forest. It should take us around a month to get there." He'd shown up on a floating island so just how far exactly was his clan? If his island moved just as fast as Sher island, it could go around Arim in two days, Gaia in three. Maybe his was much, much slower?
She was already dubious after traveling for over a week and only finding a coniferous forest. She'd had the notion that she was going round a frozen planet over and over again because the other possibility was impossible. She didn't dare to imagine just how big the planet would have to be otherwise. It didn't add up; the gravity generated by such a mass would crush them to a pulp, yet they were fine. See? Impossible.
"Okay, I'll think it over. Can you come back once my heat has passed? I'm not exactly in the best shape to be going anywhere right now." She watched him carefully as he got up to his feet, hoping that he wasn't the type to take rejection badly. She didn't know him well enough to trust him in the vulnerable state her heat put her in, but she would consider it once she did. Her type was handsome and he fit it to a T.
"Your heat has already passed, Mira. We've been waiting outside your territory until it did." She was dazed. "We need to leave now. We've only got a few hours before the first wave of crawlers hits."
"Crawlers? What's that?" Had her mind flown into the gutter all on its own again? If that wasn't proof that she was still in the midst of her heat, then what was?
"Vermin. They're born feral and they hibernate in massive colonies beneath the Deadlands. The first swarm is already here and we're barely holding them back because these ones fly." She couldn't tell whether he meant that flying vermin was better or worse. It was worse in her book.
She hurriedly reached out to Sher in her mind but only saw fields of evergreen trees that stretched for miles, some were still dusted in snow. Did she have the word gullible stamped on her forehead? Even if what he said was true, couldn't he see the invisible barrier around the island? Okay, fair point. But even if he couldn't see it, he'd touched it, right?
In the worst case scenario, she would escape to Arim long before the barrier was attacked, not that she would tell him that. The only problem was that she would never be able to leave her dimension until the danger had passed since she would always reappear in the same spot.
"Then you should quickly leave and save yourself. Thanks for the heads up, but I can take care of myself." It was the better option to follow after him after he'd left so he wouldn't find out about her ability. It would be suspicious if an entire piece of land suddenly disappeared and she would be damned if she went anywhere without Sher.
"Mira, I know it's hard to trust a strange male that you only just met but you've got to believe me." His voice was a plea and she almost caved. Almost. "Believe me this once." She wouldn't have been surprised if he'd knelt again but he didn't.
"I'm sorry but I can't. You should go." She turned around after saying that and briskly walked away. What he was saying was too crazy and terrifying, it had left her shaken. She feared insects more than anything! She would move to Arim instantly if flying insects showed up.
"Wait! Please, listen to me! Once other swarms join the wave, we'll be surrounded and it will be too late to leave. We'll be dead once the second wave hits!"