First Eclipse

"Is he still there?" Em came over and sat beside her on the couch.

Fauna was looking out the window, trying not to be seen looking out the window. "Yes." She let the curtain go.

"You should go see what he wants." Em grinned. "Because being a statue in the alley is probably not his intension."

Fauna didn't know why he was there or why she was hesitating. She wanted to talk to him.

"Is he holding a lunch bag?" Em shook her head. "Or, I guess breakfast. Aren't you going back soon?"

Fauna nodded. "Soon." Her stomach was knotted with a combination of excitement and anxiousness. Heaving a loud sigh, she got up. "I guess I'll go see what he's doing." Em nodded and moved over on the couch. "I'll watch from here." She gave her a cheeky grin. "Practice my spying."

Fauna smiled. "That might come in handy in all of this."

Em's expression sobered. "Not knowing who is needed for what is driving me crazy."

Fauna picked up her backpack. This time, she was taking snacks, water, and a large flashlight. "I don't think this is something that can be figured out ahead of time, Em."

"I know, and it's killing me. I have about a thousand theories and no way to confirm or disprove them." She sighed and then waved her hand at the door. "Go. The others will be back shortly. Tera wants to go back." She shrugged. "She says in the trees, she has plenty to use."

Fauna shivered. "Yeah. lots of bugs."

Em nodded. "Uh-huh."

"If Karm manages to be included in this, don't let her bring her taser. We don't need her using on anyone that annoys her."

Em snorted. "The taser is the least of your worries with her. If she gets a chance, that woman is going to rue the day she messed with any of us."

Fauna grinned. "I know." Putting the backpack over her shoulder, she looked around. "Can you keep an eye on Moxy for me? She's been doing strange things."

Em pushed her glasses up and nodded. "I will."

~

Tim watched her come out of the building and was relieved. He'd been standing here for too long trying to figure out how to explain everything to her. Now, he didn't have a choice. For months, he couldn't understand why the princes and kings had such a hard time when it came to meeting their mates. Now, he got it. Women from his realm already knew about mates; explaining it to someone who had no idea wasn't as straightforward as he thought it would be. Hell, he had more doubts just thinking about it. What was going to happen when he actually spoke to her?

"Tim." She gave him a fleeting smile as she approached him.

"Hi, Fauna." He cleared his throat and then jerked his arm up to show her the bag. "Mitz gave me these for you." He paused. "They're for your cat." He sounded like a ten-year-old being sent on an errand he didn't understand. "Mitz is..." "I know about Mitz. Liri has talked about her a lot." She took the bag and opened it. "These are Moxy's favorites."

Tim nodded. That wasn't surprising.

She closed the bag and looked at him. "How did she know?"

How did one explain Miss Mitz? He had no idea. "She just knows things."

"Oh, like a psychic?"

"I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"Well, tell her thank you."

He nodded. She was so pretty. Her skin was pale, but that worked with her red hair. She had pouty lips; he'd never considered such a thing as sexy before, but with her, it was. "Tim."

He flicked his gaze back to her eyes.

"Your eyes are red again."

Closing them, he sighed. His body was betraying him like he was some gangly teen. Opening them, he looked at her. "About that." He lifted his hand and then dropped it again and felt awkward, so he just let it hang beside his body. "They turn when I need to feed, am feeding." He shrugged. "When I'm really angry or upset-" She nodded, so he continued. "And from what I've learned today when I'm close to my significant other." Her eyes widened. "My-my mate." Headed quickly because he had no idea why he said it the other way.

So-" Her brows furrowed. "-falling through the earth is a good strong emotion."

He nodded. "Yeah, but that's not it. I'm used to unexpected-" He looked at the pavement for a second before continuing. "Events."

"I suppose you would be with your job."

He nodded again. "Yeah. The huntress keeps life interesting." They were off-topic, and he was pretty sure she knew that as well, but neither of them seemed willing to do anything about it.

"Tim."

He jolted and turned to see the captain and King Troy coming toward them. How long had they been there? "Sirs?"

The captain pointed to Fauna. "You need to get over there; Gudrun has a good idea of where you should hide and which direction to draw animals from." He held out a porter.

Tim took it and noticed it was for one location. "All right. We'll go over now." He remembered the porter and reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He held it toward Fauna. "A new one. Programmed for here. Her eyes widened when she took it. "I will put it on this time."

He smiled. "Yes."

"Tim will make sure you're kept out of harm's way." King Troy told her.

She took a moment to do up the porter bracelet and then glanced at Tim. "I know." She smiled at the king. She held up the bag. "I'm just going to run this inside."

The three of them stood there and watched her jog back to the building.

Just a heads up: FindNovel.net is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey! "Daxx sent me to make sure you told her." The king looked at him.

"I was working on it."

"Told her what?" Rafael looked between them.

Troy motioned to Fauna when she came back outside. "She's his mate."

Rafael snapped his head around and looked at Tim. "Really?"

Tim nodded. "Yes. I will have to tell her after when we get back."

The captain smacked him on the shoulder. "Congrats. Don't follow any advice from my brothers."

Tim tried not to smile, but he didn't succeed. The king looked offended. "The women gave me some pointers," he frowned. "Orders."

Troy snorted. "You better follow them."

"Yes, sir." He bowed his head.

Fauna was only a few feet away now. "Okay, I am as ready as I'll ever be."

Tim held out his hand. "You just have to stir up the animals as a distraction, and then I'll get you out of there."

She smiled at him, and he grinned back. He probably looked like a deranged idiot, he thought, but couldn't help it.

"Have fun." The captain smiled at them when she looped her arm through his.

Tim avoided looking at him and the king and glanced to see if she was ready and then pushed the button.