“Then I’d ignore it. Let it fade. It’s not as though I haven’t got a million other things to distract me.”
An ache flared deep in Zio’s chest. “I’m not sure it works like that.”
“Maybe not for you, but you’ve never loved anyone the way I love Vic. The bond you’ve triggered with Devan is the first true affection you’ve ever had outside of the tiny circle of people you tolerate. And you’re out in the field, fighting, hurting, healing. Living in each other’s pockets. Everything’s heightened, on top of the fact that you’ve been forbidden to complete it. If I know you at all, and I think I do, that’s bound to make it more desirable.”
Not it. It’s not a thing. It’s Devan.
Gale laughed. “Don’t growl at me, Zio. You asked me a question; I answered it.”
Zio pressed his hand over his mouth, as if he could shove his aggression down. Bury it.As if. He let his hand drop. “Do you think it would be different if we were away from the war... away from the pack, from everything? Do you think it would hurt less?”
“I don’t know. Nothing about loving someone is easy, but you don’t know Devan well enough to love him. What’s between you is pack affection and a biological reaction determined by your shifter genes. I guess you have to figure out what that means to you.”
Gale said other words, but Zio heard nothing more as he tried to rationalise his primal desires for Devan against the ever-increasing swell of his heart. His wolf wanted to bite Devan, to fuck him, claim him, and solidify all that swirled between them, but Zio wasn’t just wolf, he was human.
And the man in Zio wanted so much more.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Come out with me.”
Devan squinted in the dark at Zio. “What?”
“Comeout.” Zio reached into the medical tent and grabbed Devan’s hand. “You’ve healed everyone. No one needs you.”
“No one?”
“Well, okay, I do, but that’s not the same thing.”
“Yeah. It’s biology. I remember.” Devan couldn’t keep the sour note out of his voice, though he knew on some level, Zio’s simplistic take on their situation made the most sense,andthat he’d said it himself at some point... more than once. “What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be out on patrol?”
“Been and gone,” Zio said. “Next one’s already headed out, which means... I’m free, and so are you, so let’sgo.”
Devan had no idea what Zio was asking of him but let Zio tug him out of the tent and through the camp. It was early, predawn, and apart from the stag guards and the returned patrol, no one was up, save Michael who had already stoked the fire.
He watched Devan and Zio drift past him with a gaze that was, as ever, impossible to read, but Devan didn’t try that hard. Couldn’t when Zio’s palm was so hot in his.
They neared the back of the camp. Devan frowned. “Where are we going?”
“I told you... out.”
“Out where?”
“You’ll see.”
Devan was officially mystified, but given the direction his life had taken since he’d come to England, it wasn’t an unusual state of affairs.
They slipped out of the camp. Zio retrieved a bag from a bush and slung it over his back. “Supplies,” he responded to Devan’s questioning stare. “I can’t stop eating.”
Devin grinned faintly. “That’s good.”
“Is it? I feel like it’s the only thing keeping my mind off everything else.”
“Everything else” could’ve meant anything from the war to their triggered bond and all that came between. Devan wasn’t sure he had the stomach to investigate.
So he didn’t. He clutched Zio’s hand like a drowning man and let him lead him away from the camp and deep into the countryside.
They hiked miles on their human legs, up hills and across fields, wading across icy streams and tramping through mud. The weather was cold, but with their shifter blood, not unpleasantly so, and the scenery was glorious. Devan took advantage of mother nature and restocked his supplies, all the while trying not to lose his mind every time Zio trooped back to his side with a handful of leaves and a soft kiss.