“I don’t.” He stood and brushed leaves and pine needles off his jeans. Then he slipped his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket, looking anything but relaxed. His gaze alternated between visual scans of their surroundings and assessing sweeps of her.
She shifted back to her seat and folded her legs in front of her. “Then why were you stalking me?” Despite her attempt to seem calm, her voice sounded sharp and thin.
“I’ve been trying to protect you, but you’re one slippery female.”
Her mother would have been pleased by the description. All Ava felt was tired. She was tired of being afraid and tired of avoiding relationships. Even lasting friendships could be dangerous. Carissa was the only one— Carissa! “Do you know where my sister is? I haven’t seen her since this nightmare started.”
“Carissa’s fine. She’s safe and she’s with my people. Now tell me where you got the supplies.”
If her visions hadn’t confirmed his casual statements, she wouldn’t have allowed him to shift the conversation so easily. Give a little to get a little. She could play nice until she found a better option. At least figured out where the hell she was! “I got the supplies from the man who owns the cabin. I told him Carissa and I had a terrible fight and I needed some time on my own. He’s never been one to ask questions and this is his off season, so he gathered what I’d asked for from my store and told me I could stay as long as I liked.”
“Nice guy.”
“He is. And there are damn few left in this screwed-up world.”
A beam of sunlight touched his eyes and gleamed in his hair, making him appear more hunk-next-door and less stalker-in-the-alley. He definitely seemed less tense yet still watchful. “Your mother obviously taught you how to hide. How much did she tell you about your people?”
“My people?” She watched him closely, hoping to determine which impression was the real Kyle. “As in the nationality of my ancestors?”
“In a way. Have you ever heard of the Therian nation?”
She found a small packet containing two pills and ripped it open with her teeth. Then she dug out a water bottle before tossing the pills into her mouth. After swallowing the pills, she held up the bottle. “Do you want some?”
“Not right now.” He kept his distance, calm and still. Like a cat with a cornered mouse. The lion’s roar echoed through her memory. Why was she fixated on felines? “We should be careful with all of our resources until we have a better understanding of where we are.”
She looked around, not that she could see much from her position on the ground. “Pine and aspen trees on steep, rocky slopes, cool clean air. I don’t think we’ve gone far.”
“Hopefully.” He pulled out the phone again, holding it at various levels as he slowly turned around. “But Colorado doesn’t hold the patent on pine-covered mountains. This could be Wyoming or Montana, even Canada.”
“And you think we teleported here?” How else could she explain suddenly being in a different location? She’d been having visions for weeks. Was this really so much different? Yes! Her visions were nothing more than souped-up dreams. Teleportation was an entirely different scientific discipline.
“If we didn’t teleport, how’d we get here?” He echoed her thoughts as he returned the phone to his pocket.
“You’re the one with magic powers.” She gestured toward her shoulder. “You tell me.”
“I think your Therian energy spiked when I touched you. You felt threatened and your body attempted to remove you from the danger. It was a defense mechanism.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But his explanation fit her strange symptoms a little too well. Therian nation. Therian energy. Was that word supposed to mean something to her?
“Why were you screaming right before this happened?”
Annoyed by his persistence, she sat a bit straighter and said, “Gee, let me think. I was dragged out of my house by armed men claiming to work for my father. I managed to outsmart them, but before I could relocate you showed up. Makes a girl jumpy.”
“You weren’t jumpy, sunshine. You were in pain, serious pain by the sound of it.”
Sunshine? She’d never had a nickname before, had always thought they were childish, so she tried not to like it. Besides, he was right about the pain and they both knew it, so she abandoned her pointless denials. “Okay, so I felt like my brain was going to explode out my eye sockets. What does that have to do with us ending up here?”
“A spontaneous energy spike strong enough to flash two people would hurt like hell. Especially in someone untrained to deal with the intensity.” His brows arched, accenting the challenge in his words. “I might be a second-rate healer, but I can’t teleport at all.”