Chapter 353 Chapter 353
Konner forced himself to look at his phone instead of Terah. She sat on the riverbank, trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue. They’d reached the river about an hour ago and both had gone for a quick swim, to eat.
After the rain, the water was rushing and loud. Terah had been thrilled to swim in fast-moving water. Konner had been terrified and stood on the bank like a watchful father making sure she didn’t run into trouble against the strong flow. He shouldn’t have worried, wouldn’t have with any of the other adults of his kind, but his overprotectiveness with her was hard to control. Considering what she’d been through, the very fact that she was still alive, and they had found her was nothing short of a miracle—he was allowed to be cautious.
Grinning at him, she slipped off the rock and went over to the tree to touch the bark the snow was clinging to. It wasn’t cold enough for the snow to stay, not yet, but she was still fascinated and elated that she got to see it.
Forcing his attention back to the phone, he re-read Raymond’s message. His guy should be here within the next hour. Closing that message, he opened one to Reeves. He wanted him to start looking through the clan books to see if he could find a mated pair, Markus and Elise. If he could find that, he’d have a starting point at least. He could just wait until he was back there later today and look, but he was anxious, excited, and very motivated right now.
After he hit send, he looked to see Terah standing in the cover of the trees, her hands braced around a man’s head. One quick move, with her strength, and she could snap his neck. The expression on his face said he was both surprised and slightly annoyed at the predicament he was in. Konner checked out what he was wearing, it was Alliance-issued gear. “He’s here to help us, Terah.” He said, trying to keep the smirk off his face. She’d gotten the jump on one of the S.O. guys. He couldn’t wait to relay that.
Tucking the phone in his pocket, he continued to sit. Terah slowly released the man’s head and jumped down from the log she’d been standing on. Now Konner regretted not paying more attention to what was happening around them. How had she managed to get behind him and get him like that?
The man rubbed his hand along his jaw, giving her a cautious look as she moved in Konner’s direction. “That will teach me for letting my guard down and approaching strangers.” He grinned, “you have a job on our team anytime you want, sweetheart.”
Terah came over and stood beside Konner. “Do I need a job?” She looked from the man down to him.
Konner shook his head, “No you don’t.” He stood up and motioned to the other man, “especially not on the Alliance Security team.”
“I’m not one of them,” he smirked, “Special ops.”
It dawned on Konner they were both lucky he hadn’t reacted to being grabbed and hurt her. He inclined his head to him.
“Tripp Carson.” He saluted Terah in a casual move.
“I am Terah Matthews,” she said, straightening her spine as if she expected him to deny who she was.
“You guys had one hell of a trek to get this far.” He pulled the beanie off and squeezed the water out of it. “I felt like I was chasing my tail a few times with the rain.”
Terah leaned over and looked behind him. “You don’t have a tail.” she touched Konner’s arm. “I am going for another swim before we trek again.” Turning, she pulled the shirt over her head and started to take off her pants.
Tripp turned his back to her.
Grinning, Konner went over and stood beside him. “She was born there, so she doesn’t understand clichés and sayings at all.”
Tripp nodded but kept his gaze at the trees. “I’m glad she’s out.” He turned his chin and smirked at Konner, “strong little thing.”
Konner nodded, “I’m afraid that is at the expense of all the fish in the campground’s lake.” He gave him an earnest look, “thanks for not hurting her.”
Tripp shrugged his shoulder, “I’m thankful she didn’t hurt me.”
“How far out are we from your ride?”
Tripp turned with him when Konner looked back to keep an eye on Terah. “Forty-five-minute hike to the SUV, I left it in a little town.”
Konner nodded, “it’s about an hour and a half to my chopper from there.”
Tripp smirked, “I hope you fly better than you drive. The van had to be towed.”
Konner watched him track Terah with his eyes. “It was the only way to stop them before we landed in the ditch.”
“They slept all the way back to the center.” He motioned to the water. “She’s not even struggling with the fast-moving water.”
Konner watched her for a moment, as she smiled and swam against the rushing water. “As I said, she ate a lot of fish.” He knew it wasn’t just the fish that had helped her, the fish ate the plants and various other things in the water. It had taken a decade of research to figure out it was the plant life and not the aquatic life that sustained them best.
“I’m going to let my team leader know that I found you.” He gave him a blank look, “the river wasn’t exactly precise coordinates.”
Konner nodded and picked up the bag with the bottles of water in it. Terah floated along the top and watched their every move. He questioned whether she used a swim as a way to observe and not be near them. She had spent her entire life being excluded from everything going on around her. Observing probably felt safe to her.