Chapter 17

When she woke up it was because Francis was talking quietly next to her. “No, it’s because she likes you and she’s scared of it.” The other woman was saying. “I doubt she’s ever had a crush before.” There was a pause in the conversation and Ardala could hear his voice though not the words he said. “Just stay where you are for a little while, let her come to terms with it and then I’m sure she’ll talk to you.”

The conversation kept going but Ardala nodded back off, cursing her weakness and her need to hear his voice. This could not be allowed, she could not bond with an unwilling partner, was not supposed to be able to bond at all. She was a defect after all, something that should not exist. His face swamped her as the bond forced her thoughts so a single track. This could not be allowed, as soon as she healed enough to stand on her own, she would flee. The bond was nascent, neither of them wished for it or had accepted it so with enough distance it should break.