The Unveiling (D'Shar Men 2)

"Right now twelfth grade English, but I float around, depending on where the school needs me at the start of the year. I enjoy working with teenagers in general. They're still green, and for them, the sky is the limit. I did a short stint teaching college. Figured out pretty quick it wasn’t where I wanted to be."

They talked back and forth, pausing to order two cups of fall harvest coffee, a slice of Mississippi Mud pie, and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. Warmth filled Rivka as they laughed over stories from growing up and got to know one another better. She really liked Scott. There was no spark, but the loneliness seemed further away regardless. Two hours later they both opted to call it a night.

"I had a great time tonight. I'd love to do this again," Scott said.

"Me too, Scott, but I have to be honest—"

"No sizzle? It's okay. The feeling is mutual. I do think we'd make terrific friends though."

"I'm in total agreement."

"Good, now that we've decided that—do you have any single friends you can set me up with?"

She threw her head back and laughed. Did I ever!

Chapter Seven

A sense of urgency had Bastien pushing himself and his men hard in training. He wanted them to be ready, for what, he couldn’t say. It was like a dark cloud looming over them in the distance that only he could see. It had him exhausted and frustrated at the end of each day. Fresh from the shower he sprawled across his bed, grateful it was Friday, and the weekend was at hand. Clad in a pair of black sweat pants, and a white t-shirt, he flipped through the channels, pausing on a semi-interesting sci-fi movie. With his hands behind his head he zoned out. A knock sounded on the door sometime later, making him raise his brows as he slipped from bed.

"Yeah?"

"It's me." Phelan's serious tone instantly put him on edge. Something was wrong.

He opened the door and waved him inside.

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm worried that we haven't heard anything from Tavel yet. What's he waiting for? Shouldn’t he be retaliating?"

"He's too busy licking his wounds and regrouping." Bastien shrugged.

"It doesn't feel right. Who's the middle man giving him the supplies?"

"Kade is working on that." He watched his brother pace back and forth in front of his door.

"Come on, let's at least go sit on the couch or something. I'm getting dizzy just watching you." Phelan grumbled but complied. He sat down on to the black leather couch with a heavy thud, and Bastien sat across from him in a black Lazy Boy.

"What brought this on?"

"Zasha. She's obsessed with finding him. That need has her working herself into the ground. She might not go out in the field anymore, but she's at the station from sun up to sun down, trying to piece together the clues he's left behind. She won't be able to feel safe until she sees him caught and imprisoned. I feel worthless. What kind of mate am I? I've already failed her once. Why should she believe I can protect her now?

"Hey, that was before we knew the facts. We had no reason to believe Tavel was on the planet, let alone after her. Cut yourself some slack Phelan." Bastien shook his head. He'd never seen his brother like this.

"It's The Wanting, man. You want to know your mate is protected, healthy, and happy. This limbo is driving me crazy." Phelan ran a hand over his face.

"What can I do?" Bastien asked.

"Short of hunting Tavel down and putting him out his misery? Nothing."

"You say the order, and that's how we'll handle this."

Phelan shook his head. "It's out of our hands now that the P.I.U. is involved. We can't break their trust that way. Not when we're so close to finding the common ground that's been eluding us since we first arrived here. I've been thinking about this for a while now. I want to do a Calling." The words made Bastien's eyes go wide.

"You want to call down our ancestors?"

"I do. I want to contact Mom and Dad. I know it's selfish to disturb their rest, but this is an emergency situation. I need guidance, insight, and anything else they can tell us. I feel like

there are clues we never knew to look for, directly linked to their death."