HAVEN ✓

Nineteen

The morning sun has just barely risen when my eyes ease open. Everything is still, save for the dust motes floating gently through the air. I pull the blanket up to my chin, snuggling deeper into Luke's bedroll. It smells like woodsmoke and some other calming scent I can't put my finger on. I wonder if this is what Luke smells like. It's not like I've been close enough to get a good whiff of him, but if it is, now the scent is buried in my hair. That thought makes me bite back a grin.

I yawn. There is a peace in the air that I never want to disturb. Unfortunately, I have to pee really bad.

When I sit up, my eyes immediately notice that something important is missing. My bedroll is packed away near my bag, and Luke is nowhere to be found.

Silently, I slip out of bed to relieve myself.

Venturing a single step outside, my eyes roam the surrounding trees in search for Luke. Panic creeps its way up my throat. I hate the idea of being out here alone. What if something happened to Luke? I'm not looking forward to being stranded in the middle of nowheresville with hungry wolves.

It's not long before Luke walks out of the brush, and my relief dissolves my anxious nerves. I let my eyes follow his approaching form, tall and golden in the dawn, and gawk at something furry he carries in the crook of his arm. When he finally notices me watching from the doorway, he freezes.

"You're awake," Luke says to me, shifting so that the small animal is facing away from me. "You should start packing your things so we can make good time today."

I nod and peer around him to see what he's found. My eyes widen at the bright red blood dripping off two large ears. I gasp, my hand flying to cover my mouth.

He purses his lips, sighing through his nose. "We may have not had another opportunity for fresh meat. I was going to skin and roast it before you woke up." He shifts, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry you have to see it."

My heart breaks for the tender creature, its life cut short, but Luke is right. It will take days to get to Perseca, and our food supply will not last that long.

Still, the sight of the dead rabbit places a stone in my stomach. I imagine Luke's muscular arms pulling the bowstring taught. The arrow silent and deadly. That rabbit never seeing death's rapid approach.

Is this what Rhett had been trained to do as a Hunter? To kill quickly and quietly to provide food to the citizens of Herald?

"I'll go pack now," I stammer, embarrassed for my outward shock. Luke must think I'm a pansy. I know it was necessary, but I'm not exactly accustomed to seeing dead, bleeding animals first thing in the morning. I slip back inside the little house and pack my things. Luke does not follow me in. I can only assume he's cleaning the rabbit.

A short while later, he enters, making a beeline to the wash basin. I don't look, not wanting to see the blood on his hands, so I work on folding Luke's bedroll neatly, securing it with the fabric ties. I access the room, ensuring that nothing will be left forgotten.

After a moment of hearing Luke fiddling around in front of the fireplace, I get curious. Slowly walking up behind him, I peer over his shoulder to see raw meat on a skewer in each of his hands. Luke has rekindled the flames and is roasting the rabbit quarters over the fire.

"The meat is tough this way, but it's the fastest," Luke explains, sensing my presence behind him. It is so like the Outlander in him to view the food as nutrition alone instead of valuing it for the taste. Luke is all survival.

"I can help," I say timidly, reaching for the other two skewers beside him. I bring them to the fire, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Luke. The fabric of his sleeve rubs my bare skin just above my elbow, and my skin tingles at the soft brush.