Chapter 13

Macy had slipped out of bed at five-thirty a.m., sleep eluding her for most of the night.

She lifted her nightgown over her head, then donned some sweat pants, a sweatshirt, and sneakers.

She rode the elevator up and wondered if the Warriors had returned from their patrols, and hoped they had fared well. If she needed to heal anyone, it would only drain her further. Of course, she’d do whatever needed to be done without hesitation, but it would mean a long, exhausting day for her.

As she stepped from the elevator, she paused and listened. She didn’t hear any voices. The females must still be asleep, or perhaps everyone was tucked away in their beds. She hoped for the latter.

Walking through the kitchen, she went to the door leading out of the silo. As the cool, crisp morning air woke up her senses, she grinned. A magnificent sunrise would refresh her mood. The beauty of the world around her always had the ability to do so.

Sitting down on the steps, she faced east and waited, wishing she had grabbed a cup of coffee.

The gray skies turned pink, then purple as the flaming orb crept upward. To her left, she saw a coyote in the distance making its way between the desert shrubs and cacti, followed by its two cubs. The time had come for the night creatures to settle themselves in bed, and for the day critters to get moving.

Her realization of her feelings for Titus last night had kept her up. She tried to convince herself that falling for a male who only liked other males would set herself up for a world of hurt. Why want someone so badly, someone so unattainable?

A half-hour later, the sun had fully risen, and a hawk soared above, looking for its breakfast.

She stood, thinking she heard an engine in the distance. Surely enough, an SUV drove down the driveway followed by a cloud of dust, and she realized she should have just counted the cars to see whether the Warriors had returned. She quickly did so and noted that only one SUV had been missing.

The black Yukon parked, and Titus, Noah, Roman, and Hudson exited. Her heart pounded at the sight of Titus.

He waved, and she smiled. It seemed that no one had been hurt, and she sighed in relief as she walked over to them.

“Greetings for a wonderful morning,” she said in their native tongue. All replied with tired smiles and their own wishes of a great day.

Noah turned to the males. “I’m heading to bed. I’m glad I met up with you guys for breakfast. We’ll go over what happened in more detail a little later, okay?”

“Sweet dreams, sunshine,” Hudson called as Noah climbed the stairs to the silo.

“Everything okay here, Macy?” Roman asked.

She nodded. “Everything’s fine. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to watch the sun rise.”

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Titus asked.

Because I kept having unintentional thoughts about you.

“I’m not certain.”

She followed them into the silo and watched as they all headed their own ways. Titus stayed back and turned to her when they’d been left alone.

“How did it go?” she asked.

He sighed. “It was difficult. So many things reminded me of Simon, but I made it through the night.”

She laid her hand on his forearm. “That’s wonderful, Titus. You should get some sleep now.”

He nodded.

“May I bring you lunch later?”

He stared at her a moment, his dark eyes searching. Her breath hitched, and she longed to press her cheek against his chest and feel his strong arms around her just for a moment. She hated feeling so alone—could that be the reason she’d developed feelings for him? Perhaps she just needed someone—anyone—to hold on to, just as she had done with Roman in the bunker. But then again, why didn’t she just go back to Roman? Because, she had no desire for him. She longed for Titus, not Roman, and it had taken something as stupid as him going out on patrol for her to realize it.

“You don’t need to do that,” he whispered.

“I know, but I would like to.”

He nodded. “Very well. I’ll see you around lunchtime.”