Serena's POV:

Darien was on edge and Alex also remained near me. Neither of them trusted the warriors around us. We had made camp on the side of the road for the evening. The Tarulk didn't like travelling at night since this planet had some nighttime predators that made travel in the dark very dangerous.

Darien barely let go of me the entire time. Thankfully the warriors had taken Darien's threat to heart and kept their opinions to themselves. There was something similar to a one stall outhouse here and Darien had actually leaned against the closed door in his paranoia while I was inside.

When he had to use the washroom, he had gotten me to remain beside the outhouse while Alex stood in front of me with his dagger drawn even though none of the warriors looked at us. I still had no clue where he was hiding that dagger. It just seemed to magically appear and disappear from his hands. He had shown me several other sleight of hand tricks while we were travelling, so I knew it wasn't actually magic, although it was beginning to seem like it.

The wagon's back wall unfolded to create a tent frame that we slid a canvas cover over to create an impromptu tent. It was roomy enough for both Darien and Alex to share it overnight. The warriors apparently planned to sleep under the stars.

I knelt on the ground and unrolled the massive sleeping bag as Darien spoke quietly with Alex near the tent entrance. I sat on the end of the sleeping bag and waited for Darien. It didn't take long before he came over.

Darien stripped off his shirt before sitting on the sleeping bag and taking off his shoes. His bare chest was a sight I hadn't seen yet. He wasn't 'ripped' like some humans were, but his muscles were quite apparent. He looked quite sexy. I hadn't thought I could be more attracted to him, but I was once more proven wrong. It was hard to take my eyes off him.

Darien put his shoes to the side and reached over to pull me onto his lap. He held me to his chest as he lay back and pulled the top half of the sleeping bag over us. I wiggled sideways until I slid to the side and partially lay on the creaky wagon boards as I leaned against his side. He chuckled and pulled me back on top of his chest, "You could get a chill from the drafts."

I blinked sleepily at him, "With the amount of heat your body gives off? I highly doubt it."

His soft smile warmed my heart, "Let's not take any chances. Sleep, my heart."

He leaned his head down to kiss the top of my head. I leaned my cheek against the warm bare skin of his chest and relaxed as sleep tugged at me. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel his muscles relax.

Alex climbed into his sleeping bag. He must have had the patience of a saint since he never said anything or even so much as glanced in our direction.

My peaceful sleep was suddenly disturbed by howls and shouts. Darien somehow slid out from underneath me as he yelled at Alex to guard me. He charged out of the tent before my sleep-fogged mind could even begin to focus. My heart was hammering at the rude awakening and resulting adrenaline.

Alex crouched over me with a drawn dagger and spoke urgently in a low voice, "Stay down and keep quiet." His eyes were fixated on the walls of the tent as he listened to the chaos outside.

I remained lying down in the sleeping bag where I was. Shouts, howls, growls, and snarls echoed around the tent. Some came from the Tarulk warriors outside, but some had a different animalistic sound to them. I could only assume it was some sort of predator attacking. I could identify the snarls and growls that belonged to Darien, although how I could pick his out of the noise so easily was beyond me.

The bond helped me track where he was. He was moving swiftly in a circular pattern around the tent as he likely kept anything from approaching it. Before long, the commotion died down and Alex relaxed slightly, although he remained hovering over me with his dagger still in his hand.

The tent flap opened and Darien entered. Alex relaxed as he stood up and backed away from me. Darien nodded a silent thanks to him as his eyes scanned over me just in case I had somehow managed to inexplicably injure myself during his absence.

Alex commented, "Wargs?"

Darien nodded, "Good sized pack too. A few escaped, but the rest are dead. They won't be back tonight."

Alex headed back to his sleeping bag. Darien came over and slid into the sleeping bag before pulling me back onto his chest once more. "It's over, you can go back to sleep."

Right... Just how was I supposed to fall asleep after hearing such a battle on the other side of a cloth wall? It would probably be hours before I could fall back to sleep after hearing that. My disbelief was more than strong enough for Darien to detect. His hand gently pushed my head against his chest, just above his heart, as he started humming some sort of lullaby I had never heard before.

He was crafty and knew how to use the bond to his advantage as well. The soothing sound of his slow heartbeat and comforting hum swiftly pulled me back to sleep.

I slowly woke up. I was quite comfy and didn't want to move. A gentle kiss on the top of my head stirred my half-asleep mind and I twisted my head. Darien's blue eyes were glowing softly as the morning sun turned the yellowish canvas into a golden glowing backlit display. It was quite the contrast and I doubted that he was aware of it.

I blinked sleepily and pushed the image before me to the front of my mind. My sleep-hazed voice left something to be desired, "Are you aware of what you look like?"

He focused on me as he tried to read me. His brilliant smile lit up the tent even more, "I am now, but I have no way to show you how beautiful you are."

His sleep-tousled hair looked good on him, but I knew for a fact that my hair really needed to be brushed before the general public had a chance to glimpse the atrocity on top of my head. I may have been half asleep, but I was not that delusional.

I yawned as slid off of his chest and sat up. I knew Darien didn't need much sleep and he had simply remained with me. He had probably been bored out of his mind as he waited for me to wake up. He reclaimed his shirt and put it on as he passed me a light coat, "I will step outside to let you change. The morning air is a bit cool."

I nodded and he ducked out of the tent flap. I quickly changed out of my dirty clothes into clean ones while Darien lingered outside to give me some privacy. I also took a few seconds to brush my hair out.

The smell of smoke from the campfire was evident as I exited the tent. Darien wasted no time in wrapping his arm around my shoulders, once more on edge with me in view of the warriors scattered around the clearing.

We went to sit by Alex who passed me some sort of toasted bread thing, "Here you go. I already ate. You want anything, Darien?"

Darien shook his head, "No thanks."

I thanked Alex as Darien pulled me onto his lap. I hummed lightly for a few seconds until the song ran its course. The magic was there, but it did nothing. I made a mental note to tell Darien later. If I ever lost my voice due to a cold or other illness, at least I would know that I could eat this without worry.

Alex was watching the other warriors, "What's got them so jumpy?"

Darien glanced at the men who seemed a bit uneasy, "Not entirely sure, but there is a good chance they might have realized that I killed most of the wargs without any weapons."

Alex smirked and went to collapse the tent. With Darien's hearing, he had probably been listening to every whisper they had spoken. I glanced around as I ate; on the far side of the clearing, one of the Tarulk was dragging away the body of what must have been a warg.

It wasn't anything I ever wanted to meet. It vaguely resembled a dog, but that was where all the resemblance stopped. Its thick black fur didn't hide the bulging muscles, and its legs didn't bend in the same way as a dog's did. It was the size of a small horse and I could see teeth longer than my finger from here. I looked away with a light shiver.

Darien wrapped both arms around me as he held me closer, possibly thinking my shivering was from the brisk morning air. I had barely finished my toast before Alex finished the easy task of taking down the tent. One of the warriors had already harnessed the creature to the wagon.

It looked like we were ready to roll once more.