This moment of not answering Elann wasn’t met with as much as a glance of acknowledgement, no hum came from him, not even a little grunt. He was mostly mute in the way he handled her last question, much unlike the other instances in which he was asking for time to think. Here, he wasn’t considering it, he was truthfully ignoring the question asked in hopes of avoiding it and hoping she would forget it. He had his own doubts which prevented him from wanting to shift to his other form, his truer form.

They moved from the wagon, Noah pull his shirt on the rest of the way as they joined the queue for that evening’s dinner. He recalled Elann telling him his sister was hunting, he hoped Aimee would bring him something back from the hunt. Whatever the cook was cooking may have smelled nice to everyone else but it didn’t to him.

The smell wafted through the air, growing stronger as the couple walked. He noticed the onlookers, meeting their gazes with his own of distance. Perhaps it was what caused other women to enjoy seeing him, because he was forbidden, not just by his marriage ties to Elann, but by his own attitude as well. He would be a difficult prize to catch for those who sought to pursue, not taking the initial ‘no’ for an answer.