It was strange to be able to move freely again. Since his punishment began all those months ago, he hadn"t been able to leave his apartment without an escort, but the councilor had changed that when he"d agreed to the trial mating with Rose. Still, Maryk felt the weight of someone"s eyes boring into his back when he stepped onto the street. He glanced over his shoulder. Was there someone in the shadows? Probably. He doubted anyone in Montrose would truly trust him. He hoped it"d be different in Kalmut.
He didn"t spend long at his apartment. It was dismal and dreary, as if the place itself was determined to undermine the tentative optimism he"d felt since waking with Rose in his arms. The computers where he"d done his research were dark. The stack of paperbacks he"d read to understand huma
