Scorched by Heather Fox

Rachel: Mama always said that when I open my mouth, stupid comes out. I guess that’s why instead of telling Grace the real reason I’m at the medical hut, I tell her I want to train to be a healer. It’s not so bad, though. It’s nice to give something back to the tribe, and also, it means I get to care for injured warrior Vantos. He got hurt defending me – looking after him feels like the very least I should be doing. The only problem? I enjoy taking care of him. I enjoy it a little too much. I can’t forget that I’m not his linasha, that he’ll never be interested in me. I’ll only end up with my heart broken all over again.

Vantos: I dislike everything about being injured, except for one thing. Rachel. The female with the sunset hair is the most beautiful of all her tribe sisters. My headspace knows that she is not my mate, but my heartspace is not convinced. It aches with a desire for her that only grows stronger as she nurses me back to health. When we are chosen to take journey to a nearby tribe, selfishly, I am overjoyed at the chance to spend more time with her. But it is a dangerous thing, losing my heartspace more and more to her, when every day we travel takes us closer to another tribe or raskarran males – one of whom could be her real mate…