I’d never felt that kind of magnetic heat. It’d been like my body wasn’t my own anymore, begging to be claid.
I wasn’t a total novice. I’d gone to the University of Mirage, for Goddess’s sake, the party capital of the pack lands. There had been tis when a drunken kiss had gone further than I’d expected but... I’d never felt what I’d felt with Jared. Even the guy I thought I’d been in love with couldn’t hold a fla to what I was feeling now. A single kiss from Jared had sent spiraling into a haze where my mind had no control over my actions, and if I let it happen again, it would ruin . He would ruin .
This wasn’t the usual run-of-the-mill attraction.
It was safe to say I hadn’t slept at all after I’d peeled myself from his desk and reluctantly left his study.
I woke the next morning to Archer coming through my bedroom door carrying a pile of clothing and outdoor wear. He tossed it in a heap on top of , telling I had ten minutes to get dressed.
My heart was in my throat the entire ti I struggled into the clothing. Flexible thermal leggings and a matching shirt were paired with thick wool socks and an even thicker wool jacket that brushed against my knees, several sizes too big. The boots I’d been given were new, and exactly my size.
I felt like I was dressing for an execution. I looked around the room, my eyes resting on a still-sleeping Scarlett curled up in her bed.
If Jared was serious about taking to Aeris, well, I’d never see her again... or Miriam, or Giselle, or any of the other friends I’d made during my ti at his house.
I didn’t know where I stood with Jared now, not after what happened.
But that kiss had kept up all night. I bleakly wondered if he’d been thinking about it, too.
“Co on, we’re burning daylight,” Archer said as I stepped out into the darkened hallway.
“The sun hasn’t even co up,” I murmured, shifting the weight of the heavy backpack he’d given . I wasn’t sure what was inside, but it was enough to strain against my shoulders as I followed him outside and into the mist-covered village.
The remnants of the party last night were visible in the gray morning light. Fog snaked around choked-out warming fires where the embers were still burning, sputtering under a blanket of moisture. There were even a few people curled up in their wolf forms, asleep where they’d fallen.
I could make out two figures standing in the distance, but that was it. Brandt and Jared were talking amongst themselves, decked out for our journey.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked, a little hesitant as the four of us caught up to each other. Jared didn’t look down at as Brandt turned to greet us.
“It’s just going to be us,” Brandt replied, giving a soft smile in greeting.
“Let’s get going, then,” Archer said, pulling a thermos from his backpack and tossing it to . “You’re carrying the coffee.”
“Okay,” I murmured, a jolt of apprehension shooting up my spine as the three n started to turn toward the still-dark forest ahead of . I wanted to ask why we were going this way, but in truth, I had no idea where Aeris lived. I found it easier to just keep my mouth shut.
“Keep up,” Jared said to us as we crossed the healer’s cottage.
glanced back at , his eyes grazing my face. He looked to be checking on , and I gave him a soft smile in response. But he didn’t smile back. He simply turned his gaze back to the forest and put a few paces worth of distance between us.
Ouch.
Archer and Jared took the lead as we crossed beneath the windchis and charms, which were silent and still. Brandt ended up walking next to , keeping in step with as the village fell away behind us.
We’d make camp eventually. The n would rest.
Would I finally take the opportunity to run?
***
Hours had passed, of that I was sure. I was getting tired, and hadn’t eaten anything since the morning before. I didn’t have the nerve to ask to stop, not after what had happened between and Jared. The usual fire in my soul was nothing but a dying ember. I spent several hours passing the thermos of coffee back and forth between the three n. That was my job, apparently–coffee girl. But when it ca ti for to take a swig, I found the coffee to be laced with a heavy dose of whiskey that had seeing stars for several minutes.
“Usually we’d take the whole crew,” Brandt mused. He’d been talking at for so ti, but I hadn’t had much to say in response so far. “It’s strange having only a crew of four.”
“Three,” I corrected, a little hotly. “I’m just goods.”
He gave an odd look, then laughed lightly, “What’re you talking about? You’re part of our crew now.”
“Jared said he’s taking to Aeris–”
“Taking you with us, not to him. You’re part of our crew now. A bandit, a bounty hunter–”
“A brute, or sadistic savage. Whatever floats your boat, Eliza,” Archer chid in, walking several paces in front of us with Jared.
I gaped at him, my cheeks going red. Brandt looked thoroughly confused, but Jared nearly stopped walking altogether.
He turned to Archer, whispering sothing under his breath that sounded like, “What did you hear?”
Archer was a little too smug for my liking. I felt that internal fla ignite as he looked over his shoulder at , his cheek dimpling with mischief. Jared looked at for the first ti in several hours, but I couldn’t tell if his expression was apologetic or just willing to keep my mouth shut.
Anyway, fuck him.
“You’re a piece of work, Archer,” I bit out.
“A piece of work that will save your ass if anything cos bounding out of the woods to try to make a al of you,” he retorted, winking at .
“That’s enough,” Jared said sharply.
We’d stopped walking and were now in a small clearing surrounded by towering trees. The forest was so dense that I couldn’t see more than a quarter mile in any direction.
“Everyone is obviously tired and hungry. It’s getting dark–”
“It’s been dark,” I corrected.
Jared exhaled, looking annoyed. “As I was saying,” he ground out, narrowing his eyes at , and then Archer, “we’re going to camp here. Brandt, Archer, find a spot nearby, sothing sheltered.” Archer grunted in response, following Brandt into the trees. Jared gave a level look.
“What?” I asked.
“Have you eaten today?”
“Of course not. Archer got up before breakfast,” I said as I took off the backpack I’d been carrying for the entire day. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes for a mont as I rolled my shoulders.
“Here–” Jared took the backpack from and extended his hand.
“I can walk just fine on my own,” I said, but he grabbed my hand anyway and pulled after him into the forest.
His touch was just as warm as it had been the night before, and I felt a rush of longing course through . I tried to remove my hand from his grip but he noticed and squeezed, then turned to look at over his shoulder.
“We’ll talk later.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek to stop myself from asking what exactly we had to talk about in the company of his comrades.
“Brandt said I’m part of the crew. Does that an you’re not giving to Aeris?”
“That depends on how much he wants for you,” Jared replied.
I scoffed, but then softened as I caught the briefest hint of a teasing smile touching Jared’s lips. He led through a tangle of heather and alder bushes. On the other side, Archer and Brandt were making camp. There would be no fire, I realized.
Jared tossed my backpack to Brandt, who made quick work of pulling out the contents. I’d been carrying all the food, apparently.
“Sit down,” Jared said to , motioning to a mossy area at the edge of camp.
I didn’t hesitate, but I wondered if I’d be able to get up again as fatigue imdiately began to set into my muscles. Food and water were passed around as the n sat down nearby, and an hour passed in near silence.
“Why didn’t you shift and do this trip as wolves?” I asked, glancing from man to man.
Brandt shifted his weight and looked at Archer, who shrugged.
“We needed to be able to carry weapons and supplies,” Archer replied. “In case we run into anything our wolves can’t handle.”
“Like what?” I asked as I lay down on my side, using my backpack as a pillow. It was full dark now, and I couldn’t see much beyond the subtle glow of Archer’s eyes in the faint moonlight.
“Witches, of course... fairies and the like, goblins and trolls–”
“Don’t listen to him,” Jared cut in, and I thought I heard the hint of a smile in his voice.
“Dragons,” Archer continued, chuckling to himself.
“You’re lying,” I yawned. “There’s no such thing!”
“But there is. I’ve seen one,” Archer argued.
Brandt, who was sitting closest to , shifted his weight uneasily.
“When have you seen a dragon?” Brandt asked, his voice tangled with nerves.
“You were with , Brandt. Do you not rember? At that tavern near Elmor. She served a pint and then you took her upstairs–”
Brandt grumbled to himself as Archer hissed with what sounded like giggles. But then Jared laughed, a rich sound that I hadn’t yet heard from him. I smiled, not from the stupid joke that Archer was still gabbering about. I wish I could see his face, or any of their faces.
I began to drift into sleep, lulled by the sound of the n conversing like the old friends they were.
I heard Jared as if from far away telling Archer he was taking first watch. I heard Brandt talking in a low whisper to Jared as they moved into a defensive position around the camp. But then I felt Jared’s presence next to , his thigh brushing against the top of my head. He was sitting next to , his back against the tree behind us.
I might have been dreaming about it, but I was almost sure he’d pulled the jacket I’d been using as a blanket over my shoulders, tucking in. Had his knuckles slowly grazed the curve of my jaw, or was I only imagining the fevered warmth of his touch against my skin again?
Sowhere in my dreamland, I heard the soft whisper of wind chis dancing in a soft breeze.
I dreamt of sweeping plains and stone circles. I dreamt of castles made of ivory and people dressed in riches beyond belief. I dreamt of Jared, shirtless, my fingers tracing his tattoos as we sprawled out in a tangle of sheets on a four-poster bed.
And then I drifted into the deepest kind of sleep, where there was nothing but darkness.
***
“Don’t make a sound,” Jared commanded, his hand coming over my mouth as he pulled against his chest.
I tried to scream out of the pure shock of being woken up so roughly, but he held his hand over my mouth tight enough I found it hard to breathe. I opened my eyes to pale blue light drifting through the canopy of the forest, the first inklings of morning.
He was holding upright, my back pressed against his chest as he slowly crept behind the tree he’d been sitting against.
He paused, holding his breath as a rustling burst through the trees only a few yards away from the clearing. A large, tawny-colored wolf eyed us both, his snout twitching. Jared nodded, and the wolf took off again.
He released his hand from my mouth and I sucked in a desperate breath.
“What the hell is going on!”
“Shut up!” Jared hissed, continuing to back us deeper into the woods.
Suddenly he stopped, his body going rigid. I heard a piercing screech that sounded like a woman screaming in the distance, followed by the howling and snarling of two wolves. The forest around us groaned, a rush of wind hurtling toward us as Jared turned into his chest and ducked his head from the onslaught of twigs and dried leaves that showered over us.
I lifted my head just in ti to see a large creature rush out of the woods, and right toward our camp.
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