Page 30 of To Run with the Wild Hunt

After a moment, I added one hand to the fray, my other arm slung across Lexi's shoulders. Key's coat was longer than it had been and almost silken, with long guard-hairs that gleamed in the sunlight. He wasn't one of mine any longer, but that didn't mean I couldn't love him any longer.

The thought made me remember the other beasts I'd brought with me and that Lexi had left across the river, my attention snapping back towards them. If they'd gotten caught in a different time—

"I brought them home while you were with Lexi," Key said in a blissful voice. "Your horse, too. I assumed you'd be… oh, gods, that feels so good… oh, distracted."

The tension in my shoulders eased, affection warming me with an unfamiliar fire. I gave him a good scratch at the base of the tail, making him moan in pleasure. "I was indeed distracted," I said, casting a glance at Lexi, who smirked back at me. "It's something of a long walk without a horse, though. I would have preferred you to leave him here."

"M'not perfect," he moaned out, one leg kicking as I dug the silver bones of my right hand against the base of his tail. "Fuck, that's so good—"

Lexi giggled, a girlish sound that startled another smile onto my face, and redoubled her efforts. The corners of my mouth were starting to ache from the constancy of the expression. I'd had so little joy in my life for so many eons. How could I ever have anticipated the vivid delight of this moment—of the rest of my eternity?

I suppose you'll get used to it, Nuada, I told myself, basking in my soulmate's happiness. I gave Key a pat on the haunches, chucking Lexi under the chin instead. "Shall we get you home?"

"Only if you can carry me," she said with a self-conscious laugh, doing a shy little wiggle. "I don't know that I can walk however many miles back barefoot, but I'm not exactly a featherweight."

I gave her a bemused look, one corner of my mouth tilting up. "Do you honestly think so little of me to imagine that I cannot carry you?"

She flushed, the blood rising under her freckled skin in a way that made me hungry for more. "I didn't mean it like that," she said, looking down at Key instead of at me. "I just know I'm not an easy girl to carry around. I've always been chubby. Pretty enough, I guess, but I'm no supermodel."

Key cut her off before I could, lifting his head and kissing her, his body sliding towards his fae form as he did. Lexi made a soft sound, her lashes fluttering closed as Key brushed his fingers along her cheek.

"You're beautiful," he said in a throaty voice, breaking the kiss to say the words. "If anyone's said otherwise, they were wrong to think it. We love your body, and Nuada is easily strong enough to carry you home. Even I wouldn't struggle to carry your weight."

"You'll have to tell me that more than once," she said, making a face. "I'm not used to people thinking that, or being carried around."

"Let's put some action behind the words, then," I suggested, brushing my thumb across the bare skin of her shoulder before getting up. I picked up my discarded clothing and belted it on, closing my eyes for a moment to soak in the warmth of the sun and the utter certitude of Lexi's love. It had been a long, long time since I'd believed someone loved me, and now it was so wonderfully inescapable.

I was a monster. A killer. A thing of nightmares and tales told to frighten children. And yet… she'd come for me. Invited me. I could still feel the echo of her touch—see the look of lustful challenge in her eyes when she'd said, "make me."

I went to her and I picked her up, feeling like I'd been born to hold her weight in my arms. "Heart of my heart," I said, looking into her mare's eyes with total devotion. "You once asked me what would keep me from carrying you off again." A slow smile curled my mouth as she leaned her head against my shoulder, her expression one of sleepy contentment. "I have a new answer for you."

"And what's that?" Lexi asked.

My smile sharpened into a smirk as I promised, "You're mine, Alexis Sharpe. Nothing can stop me from having you."

Give & Take

Keilain Ueteroxe

Iwalked back with Nuada and Lexi on two legs. It would have been easier to stay on all fours, but it was too easy to fall into the habit of being Nuada's hound, and I was unsettled enough that I knew I'd want that comfort.

Lexi's love for me hadn't changed from her balance with the Master. I knew that. I could turn my face towards her and feel the balance between us, a sunlit warmth that filled my soul. But as I walked behind them, Lexi and Nuada murmuring sweet nothings to each other as she fell asleep in his arms, I couldn't help but feel anxious, trailing behind them like a dog hoping he wouldn't be forgotten.

"Key," the Master said, his voice soft. "Come talk to me."

I slunk forward, looking over at Lexi. She'd fallen soundly asleep, her lips parted and face relaxed.

"Need I even ask what's wrong?" He looked at me with compassion, his dark eyes kind. "She may not have seen it yet, but I know you well. Tell me, and perhaps we can find a path together."

With a low whine, I wrapped my arms around myself, embarrassed to have been caught out. "I don't know what it is," I said, sounding miserable. "She loves me – I know she loves me – but I'm still…"

"Envious?"

I shook my head. "Afraid."

Nuada's brows came together as he looked over at me, a troubled expression softening the lines of his face. "Of losing her?"

"Not… not losing," I replied, feeling pathetic and stupid. Why should it matter that she and Nuada were balanced now? She'd been his soulmate all along, and it hadn't ever bothered me before. "I don't want to… disappoint her. And you're going to be… there," I added guiltily, remembering all the times when Lexi had gone to find Nuada, with me standing between them. That wouldn't be my place anymore. She'd stepped forward to meet him, set me to the side so she could have him—

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