Page 17 of Craved By a Wolf

He thought.

Kin looked at the sky, at the stars that were no brighter now than when he had arrived. Faint aurora chased around them, coming and going in waves. Did time not move in this place? Was there no day and night?

He rounded a bend in the river and wove through a thick copse of saplings, some of which reached over the water, desperately seeking more light. Afraid of the shadows? He mulled over what the fae could have meant by that warning as the trees thinned and the moss gave way to glittering stones. The river deepened, the sound of water rushing filling the still air, and he was tempted to bend and drink some, but his instincts whispered that thirst was better than potentially poisoning himself. He wasn’t sure if the water in this realm was the same as it was in his own world.

Nothing felt the same here.

He tilted his head back as he reached a broad clearing where the grass and flowers had grown tall enough to reach his knees and his step faltered.

A castle.

The ivory fortress towered atop a cliff, stones shimmering in the warm light. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, with towers that speared the high walls at intervals, their conical roofs made of dark blue tiles. In the centre, trees surrounded a cathedral-like structure that had curving arches supporting sections of it, and a gold and blue domed roof. On the other side of the wide river, atop another cliff, a smaller palace stood. A bridge connected the two, spanning the deep canyon the river cut through. From this angle, it looked as if the smaller side had only a low wall around it and a single domed building. He squinted, sure he could spy people near the balustrade and crossing the covered bridge, appearing and disappearing between the columns supporting the blue roof.

Kin found himself drifting towards it, wanting to get a better look. Would there be other buildings in the woods that hugged it? A whole town he couldn’t see from this distance? It was different to the other buildings he had seen. He looked back over his shoulder in their direction, taking in the great white towers that curved to a point like an arch, looking more like the tips of swords now he was at a distance.

He turned back towards the castle, the rush of the river becoming a thundering roar as it cut through the gap between the two pale cliffs. He studied the building again as he approached it, and there were people on the other side of the river, moving around the open space there and crossing the bridge. They were blond. Nymphs? He couldn’t be sure from this distance.

He focused his senses and pulled down a deep breath, attempting to catch Hella’s scent. The smell of water and flowers was too strong, drowning out everything else. He huffed and kept walking, gaze scanning the building now, seeking a way to it that wouldn’t draw attention to himself.

A figure suddenly plummeted into view, falling from one of the ivory towers.

His stomach plummeted with her when he noticed the colour of her hair.

Blue.

Hella.

His heart thundered, hammering a painful, hard beat against his ribs as he stood immobile, shocked by the sight of her and struggling to process what he was seeing. She flipped and fought her short black dress.

And hit the water feet first.

MacKinnon kicked his boots off and dove into the water, swam hard with the current and fought to keep his head above the surface as he was swept along. The water was colder than he had expected, sapping his heat, but the adrenaline that spiked his blood as he saw she hadn’t emerged yet was enough to keep him going, had him kicking harder, desperately propelling himself towards where she had struck the surface.

He dove the moment he reached it, legs pumping furiously as he scoured the water for her. He grimaced as the current slammed him into a rock, knocking vital air from his lungs, and gripped it and shoved off. The river had to be at least thirty feet deep. Where was she?

There.

She tumbled head over heels, legs flailing, and he wanted to growl when he saw her hands were still bound. What the hell had the nymph been thinking? Why take her and push her off a tower?

His heart lurched as she was smashed against a boulder and spun away from it, her actions growing weak and sluggish. He kicked harder and reached for her, stretched his arms as far as he could and tried to grab her. He missed. Godsdammit. He growled, releasing precious air, grabbed the nearest rock and pressed his feet to it. He kicked off, shooting towards her, and snared her.

The moment he wrapped his arms around her, his strength tried to leave him, relief that she was safe in them stealing it from him. She wasn’t safe yet. He clung to the remaining shreds of his strength and kicked upwards, propelling them both towards the surface. He gasped for air as they breached it, his head fogging as his body greedily devoured the oxygen.

Hella spluttered and coughed, shaking in his arms as she tightly gripped his forearm.

Kin turned her to face him.

Could only stare as he got a good look at her, struck dumb by the sight of her.

She was beautiful.

He told himself it was just the spell. It was all a lie.

But gods, she was beautiful.

She looked as if she fitted into this realm, as if she belonged in it, with her wide luminous emerald eyes, flawless pale skin and her rosy cheeks. She could be fae. He tucked her to his chest with one arm and brushed the tangled threads of her azure hair behind her ear with his other hand, revealing her very human ears.

She stared at him as they were swept downstream, not resisting him as he carefully navigated the river with her, pushing off boulders that were in their path and keeping her safely tucked against him.

---