Page 23 of The Alpha Wolf Defying Fate

I listened more to the sounds outside of my tent as soft footsteps moved around the campsite. I could make out the light scent of licorice mixed with pine as a breeze swept by my mesh tent, and curiosity got the better of me.

Carefully, I unzipped my tent door and peered out into the center of the camp to see Ayden sitting bare chested next to a small fire as he fried up some eggs. I watched him work quietly, careful to not wake anyone else who still slept, the sun still barely creeping over the horizon.

I couldn’t help but admire him then. My gaze running over the muscles of his chest, the memories of my cheek pressed to him there coming to mind.

I wondered what it would be like to run my hand over his bare chest then, finding it hard not to wonder about running my hands along parts of his body or his hands roaming all over parts of mine. My teeth sank into my bottom lip and a sense of security gave me confidence to step out of my tent and join him by the fire. To maybe act on the desires, I felt brewing inside myself.

“That smells amazing!” Baer’s voice came, his large body now blocking my view of Ayden as he stepped out of his tent and joined him by the fire. “Got enough for two more there?”

I felt myself groan as I zipped the tent door closed and flopped down against my sleeping bag and stared up into the sky above me through the mesh ceiling.

‘I think Baer needs a swift kick in the ass,’my wolf grumbled in my head.

And I couldn’t help but agree. With timing like his, he might just need two swift kicks.

Chapter Eleven

Ayden

Wesettledintoourfifth night in the Forgotten Realm. The journey since leaving the forest, calm. One could even warn that it was too calm, like the calm before a storm of devastating proportions.

I kept my senses open as we set up the camp. My eyes peeled on every shadow as the sun settled over the horizon and left us in the light of the first full moon since coming to this realm. Yet still, nothing appeared. Nothing gave me pause. The only sounds I could make out were those of the animals and birds which lived here. Completely undisturbed, even by our presence in their home.

“How much further do you think we will have to go before finding Minerva?” Aurora asked as she piled more wood beside the campfire Baer had built.

“Better question is, how do we know we’re going the right way? Just because this is the only path in this place doesn’t mean she’d take it,” Baer said in reply.

I shrugged. “Staying on the path at least keeps us from getting lost. Even with the magic my uncle taught us, we can’t navigate a world we know nothing about. Not easily anyway. It’s best to stay on the path and hope that we eventually find her.”

Aurora sighed. “This is going to take forever.” I heard her murmur.

“Don’t think like that,” Baer attempted to comfort his mate.

“Easy for you to say,” she hissed back. “Sasha and I have planned out every detail to our weddings since we were six. And now she may not even accept her mate. If she doesn’t accept him, I just can’t bear the idea of her being alone forever, Baer.”

“Just hold onto what The Fates told us, Sunshine. That’s all we can do. It’s going to be her choice no matter what we want.”

I frowned, listening to the couple’s odd argument over my mateship with Sasha. My curiosity rising more as I looked around for the hybrid she-wolf in question as I realized she wasn’t within the campground’s perimeter.

My gaze seemed to know exactly where to look. My eyes found her just beyond the bushes and trees near the sparkling river we had chosen to camp near.

The water glistened in the moonlight, the sound of its moving waters like a voice calling out to us to come near it. I smiled at the soft sound as I moved to sit on the ground next to Sasha.

“How have you been feeling?” I asked. “You know, since the other night when we talked.”

She smiled softly and turned away from the river to look at me, her eyes trailing along my face before settling over my lips for a moment. I could feel my blood begin to burn beneath her gaze, my wolf’s pants heavy in my mind. He drowned out any doubt or denial of the feelings we both clearly shared. The bond that had only grown stronger since the night we discovered our connection.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away at the river. The sound of its song helping to lull me into a calmer mood as Sasha also turned away, taking with her the heat of my blood.

“I’m doing a lot better. I hate to say it, but I have you to thank. You really knew exactly what to say to get me out of my own head at that moment,” she said, the smile evident in her voice.

“Well, if you ever need another pep-talk, I’m more than willing to yell at you some more,” I joked, her laughter like a melody in the air.

I had rarely heard her laugh. At least not like this. Not with me.

In school, the only time I’d ever heard her laugh, it had sounded so fake. So, political. It was fake and forced, though not so much that anyone would notice. Somehow, I had always been the one to notice the lack of genuine joy in the sound.

But now, I could hear it. So pure and true. No attempts to impress anyone or to persuade them to join her inner circle. It was simply a sound of amusement at the joke I had made.

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