Page 95 of Bound By Roses

I stand from where I’d been resting at the edge of camp and move to her side.‘Not a chance. I’m surprised they listened to you.’

‘Then why are you laughing at me?’

That does nothing but draw another laugh out of me and I have to dodge her hand as she moves to swat me.‘I’m not laughing at you. You’re just good with them. That’s all.’

‘So are you,’she says, and there’s something in her tone that has me turning fully towards her.‘I’ve watched the way you spar with Fern. You use sticks, but you’re not playing with her. You’re teaching her the skills you’re terrified she might need one day. You let her train with me even though there’s no chance we’re letting her near this fight. I know you think you’reletting Tess raise her, but you’re just as much a parent to that girl as she is.’

Her words bring back a memory I’ve long been trying to forget.‘Don’t say that. I killed her parents. I nearly killed her.’

‘And you stepped up. You’ve been there for her every day since.’

It’s been less than a minute since Fern and Vik settled into their beds next to each other and already the soft sound of snoring floats on the wind.

‘I haven’t.’Abby didn’t know me then. She’s seen the monster, but she didn’t know it. She didn’t see me hide in the forest, even on the rare occasions I shifted back early. She doesn’t understand how many days and nights I spent in that cave behind the waterfall. How many times I let my people believe I was running through the forest on four legs when really I was slinking away on two.

‘Yes, you have. Even while you were away, you made sure she—and everyone else—was safe. You’ve always put your people first. Now you’re doing the same for Marein. But I’m not going to let you get away with that tonight.’

I don’t need to ask what she means. Of course, she already knows that I’m planning to stay awake all night while they sleep. Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself. I could try to deny it, but I promised her the truth always.‘I’m afraid of what I’ll wake up to.’

‘You’ll wake up to us. Perfectly safe in the beds beside you. What I said to those kids applies to you, too. We need you at your best in the morning, and that’s not going to happen if you stay up all night.’

I shake my head. As much as I want to listen to her, we’ve both lost ourselves in a dream and woken alone in the forest.‘You can’t know that. Someone has to—’

‘That someone doesn’t have to be you. I’ve got it covered.’

What? No, there’s no way I’m letting her stay up all night. Before I can object, she crouches down and lays her hands flat against the soil. The rose on her chest glows brighter, as do all the gold vines that decorate her arms. The ground shakes softly as something stirs beneath our feet. Vines spring from the earth and as they grow, they weave together as they encircle the camp.

‘A fence?’I pace along the edge of it, inspecting it as I did the shelter. It looks sturdy enough, but…‘Are you sure this will be enough? I could climb over this without issue.’If I was feeling cocky, I would have said that I could jump over it, but realistically, it might be just a bit too high for that. I don’t have a doubt that I could make it over, though.

‘It’s not meant to keep us in.’My blood runs cold at her words. She must have felt my shiver through the bond because she continues.‘It’s not meant to keep anything out, either.’

‘Then what good is it?’I don’t say it harshly, and I know she doesn’t take it that way. The whole point of a fence is to keep something in or out.

‘Touch it.’I don’t know what she means at first, but then she runs a hand along the side of it.‘Touch it.’

I don’t have hands at the moment, so I brush my body against it. She trembles slightly as her face twists into a smile. It’s almost as if…

‘That tickles,’she laughs.

My eyes go wide.‘You can feel me? Through the vines?’

She nods.‘I realized it that first time I built a shelter. When you and I, you know.’I laugh, because I do know. I’ll never forget when she slipped her vines around me and held me still while she brought me to the edge again and again and then we came together in the shelter she’d built.‘It’s only when I first create them. As long as I don’t disconnect myself, they’re still a part of me. I just wish I’d thought of it sooner.’

She’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

‘Have I told you today that I love you?’

Her smile widens and I don’t miss that she strokes the ring on her finger. ‘You never have to.’

It was an uneventful morning, just as it was an uneventful night. As far as we can tell, no one tried to leave camp and, just as Abby predicted, I woke up to her sleeping soundly beside me and the kids snoring softly in their beds. As much as I don’t want to let myself feel hopeful, I can’t deny that waking up like that was is something I could get used to.

The only thing I would change myself. I much prefer waking as a man rather than a beast.

We’ve been walking for about four hours now along the beach and should arrive at Marein soon. The closer we get, the more I fear that we should have journeyed through the night. Tess will understand, but Vik’s parents? I have less hope for them. Our relationship with the sirens is still tentative at best, and if anyone thinks we kidnapped their kid—

I lose the thought entirely as Abby doubles over, clutching at her head. I’m by her side in seconds. “What’s wrong?”

She groans, but the unease washing down our bond tells me that this isn’t just a headache. Fern whimpers further down the beach where she and Vik were playing in the water ahead of us. “It’s the wolves. Too many eyes at once.”

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