Page 29 of Cursed Wolfsbane

“I’ll be right over there on the basketball court. Come get me if you need anything, okay, little shadow?” I peer into gray eyes that are even with mine since Saint’s crouching down. I give him a little nod. He flashes me a quick grin before standing up and jogging over to his friends. They heckle him about always having a six-year-old follow him around. Saint shrugs off their teasing and dives into the basketball game.

Based on his gangly limbs and awkwardness, I’d guess Saint is somewhere around fifteen or sixteen in this memory.

I frown at Saint’s friends for a moment. I’m six. It’s not like I’m a little kid or something. I’m practically as old as they are.

Trying to forget about them, I turn to the playground. The woodchips crunch under my shoes as I make my way to the slides. I’m content to go down the slides and play on theswings for a little while. I keep eyeing the monkey bars, even though I know I can never get to the other side. Eventually, the temptation to try them again becomes too much to ignore.

Hesitantly approaching the green plasticky ladder that leads up to the bars, I blow out a determined breath.I can do this, I try to tell myself. Pushing past the fear, I climb up to the monkey bars. Gripping the first bar with my left hand, I swing myself toward the next one. When I successfully grab it, I grin in delight.

Growing bolder, I quickly move from bar to bar. It’s going well until I miss one of the bars in the middle. I already let go of the one I was holding onto, so I plummet to the ground with a squeak. I land hard on my left knee. The woodchips bite into the bare skin exposed by my overall shorts. When I see the blood welling up from the scrape, pain flares bright and sudden.

“Saint!” I wail as I sit down on my butt facing the court Saint’s on. When he sees me crying on the ground, he immediately abandons his basketball game.

“What the hell, man?” one of his friends shouts as Saint runs over to me.

“Just continue the game without me,” Saint hollers over his shoulder distractedly. His brown hair flops in the wind as he sprints to my side. Saint skids to a stop in front of me and kneels down to inspect me for injuries. It doesn’t take him long to find my skinned knee. “What happened, little shadow?”

“I fell!” I blubber through my tears.

“Is that how you hurt your knee?” Saint blows the wood dust off the wound and gently dabs at it with his white T-shirt, cleaning up the few drops of blood before fishing a Band-Aid from his pocket. After unwrapping it, Saint covers my skinned knee with it. Since I’m so accident prone, Saint always carries Band-Aids with him when he takes me to play anywhere.

“Yeah. I was trying to cross the monkey bars, but I couldn’t do it.” I hang my head in shame, the tears splashing onto my denim overalls.

“You made it more than halfway, Briar. You did a great job!” Saint offers me a hand up. Once I put my hand in his, he pulls me to my feet. Since he’s kneeling, we’re almost the same height. Saint opens his arms for a hug, and I step into them.

“No, I didn’t,” I grumble into his shoulder, frustrated with myself. Saint can do monkey bars, so I should be able to too.

“You did,” he insists, “and I bet you can cross the monkey bars if you give it another shot. I’ll stand under you and catch you in case you fall if you want to try again.”

My tears dry up as I contemplate Saint’s offer. I know he won’t let me fall, and I want to show him that I can do everything he can. “Okay, I’ll try again.”

“That’s my little shadow.” Saint beams proudly at me as he climbs to his feet and walks with me to the ladder. Standing behind me, he makes sure I don’t fall on my way up. Once I grab the monkey bars, he moves around to stand in front of me. Hovering his hands around my waist, he looks up at me. “Ready to give it another try?”

I nod at him, determination flooding me. Carefully swinging to the next bar, I move off the ladder. Saint lets out a whoop at me reaching the second bar. I can’t keep the silly smile off my face at his joy. Taking a deep breath, I move to the next bar and the next one and the next one after that. Before I know it, I’ve reached the end.

Instead of letting me climb down, Saint lifts me up by my waist. He spins me around until we’re both laughing so hard it’s difficult to breathe. Saint sets me down on the ground and kneels again. “You did it! I’m so proud of you!”

My smile is so wide it hurts my cheeks. “I did! I finally did it!” I wrap my small arms around Saint’s neck and give hima big hug. He squeezes me in return until I step back from the embrace.

“I think this calls for celebration ice cream. What do you think, little shadow?” Saint’s crooked grin widens at my frantic nod. Pushing to his feet, he brushes off his knees before offering me his hand. I grab ahold of it. We head to my favorite ice cream place in town, his friends and basketball game completely forgotten.

Coming back to reality this time, I’m hit with a wave of memories of Saint. He was my best friend growing up, even though he’s nine years older than me. Saint was always so patient with me as a kid. Whatever I wanted to do, he was always happy to do it, whether that was reading the same book over and over, running around outside for hours, or even playing princesses with me.

Once the memories stop flowing, I look around the room for Saint. He’s leaning against the wall opposite the door. “Saint,” I whisper as I take off at a full sprint toward him. He manages to straighten up before I leap at him. He catches me effortlessly, and I wrap my arms and legs tightly around him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, little shadow. So fucking much,” he murmurs into my shoulder. He squeezes me tightly to him, like he’s worried I’m going to disappear again.

Saint’s arms have always been one of my favorite places. The only time I’ve ever felt like I do in his embrace is when any of the Wyldharts hold me. It’s that thought that makes the pieces fall into place with Saint. Pulling back so I can look at his face, I ask, “You’re also my mate, aren’t you?”

CHAPTER 14

BRIAR

Saint searches my face before blowing out a breath. “Yeah.”

“When did you know?”

“I knew for sure when I turned sixteen and could feel the bond, but our parents suspected we were way before that.”

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