Page 23 of Baldr's Secret Mate

“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching out and placing a hand on his good shoulder. “I know it belonged to your mother.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, doing his best to give me a smile. “I’ll get it back when we get home. Now that you’re free and I’ve got this spellbook, it should be no problem to take it back from Tyr. Besides, I doubt he did more than toss it into the snow next to your shelter. It’s not like it’s any use to him. He’s not a witch and the one he had on call is dead.”

“Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For what?!” I scoffed. “For saving me you dummy!” I wrapped my arm around his waist, pointing us back the way I’d come from the river. “I’ve been trapped in that fucking bubble for years! You saved me from that, from that witch, and from Tyr. I owe you my life.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“I do,” I replied, not giving him a chance to argue. I felt a strong sense of protectiveness wash over me, my fingers tinglingwhere I touched him. “And I’m gonna make sure Tyr never gets a chance to hurt you again. I’ll protect you.”

Baldr just looked up at me and I swore I could feel the affection radiating out from him. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Either way, the sensation was wonderful. Of course, we both knew he was the stronger of the two of us. Being a witch and a werewolf at the same time made him almost impossible to hurt in the first place. But somehow, Tyr had managed it. And I wasn’t gonna let it happen again. Not when now, standing here with my arm around him, I was more sure than ever how I felt about him. He was mine and even if we never became more than friends, I would make sure he stayed safe.

“Come on,” Baldr said at last. “Take me down to that river and then we’ll get under the trees. Hopefully we can find some food in the forest.”

I held him tighter, trying to lend him my strength as best I could. “Maybe you can sniff us out a wild pheasant or something.”

“Was that a dog joke?” Baldr asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“No?” I said, not really sure if I’d offended him. “I just thought… you know… werewolf nose and all, that you’d be good at finding wild game.”

“I’m not a Labrador Retriever,” he scoffed. A playful smile filled his face. “And I haven’t been trained for that sort of thing.”

“Bad at fetch?”

“Honestly? Yes.”

We just laughed, our arms around each other as we headed down the hill.

Chapter Thirteen: Baldr

After a quick stop at the river, I was feeling much better. My stomach, now filled with cool water, no longer ached of hunger. But I knew that wasn’t going to last long. In fact, by the time Mist helped me limp my way to the forest on the far side of the grassland, my stomach was loudly grumbling once more. Not only that, but I felt like I was on the edge of passing out again. He helped me to the forest floor, tucking me amongst the roots of a massive tree.

As I settled against the tree trunk, I felt Mist's hand linger on my shoulder. His touch was gentle, almost hesitant, as if he was afraid I might break. I looked up at him, taking in his concerned expression. Even with his wild hair and scraggly beard, there was something undeniably handsome about him. His eyes, a deep forest green, were filled with worry as they scanned my face.

“Are you sure you're okay?” he asked softly. “You look really pale.”

I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I could feel how weak it was. “I'll be fine,” I said, though my voice soundedstrained even to my own ears. “I just need to get some rest and food then I’ll be as right as rain.”

Mist nodded, his brow furrowed. “I'll see what I can find. There must be some berries or something around here, right?”

“Probably,” I answered hesitantly. “But bring them back to me before you eat any. Usually my wolf nose can pick up if they’re safe to eat or not.”

“Maybe I can try to hunt…”

“Berries are fine. We don’t have any weapons or a way to cook game, anyway. I’m too weak to conjure up flames right now.”

Mist smiled, a look of pride washing over his face. “Well good thing I come prepared then.”

He took off his bag and pulled it open. In one hand he hefted up an old hatchet that was rusting near the handle and in the other hand was a box of matches. He really was prepared.

“I did pack some snacks,” I said, looking at my own bag forlornly. “But I ate them all on the way to get you after finding my mother’s spellbook…” I felt a bit ashamed for munching through it all, but I never would’ve been able to call up the realm gate if I hadn’t.

“At least you had some empty bottles in there for water,” Mist replied, patting me on my good shoulder. “And we’re alive. That’s what’s most important.”

“Yeah…”

---