Page 29 of Wolf Marked

They had been traveling for hours. It was already midday, and Erec still hadn’t managed to make his way toward the front of the group to pull Astrid aside and talk to her. He wanted to blame it on everything else besides his own fear. He’d come up with some wild excuses during the trip, but they were all lies. Not only was Erec afraid of what Astrid might say, he was afraid of what came after. She could reject him because he wasn’t exactly the pick of the pack. But if she accepted him and he was right about the two of them being mates, then he had another issue to work out.

He had accepted long ago that he wouldn’t live past this coming Blue Moon. Surviving the curse had never been an option before, and now that it was, he didn’t know what came next. He’d been alone for so long. Being responsible for someone else’s life, especially the way he lived, was terrifying. Constantly moving place to place, fighting off bears and other wolves and scavenging for food? It was no way to live. And Boden hadn’t been too keen onkeeping Erec around, so he doubted he’d want him as a son.

Erec was getting ahead of himself, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t push all the muddled thoughts out of his mind. He was scared of being wrong and of being right. Did that make any sense at all?

You can’t run away this time.

He grunted. Even his conscience thought he was a coward.

Erec peered around the many bodies ahead of him. He found Astrid walking alongside Stefan’s mother near the middle of the line, her hair dusted with glittering snowflakes. His pulse raced a little faster. The sight reminded him of last night, when he’d seen one of those auburn locks in the tent before realizing she’d fallen asleep. And then even further back, when he had kissed her, their bodies just inches away from each other.

Why was this so hard for him? If they were destined to be together, wasn’t it supposed to be easy?

If he was right about this, it could save Astrid from the curse. It could save them both.

One foot at a time, Erec marched forward. When he reached Astrid’s side, she turned to him and his heartbeat faltered. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Everything he wanted to say—poof. Gone the moment her green eyes found his.

A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, and Erec swallowed roughly, scrambling to find his words again.

“Yes?” she asked.

He hesitated. “Can I speak to you?” Nodding toward the back of the group, he added, “Alone?”

“I’m talking to someone, if you can see—” But when Astrid looked back to Stefan’s mother, she had already hurried her steps to give them some privacy and then waved for them to go.

Astrid’s shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “Like last night? Your version of ‘talking’ seems to be a little different than mine.”

Ouch. That stung.

“This will be a real talk. Nothing else. Promise.”

She eyed him suspiciously, saying nothing for a long moment. Then, she stepped out of the line. “All right.” She waited for everyone to pass before taking her place again at the very rear of the group.

Erec came to her side. Before he could even utter a word, Astrid whirled on him. “You need to explain what’s going on,” she said in an angry whisper. “You keep saying one thing and doing the opposite. What do you want from me, Erec?”

Her harsh tone took him aback. “No, it’s not like that,” Erec said, making sure to keep his voice low, too. He slowed his pace, adding more distance between them and the others. As hard as it was going to be keeping the conversation private with wolf shifters around, the more space separating them, the better. “I’ve been thinking…”

Her brows rose. “Uh-oh.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

To his surprise, she laughed, bringing the youthful gleam back to her face. That was a good sign. At least she wasn’t too mad at him.

“That was a little harsh, wasn’t it?” she said.

“Yes, it was!” He smirked. “But I guess I deserve it.”

“That and more.”

“I get it.”

Astrid blew a snowflake off the tip of her nose and crossed her arms. Keeping her gaze low, focused on the footprints in the snow, she said, “So…what do you need to tell me?”

Erec’s chest squeezed. He stared at her for a while, searching for the right way to tell her everything he’d been considering the night before. “The curse on us…” he decided to start with but then paused.

“What about it?”

“I-I’ve been thinking. What if we—you and I—what if we’re meant to be together? Mates? We’re both at our final Blue Moon. What if we’re supposed to break the curse for each other?”

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