Page 15 of Wild for the Wyvern

“How did you find him the first time? Because I’m betting it wasn’t that he found you lost in the woods.” She narrows her gaze and crosses her arms.

I tell her about being lost and getting caught up in his net. “When I was still lost, he followed, and when I fell, he carried me. I passed out and when I woke up, he was very naked and very male. We were in his beautiful cabin.”

“We can leave first thing in the morning.” She picks up her phone and dials.

“Who are you calling?” My excitement and relief are growing.

“Dean and Lori. I guess I should call Hunter too.” Ten minutes later, we have a plan and I’m heading to my apartment to pack a bag.

Dean called his boss and told him he had a family emergency. Lori couldn’t get away, but she demanded to be videoed in.

Somehow, I figure out how to return to the place where the trap was. Now that I know it’s there the net’s ropes are obvious. I’m out of my mind, but I need to bring the beast to me. I know the man might be angry, but the wyvern only knows it wants me. The last time we were intimate, the need of the monster to push forward showed me that.

“Are you sure about this, Kori?” Dean grips his throat and looks at the tall trees in a wilderness a couple of miles from the road. “What if he doesn’t show up? How will we get you down?”

I take a deep breath and step forward just outside the trap. “This is either the bravest or the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. When the trap snaps, we’ll give Drayce thirty minutes to come and get me. If he doesn’t, then we call 911 and I feel incredibly stupid.” My voice breaks at the idea that he might not come. I may have hurt him too badly to gain forgiveness.

Meg says, “He’ll come. I know he will.”

Somehow, I know it too. There’s a sound or a vibration inside me that came alive when I stepped back inside his woods. I take the step.

Everything turns upside down. I fly upward and am wrapped in the giant net that curls me into the air and leaves me swaying back and forth twenty feet off the ground. A scream escapes me even though I knew what was going to happen.

Dean and Meg both scream.

Recovering first, Meg says, “Holy fuck, are you alright?”

After a brief assessment, I say, “I’m fine.”

“Now what?” Dean asks.

“I wait.” I listen for some change in the forest. Last time, it seemed as if the world stilled when the wyvern appeared. There’s no noise, but I feel him getting closer. My heart, my blood, and my flesh all tingle with his approach. “You guys can go. I’ll be fine.”

Dean makes a scoffing sound. “We’re not going anywhere until you’re either on the ground or we have proof you’ll be okay.”

The batting of wings through breaking the air fills me with joy. And then he lands in the tree just above me. His golden eyes are wide as he stares from his perch on a tree limb.

“Holy crap.” Dean’s voice is high and squeaky.

Drayce shifts his gaze to the ground.

I look down through the gap in the net. Dean clutches Meg’s arm and the two gape up at the wyvern.

Drayce cranes his neck and cocks his head before returning his attention to me.

“I’m sorry,” I say. My heart is pounding so hard that it takes me a few moments to calm enough to say more. “I shouldn’t have freaked out and left you. I understand if you don’t want me back, but you’re all I can think about and I don’t mind you being a bit more than human.”

“A bit.” Meg’s voice drips with sarcasm.

The wyvern’s pupils widen and warmth seeps in as if he were a man. He wraps one foot around the net and slices the rope with his other claws before easing me to the ground a few feet in front of my friends.

I guess I thought he’d carry me away, but maybe he wants me to go. My heart breaks into a million pieces.

Seven

Drayce

Kori is back in my woods. I never thought I’d see her again, and I’ve been mourning her loss for a week. I cut her down and give her the opportunity to leave. If she came to apologize, she’s done that.

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