Page 35 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

The conversation faded once more, but it was about as far from uncomfortable as it could be. I looked over at Leo, watching the flickering light of the fire play over his strong features. Was I developing feelings for the man? I couldn’t deny that I was attracted to him, but he was from an entirely different world than me. Amagicalworld. For all we knew, he had a shifter wife and shifter children somewhere who were desperately hoping for him to come home one day.

“Leo…” I murmured, so many thoughts rushing through my head.

“Yes, Ven?”

I had no idea what I was actually going to say, but before I could articulate it, an earth-shaking boom sounded above our heads.

“Holy shit!” I cried.

Leo and I ran to the entrance, although he made it out long before me. Rain was pouringdown in a sudden torrent.

“Strange,” Leo remarked, poking his head out. His auburn hair was instantly soaked, which was far more appealing that it had any right to be. “I didn’t smell the storm coming.”

“You can do that?” I asked, wide eyed.

“Most of the time. The air changes. I think humans pick up on it occasionally.”

I thought back to other storms I’d experienced, and I knew exactly what he meant. It was a strange scent—one of ozone, electricity, and moisture in the air.

“We should head back,” he said. “The cave is close enough to the water that the entrance could flood.” He offered his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, and I stared at his tanned palm. While I had touched his shoulder earlier, holding hands was an entirely different thing. “You ready to run?”

“Sure,” I said with an uncertain chuckle. “But I don’t think I can keep up with you.”

“That’s fine,” he said with a soft smile. “I’ll stick to your pace.”

Well, how was I supposed to say no to that logic?

Face flushing, I put my hand in his. Once more, electricity shot through my body at the touch. The hair at the back of my neck stood on end, making me hyperaware of every cell in my body.

“Ready?” Leo asked, his smile broad and so full of earnest excitement that my stomach flipped.

“Ready,” I confirmed.

We took off.

It certainly wasn’t an all-out sprint, with both of us occasionally skidding across mud and wet earth. We were thoroughly soaked within seconds, and when I ended up falling right onto my ass in a small puddle, I burst out laughing.

“Are you all right?” Leo asked before thunder cracked behind him, making both of us flinch.

“I’m fine.” I let him pull me up by our joined hands. “Nothing a little soap can’t scrub out.”

“That’s the spirit.”

But with me fairly covered in muck, all sense of caution was thrown to the wind—or rather, the storm. We jumped into occasional puddles, splashing ourselves and each other. It wasn’t long before Leo was laughing right with me, both of us thoroughly caught up in the silliness.

It was sofun.Exhilarating. Even with the occasional bolt of lightning striking down in the distance, I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. There was only room for joy and levity. It was a very welcome change from how my life had been before Leo.

“We made it!” I cried once my garden came into view.

My plants were going toloveall the rain. Although I watered them every day, irrigation drips didn’t have all the extra nitrogen and other nutritious chemicals plants liked to gobble up.

Leo grinned from ear to ear. “We did.”

We rushed the rest of the way. When we reached my back door, we were both breathless, our chests heaving.

“We made a right mess of ourselves, didn’t we?” I asked as we stood in the doorway, staring out at the storm raging across the landscape.

“We did.”

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