Page 62 of Forging Bonds: Part One

I chuckle and then smile softly as River grabs my hand and threads his fingers with mine.

“Are you running back or calling your kelpie?” Griff asks River.

River shrugs, “I’ll run.”

“You know that you’re bigger than you were, right?” Raiden asks.

River nods, “Yeah. I realized that it was either that or Neith had suddenly shrunk. It’s a good thing that I don’t speak to any family members or the pack, or it would be really difficult to explain.”

“Will they not get in contact when they see you shift on the Choosing?” I ask. Choosing to ask what I hope is the least invasive question.

River shakes head, “I doubt it. Come, let’s get home.”

I grin and let go of his hand to head back to where Mael is still waiting for me, along with all of the other kelpies. I climb on, thanking him for sticking around, and then we take off, the others running with us.

As we run through the woods, something out of the corner of my eye gains my attention. At first I think that it’s River, but then I see him up ahead in what appears to be a race with Raiden and his kelpie. When I glance down next to me, I realize that it’s the black and copper-colored fox that was in my room before we went to Ireland.

It glances up at me as if sensing my gaze and yips once before focusing on where it’s going and continuing to run beside me. After a moment of watching it and trusting that Mael is going to lead me in the right direction and we’re not going to crash, the fox’s form shifts.

It switches from being solid to being see-through, its whole body losing its definitive colors and instead becoming orange, glowing, sparkly, and semi-solid. It then jumps into the air, and instead of running next to me on the floor, it’s now running in the air at the same level as my head.

I grin, “That is so fucking cool.”

“What is?” Griff asks as he glances back at me. “Oh wow, is that the fox you said was on your bed?”

I nod, “Yeah, it’s the same one. I have no idea what it’s called. It doesn’t talk to me like Winston or even Wallace does.”

Griff nods as we both watch the fox, “It seems a lot more like I would have imagined a spirit guide to look like.”

“Yeah, same,” I reply somewhat stiltedly. It’s not actually that easy to speak while riding kelpies at high speed through the woods, so we stop trying and just watch the spirit guide play in the air.

It suddenly occurs to me that I was supposed to be going to meet Navy and the others, and I have no idea what the time is.

“Can you slow down for a second?” I ask Mael, and he immediately slows down to a walk.

The others all carry on going at super speeds, but I can see the house from here, so I know that they aren’t all going to freak out because I’m missing. I absolutely do not trust myself to pull out my phone while going at super speeds on the back of a kelpie, which is why I asked Mael to stop for me. While he slowly walks in the direction of the house across the vast expanse of grass that the guys call their backyard, I check the time and realize that I am already late to meet them.

Fuck.

Me:Hey guys, sorry I’m late, something came up. I’ll be there as soon as possible! Head down to Luke’s, and I’ll meet you there instead of at the coffee shop.

Navy:No problem! We’ll see you when you get here.

Neera: Don’t take too long, or I’ll get all the pretty swords.

Joey:She’s having one designed, dude, but I agree. Hurry up, Neith, or we will buy all the pretty swords. *Insert evil laugh here*

I laugh at their messages and send a reply with laughing faces.

“Is everything okay?” Reed asks me as I get to the guys.

I nod, “Yeah, I was just messaging Navy and the others.”

“Shit, sorry,” River apologizes unnecessarily.

I shake my head, “Don’t you dare apologize for something that you had no control over.”

River smirks, “Yes, Ma’am.”

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