Page 45 of Accidentally Wedded To A Werewolf

Her nose brushed his. The bond sparked eagerly in his chest, his hands coming up to squeeze her thighs automatically. There was something in her face he didn’t quite recognize, but then she kissed him, and everything melted away except for her soft skin, her clever hands, and her glinting eyes.

There was something behind the bond, wanting to get through. Oliver didn’t let it in. By the time sensations started to spill through the bond, Luna had locked whatever it was away, and the only glimpses he got of her mind were pure pleasure.

Thirteen

The inn was quiet when they slipped out the next morning.

“They’ll sleep until dinner,” Oliver told Luna as he drove them toward the mountains. “If we’re lucky, we’ll get back before they even notice we’re gone.”

Luna’s toes flexed in her fashionable hiking boots. “You know, you’ll probably have to carry me if this hike takes more than three hours.”

“What, you?” He snorted. “I suspected as much, princess. Those boots are worn in, right?”

Luna flexed her toes harder. They weren’t, but she was wearing double socks like Sabine had advised her the other day. That made her safe from blisters, right? She suddenly wished she’d gone on all those hiking trips her LA friends had invited her on. The longest hike she’d done was two hours, and she’d spent the last forty minutes whining for Hector to carry her.

They pulled into the parking lot at the base of themountain. Luna stared up at it as Oliver checked their supplies in the giant backpack he’d insisted on taking with them. The mountain was shockingly beautiful, even if it was going to be hell on Luna’s poor feet.

She snapped a photo on her phone.

“For the website,” she explained when Oliver glanced over. “Gotta have good pictures of all the attractions.”

Oliver went back to zipping up the backpack. “Right. Because you’re going to revamp us whether we want to or not.”

“You’ll thank me one day,” she said cheerily. “Unless you still want your family business to go down in flames.”

His head snapped up. It took Luna a second to realize why the phrasing might’ve freaked him out.

“I mean,” she said hastily, trying not to imagine the inn burning thanks to some crazy woman with a prejudice against werewolves. “Wouldn’t want all that laundry and roof-fixing to go to waste, right?”

She headed toward the start of the mountain path, which was helpfully marked with a sign. After a second, he followed. Luna felt the bond hum in satisfaction as he arrived behind her, watching her look up at the mountain towering over them.

“There’s still a little bit of snow up there,” she pointed out. “We’re sure it won’t start snowing again before we get down?”

“If the weather forecast has anything to say about it, no,” he said.

“And you’re sure you can guide us up there okay?”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly guiding. The path is straightforward, and there are flowers all over once you get high enough.” He hitched the backpack higher up his shoulders. “Come on. If we’re lucky, we can make it back by dinner.”

He set off up the trail. Luna sighed and followed, feet already sweating in her double socks and boots.

Three and a half hours later, Luna had seen three disgusting bugs and zero flowers.

“Just keep an eye out for a white flower with a red center,” Oliver said for the dozenth time, looking like he was considering tossing her off the mountain. Luna almost wished he would. Her feethurt, she was sweaty and gross, and her nose was freezing. The bond helped a little, warming her up from the inside out whenever she got close enough. But it wasn’t a match for the chilly air surrounding them.

“I didn’t even ask for this,” she complained as she trudged after him. “Why amIthe one going up the stupid mountain for the stupid breakup flower?”

“BecauseI’mgoing,” he reminded her. “Which means you have to come too, or I would’ve passed out before I even got to the parking lot. Hurry up.”

“Youhurry up,” she muttered. She clutched her jacket closer to her chest since he had no room in his backpack and refused to carry it. When she’d asked what the hell was eveninthat giant backpack he was lugging around for a one-day hike, he’d given her a look likeshe was the biggest idiot in the world and started listing off first aid equipment, blankets, a flare, and non-perishable foods.

Luna came to a stop, wheezing. “Okay! I’m done! Weneedto rest.”

“Youneed to rest,” he corrected, hopping easily up a rocky bit of path. “The faster we get this over with, the faster we can break this bond and go back to our lives. Come on.”

Luna flopped down on the ground.

Oliver paused. Luna wondered if he’d stopped because he heard her sit down or because the bond had started to stretch, urging him to go back. Luna could feel it in her chest, warm tendrils reaching out toward him.

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