Page 82 of The Witch's Shifter
Faolan digs his nails into the soft earth, and in the bush, I can see Harrison crouching low.
“Get ready.”
Faolan’s muscles coil. I hold on tight, squeezing him with my legs.
“Go!”
With one mighty lurch, Faolan leaps into movement. The forest becomes a blur around us. My breath is stolen from my lungs, and the cool air stings my face, drying the tears that streak down my cheeks from the wind striking my eyes.
Upon Faolan’s back, I can almost convince myself that I’m flying. When I close my eyes and tip my head back, it’s a feeling of freedom that comes over me. I wonder, does Faolan always feel like this when he runs, when he abandons the man to the beautiful beast? If so, perhaps we should all be much more envious of shifters, in all their many forms.
Harrison must be running along with us, but with the wind in my ears and the crunching of Faolan’s paws across the leaves, I can’t hear a thing. All I know is one moment we’re deep in the woods, and the next I’m breathless as we streak from the trees and into the sunlight shining down on Brookside.
Alden and Rowan both start at our sudden appearance. Rowan even lets out a yelp, which gives Alden a good laugh. Faolan slows, and I look around.
Somehow, Harrison is already seated on the porch, flicking his tail and looking smug with the twitch of his whiskers. How he beat us here, I have no idea. But Harrison has plenty of tricks up his silky white sleeves.
Beneath me, Faolan rumbles with an irritated growl.
I hold the mushroom baskets and lump of clothing out, and Rowan takes them, blinking at us in confusion. His long hair is pulled back in a knot at the base of his neck, and he’s got sawdust on one shoulder.
Behind him, Alden leans against the partially built addition to the cottage and smiles.
“What are you doi—” Rowan starts to ask, but then Faolan leaps back into movement, and I let out a laugh that rings through the clearing around us, making the hens squawk. “Be careful with her!” Rowan yells after us.
“We’ll be home in time for supper!” I call back to them. “Love you!”
And the last thing I see before we vanish into the trees is Alden’s smile, Rowan’s lighthearted smirk, and Harrison’s unconcerned yawn as he plops down for an afternoon nap.
Then the forest swallows us whole.
The End
