Page 28 of Running from the Orc
“Early this morning.” The little female nodded. “Without her shoes, silly thing. Took off into the woodsto the north, I believe.”
I gaped. “Roxannaran? From me?”
My brother clicked his tongue. “Forye, I think ye’ll find.”
Inside my chest, myKteerbegan to thump madly, a wild thing desperate to escape its cage. My firebrand ran…so that I might hunt her?
“Aye, Varkaan.” My grandmother slowly lifted one hand and pointed a knobby finger to the north. “Yer Mate is waiting for ye to find her.”
My claws grew. My tusks felt heavier, stronger. The primal instincts rose within me as myKteerhowled in joy. Already I was sniffing the air, hunting for her scent.
Vaguely I heard my chief chuckle. “Aye, brother. Go. Hunt yer Mate.”
I was only too happy to obey.
Chapter 9
Varkaan
It took me moments to find her trail. Roxanna had made no effort to hide her steps, and the guard at the west end of the village merely smirked as he pointed his spear toward the forest.
I stopped at the tree line and pulled my boots from my feet. I had no idea why I did it, but it felt right,natural. As I straightened, I pulled my quiver from my belt and dropped it and my bow to the ground, filling my lungs with the clean mountain air…and the scent of my Mate.
Palton’s Spear, I had no need to stoop to find her prints, or to study the brush for signs of her passing.
Every time my bare foot landed in the dirt atop one ofherprints, I couldfeelit—in my skin, in my veins.A tingle, a remindermy firebrand was here. I could brush my palm over the leaves at my side andfeelher passage.
Was this normal?
Was this part of the knowing, the certainty, that came from a Mate Hunt?
Or was this something special Roxanna and I shared?Wouldshare, for the rest of whatever life the goddess would grant us.
The realization made me run faster, my bare soles slapping against the dirt and crushed needles of the forest floor. I knew I followed my Mate, and that knowledge made me want to throw my head back and howl in satisfaction.
The stocking surprised me.
I skidded to a halt, examining the human-style stocking draped over asternkabush. With one hand I scooped it up and brought it to my nose. ‘Twas Roxanna’s, although I needed no confirmation.
The next one had been left hanging a few hundred yards down her trail, and this time, I allowed my chuckle to break free, the joy—thedelight—nearly overwhelming me. I dropped the first beside the second and continued to follow the path my Mate had made, knowing she wouldn’t be needingthese stockings again.
Her hair ribbons were next, scattered across the detritus of the forest floor, and I didn’t stop for those, either.
The thought of Roxanna running through the trees, her fingers threading through her red curls, combing them out so they’d lie soft against her shoulders…
Well, I’d never hunted with a cockstand before, but I didn’t mind this one much at all.
By the time I found my Mate’s heavy gown, the purple silk marred from her passage through the trees, I was grinning. My sporran dropped atop it, marking her as mine as clearly as my scent on her skin.
My wee firebrand was out there somewhere, wearing only her chemise, running from me.
And I would find her.
This time, when myKteerhowled in satisfaction, I joined.
Roxanna
I wasn’t sure where my laughter was coming from, but I didn’t try to stop it when it bubbled from my chest. This meant I got a mouthful of linen as Ipulled my chemise over my head, but that only caused my laughter to start again.
