Page 85 of Sergi
He grinned at her persistence to focus on him. “Today was a good day.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Are you sure he’s okay?”
She meant Sergi, and he could only shake his head at their strange relationship. “Can’t be sure, but told he was fine before he escaped.”
“Don’t you dare tell him I asked.”
For the first time since they started this mission, he laughed out loud. They would find Sergi, and everything would be okay.
Chapter Thirty-One
I trailedafter Sergi as he crossed a wide stream. One of my earliest training memories was of my uncle teaching me about river crossings, especially when it was impossible to determine its depth. There was one method when leading and a different one when following.
“Whenever you follow someone,” my uncle said, “watch their path to the middle of the river before following in their same steps. If there are several in front of you, watch how others reach the center. Most won’t follow the same path and end up falling into an unseen predicament. Always watch and learn.”
He’d passed that wisdom on several times until one day, not long after that first time, I responded to his lesson rather than simply nodding. “You’re not speaking of just the river, but life in general.”
I never glanced away or flinched as he considered me. He lifted my chin with a finger, and when he spoke, the glow of his wolf held me still.
“You are wise for your age. Never let anyone make you doubt yourself.”
When Sergi reached the center of the stream, he turned and waited for me. He’d never questioned my actions since we’d leftthe cave at dawn. At times, I was barely a foot behind him, at others, I lagged several yards behind. Then there were moments like this when I paused before proceeding.
The distance between us had grown the last couple of miles. Soft footsteps from behind us came and went with the soft breeze and made it difficult to determine how far away they were. Sergi either understood my delays for what they were or assumed I grew tired.
After crossing the shallow stream, thankful my boots were waterproof, we walked in silence, each to our own thoughts, but I wasn’t fooled by his focus on the landscape in front of us. He was vampire, and after listening to battle stories while we nibbled on nutrition bars for breakfast, there was no doubt he’d heard the same thing I did.
We were being followed. I couldn’t determine their numbers, but it was more than two and probably less than ten. With wild shifters, it was impossible to guess their pack structure. Either way, Sergi didn’t order me to stay close or request I take the lead to put himself in between me and the threat. He treated me like an equal. Like the wolf I was.
After another hour, as the sun dipped low, I found him waiting for me at the top of a small ridge.
“We should get rid of them before we find cover.” He glanced behind me, his gaze following the tree line. “I sensed four, maybe five. What do you think?”
I wasn’t surprised he was aware we were being followed or that he might have calculated the number of wolves, but I was pleased he wanted my opinion. Not because I was female but because I was a shifter. “Not more than ten, but I think some are closer than the others. These wild ones don’t follow the same pack structures the rest of us do. They might not have an Alpha, and they will be unpredictable.”
He considered it. “We can’t kill ten, even with my daggers and your wolf. If it’s less, maybe. But sometimes taking down one or two is enough to deter the others.”
“Strike fast when they least expect it and hope we only have to deal with a handful of scouts. Leave them injured so they know we mean them no harm.”
He nodded and jutted his chin toward the road ahead. “I noticed a couple of places we can wait for them.”
I followed him to a thick stand of trees near a pool. When he told me his plan, I laughed. It wasn’t because I thought it foolish. It was because I could picture my uncle doing the same thing, though not in wolf form. Our wolves don’t like to get wet.
I took off my clothes and laid them at the base of a tree, out of sight of anyone approaching. It didn’t surprise me to find Sergi watching me. This wasn’t the first time. A shifter gets used to the naked body at an early age. Packs liked to run together so it was common to shift with others. Yet, when Sergi’s gaze rolled over me, I was quite aware it was a male appraising me. And I liked it.
“What?” I couldn’t help but ask. His expression was unreadable, and I found myself sinking into warm nut-brown eyes lit from behind with a soft red glow.
“It’s not often I see a shifter change into their wolf. It’s an amazing sight.”
“I’ll try not to bite you in the middle of battle.”
The tips of his fangs showed when he flashed a wicked grin. “I’ll try not to confuse you with the other wolves.”
I was still laughing when the wolf came out, and it turned into a yip. The lust for a fight surged through me. Sergi wasn’t an Alpha, but his proximity brought on my shift faster than normal. Maybe it was his beast. My wolf sensed it riding close to the surface. The primal instinct of our other selves preparing to do battle together.
