Page 124 of The Lands Defying
But another thought seeps in.
“Josh?”I say down the link.“Josh, I’m here.”Nothing. Worry begins to take root within me.
Is he okay? Is Kade okay? I hope that Josh has protected him from Darius. I have no doubt he will blame him for me falling in. But it was my choice to switch places.
Rather I fall than him.
But there is one thing I have learned about Darius when it comes to me; he doesn’t like seeing me upset, and I have to hope he hasn’t touched Kade in risk of him doing just that.
After everything that happened at Wolvorn Castle, he’s done nothing but try and make it all better in the way he is with me, always feeding me, touching me, holding me, giving pleasure to my body I have never known before.
And he has also hurt himself for what he did to me.
Constantly.
A sob builds up in my throat before I blow out slow, even breaths, trying to get myself under control.
I accept his effort to make it better for me.
I accept that I am his and he is mine.
Always his.
It’s what I want, and he’s shown me it’s what he wants in the way only Darius knows how.
Being an asshole about it.
And I want him, now.
It feels like years by the time we reach the shore, the wolf’s panting breaths hitting me over the sound of the smaller waves. As soon as the wolf hits solid ground, his legs fold underneathhim, and aumphreleases from me as I’m knocked off and land face-down on the sand.
I pant, groaning whilst my muscles ache like never before, and I feel like I could sleep until the next moon cycle.
I keep my eyes closed as I catch my breath, uncaring that I have sand all over my naked body as the wolf pants next to me.
The waves crash against my ankles, and the cold wind causes my whole body to shake. Eventually peeling my eyes open, I get a good look at the wolf to make sure he’s okay. His breathing is fast, but he doesn’t seem to be dying or anything.
I gingerly rise on my arms and look around us. It’s night time now, the moon is our only light source and I gaze at it, wondering where everyone is.
Is he looking at the moon too?
Is he feeling this ache in his chest that will only go away once we are together?
I groan as I sit back on my heels, crossing my arms over my chest to stave off the wind but with no luck. I can see no one on the shore, it’s just me and the wolf. But I spot some lights peeking through the trees in the distance.
It must be a village of some kind, a place to get dry and warm.
My teeth continue to chatter as I rise on wobbly legs. The wolf whines next to me before he also gets up and walks toward me, nuzzling my neck. When he pulls back, I look into his eyes and reach out, stroking his head.
“Thank you,” I whisper to him, smiling softly as he tilts his head and I scratch deeper behind his ear. “Let’s get you back to where you belong too, yeah?” He moves forward and puts his wet nose against my neck. I huff out a laugh when Runa perks her tired ears up. “Come on.” I turn, moving toward the lights with him right next to me, slow and steady as his wet fur brushes my sides.
I really take him in now. His head stops above mine, his fur black with no other color apart from the light blue of the crescent moon and his eyes. He has an almost mist-like coating on top of his fur. Like tiny flames coming off him yet I don’t burn when I touch them. Looking back at his tails, I watch as they swish behind him, mesmerized that this is the wolf that saved me all those years ago.
His ears twitch as he looks down at me for a moment before he looks around us, alert. I watch as his paws move on the sand, leaving large prints behind and I wonder for a second if we should cover them up.
I realize though that we don’t have time. Not with my shivering body and his exhausted one.
The trees give us a reprieve from the wind as we stroll through them, though being naked isn’t helping the coldness in my bones. I stop when we reach the tree line and I see a small village. It’s quiet, no one is around at this time of night, but it’s so quiet you would think it was abandoned if it wasn’t for the glow of lights coming from the windows. I turn to the wolf.
