Page 132 of The Lands Defying
Zahariss, let him be here.
“Rhea?” a voice of disbelief hits me and my head swivels at the sound. “Gods, fuck.” Leo rushes toward me, dropping his bow he must have aimed at us.
“Leo?” My vision turns hazy as I take him in. “What are you doing in here?”
The villagers all scream in fright, huddling closer as Mivera tries to calm them. Leo suddenly stops when the wolf growlssoftly at him, his eyes turning wide. I look past him as Damian comes through the trees.
“Is that—” Damian begins, but Leo cuts him off.
“It is.” Leo’s eyes snap to mine. His head tilts, eyes glazing for a moment. “Get food and water, along with blankets.” He looks behind me at the villagers. “Looks like the Heir of Zahariss brought new guests.” He smiles at me, and I try to smile back but it’s more of a grimace.
“Darius?” The ground suddenly starts to shake, the trees rattling, and it seems like all the air is sucked from around us. The villagers start to cry in panic.
“He’s on his way,” Leo says, looking over me with concern before looking at the others.
“Kade? My pack?” I dare to ask.
Damian eyes me for a moment, but his eyes soften. “They are safe, Rhea. Are you okay?”
I ignore his question as my shoulders slump in relief. “Which way is he,” I whisper, my voice cracking as I look around.
“I think North somewhere, but I don’t know where, he’s never told us,” Leo says, shaking his head and coming closer. “Rhea, where the fuck have you been…Rhea!”
I don’t hear the rest, I’m already moving.
“Go,” I urge the wolf, and he picks up speed as we rush past them. Shouts follow, but I don’t care. “Quickly,” I say, and he growls low as I hang on, my eyes looking around to spot him.
The trees continue trembling, the ground shaking but we don’t stop. We run through dead tree after dead tree.
“Faster, faster,” I urge the wolf more. My need to see him outweighs the danger of falling off.
I don’t care that I can barely breathe.
I don’t care that I’m in so much pain.
I just care about being in his arms.
A tree snaps up ahead, breaking from the force of the ground trembling, then I see a figure I know so well, glowing within the luicium sap.
A whimper spills from my lips.
His power coats him, the black creating a second skin around him and those damn tails are at his back, forming on either side of his shoulders. His eyes meet mine briefly as he comes for me, but I see the emotion in them so vividly.
They are full of fear, concern. Full of relief.
The wolf stops suddenly, jolting me forward so forcefully that I nearly go over his head. He purrs as in an apology, but I’m too focused on what’s in front of me.
I pant as I watch his approach, his hurried steps aiming straight for me, and me alone. A cry slips past my lips, my hands shaking as a single tear falls down my face.
Home.
“Darius,” I croak, and his beautiful green eyes meet mine after looking over my body frantically.
The green of fresh grass sprouting after winter, the green of my dreams that watch over me as I sleep. The green that is my favorite as I reach out a hand and tilt to the side, my grip loosening in the wolf’s fur as I’m unable to hold on any longer.
I can finally,finally,rest now.
“You found me, little wolf.” Large arms wrap around me. The scent of cedarwood. Power. A warm body. The cool touch of his magic. The nuzzle of a wolf. A tingle in my arm. A touch to my forehead.
