Page 189 of The Lands Defying
I take in the crescent moon on her forehead that mirrors Draxton’s, only hers is black where his is silver.
Fitting isn’t it, how clever the Gods are with their balance.
They knew what they were doing when they created our wolves separately, and then gave them to Rhea and I.
I call my magic back and Runa tenses, her ears lowering, tail tucking between her legs.
I don’t remove my own stare from her as I let her see the pride in my gaze, the wonder that she is finally here.
“Runa,” I say, dipping my head as Drax tries to force himself out of me.
Not yet. You have to wait, or you will scare her.
Runa whines, the fear evident in her eyes and I loathe it. So much like her keeper’s at one time, and I won’t allow it.
I spread my hands out in front of me slowly and then crouch down so I’m below her.
“I won’t hurt you.” And I won’t. I hate that I need to tell her this, to reassure her, but after everything that has happened to her, and then what I did to Rhea…I don’t blame her.
Runa backs up on unsteady legs, tripping over herself and I rise, an instinct to go and help her, but she yelps at my advance, snapping her jaws at me and I pause once again.
“It’s okay, just take your time.” I don’t think I have ever sounded so gentle in my life, maybe when my baby sister was born, but I need to try before she does something like bolt.
The forest doesn’t pose a lot of danger, but she may hurt herself, or get caught up in the river.
Her eyes dart around, tail tucked tighter and I take in a measured breath.
“I will let Drax out soon, but he’s eager, too eager, and he will just barrel you over in excitement.” Her ears perk a little. “We need you steady, okay? You need to at least be able to stand so you can bite the fucker when he gets to be too much.” Drax huffs within me, turning his head away as he sits down.
He can’t deny my words, he knows that’s exactly what he will do.
Runa eyes me for a moment, then she moves a little, just side to side, then back a step to get her legs where she wants them to be.
“That’s it, good girl,” I praise, letting her know how well she’s doing.
She shakes her fur out again before sniffing the ground, taking in all the scents while still keeping her eyes on me.
The snow falls a little heavier now, our every breath can be seen, but she doesn’t seem to care as she gets a light dusting of snow up her nose.
I smile at her, holding in a chuckle as she goes to a nearby bush , taking a bite from a leaf. She immediately tries to spit it out, her tongue wiggling as the leaf gets stuck on it.
She snaps her head my way suddenly, seemingly forgetting I was there in her curiosity.
I must have let loose that chuckle as she pauses again, tongue out with that leaf stuck there, and her eyes locked with mine.
I watch with a smile still on my face, one that I can’t seem to hide, and I realize, I don’t want to. So I grin wider as she eventually gets the leaf off of her tongue.
She lowers her head, sniffing the ground again and letting her nose lead her. I follow her around trees and past boulders as she takes it all in, letting her sate her curiosity.
She hasn’t been out in so long, I want her to take everything in, get used to her legs. Explore and chase after the little squirrel that was climbing a tree.
I have to hold in a laugh as she barks and growls up at it.
As the hours pass, I eventually take a small step toward her when she stops by what she has deemed to be a suspicious twig. She bares her teeth at me when she notices, all the while I never lose my grin.
All this time I have kept a distance, making sure she’s okay while she makes sure I’m far enough away, but now I need to push a little.
“You will need those for our enemies, wolf, but not for me,” I say to her sharp teeth. I ignore her warning growls as she backs up, her legs working far better than the first time, but I keep moving toward her slowly.
