Page 54 of The Lands Defying
I dig my short nails into the top of his hand. “We need to get Kade and the pack back. You will not die on me now, and you will not die on me before you give me a niece or nephew.”
He’s always wanted a family, he just had to find the right one. No matter how the pack wanted him during their heat, and sometimes after, Josh wanted a connection with someone, and now he has.
A smile crosses his face and he pulls me close, leaning his forehead against mine.
We both ignore the menacing growl behind me.
“I don’t think you’re getting rid of your own babysitter anytime soon,” he whispers, a small chuckle escaping him as I’m grabbed and hauled into a hard, muscular body.
“Not in this life or the next,” Darius grunts, his voice low as his grip tightens on me.
I turn in his arms, looking up into my favorite green eyes that he doesn’t know.
I go on my tippy toes and rub my nose against his as he freezes, his eyes wary, yet slightly dilated at my small show of affection I have given him.
Maybe he is right about me having all the power.
“If you want to keep your balls Dar, I would let up on babysitting duty.” The male is always on me like green on grass, more so than ever lately.
He raises a brow and tilts his head. “You touching my balls? I fail to see how that is a bad thing?” His gaze drops to my lips.“You also know what will happen if you don’t listen and go off on your own.”
My body heats as I remember how Darius teased me until I was boneless after he carried me off into his room, after he caught me in the woods. He wouldn’t stop until I gave him what he wanted, which was for me to follow his orders by staying close by his side.
I argued I was quite capable of looking after myself…to no avail.
I huff, and go to move back, but his lips are against mine in a quick, hard kiss. I’m a little dazed as he pulls back and he takes my hand, dragging me behind him as we take the narrow path between the mountains.
Dark, gray stone encases us on either side, and the dullness of it all starts creeping in. The light fades a little, and it feels like I’m closed-in all of a sudden.
I grip Darius’s armor at the back beneath his cloak, the leather creaking as I tighten my fingers against it. I do not do well in small spaces.
He squeezes my hand and draws me closer to his back, a tendril of power wrapping around my wrist.
Around my pulse I realize.
“You’re good, Rhea, look up and see it’s open,”Josh says through the link, and I do, happy to see the blue, cloudy sky and also wondering why Darius didn’t cut Josh off.
I breathe a little easier as I focus on the open space above me, trusting Darius to get us where we need to be. It’s much colder in between the mountains, the base not getting much sun. I shiver a little, thankful for the thick, leather armor I’m wearing and the fur-hooded cloak for extra protection. I’m not sure if we will be able to make a fire when we stop, but I’ll steal body heat if I have to. Even if it’s from Zaide.
The thought makes me chuckle, and Darius looks at me from over his shoulder.
“Do you think Zaide’s into cuddling?” I ask quietly, and he grunts, baring his teeth.
“There will be no cuddling,” he growls.
“But—”
“No, now hush.”
And hush, I do.
But not because he told me to. No. Because we have just exited the narrow pathway and are looking at an open canyon going far back until it hits the large mountains on the other side. Tall, spindly rocks are placed around erratically, and natural formations of stone are everywhere in an upside down semi-circle.
An eerie feeling washes over me at how deserted it all looks, yet so full of rock and stone. The gray color makes everything feel lifeless, even though the sky is blue. There is no sound here, no animals can be heard, no water trickling.
I move my gaze to the far right and spot smoke in the distance, curling up toward the sky. “That’s not natural, is it?” I asked the group aloud, their gaze also on the white floating upward. I may not have ever been in here, but I know this isn’t a regular thing.
“No, little wolf.” Darius says, clutching my hand tighter and pulling me to him. “It isn’t natural at all. Someone has a fire going.”
