Page 78 of The Lands Defying
It’s completely solid, no one being able to see us but I leave an opening at the top for smoke to escape through.
The fire will keep us warm tonight. I would rather we didn’t risk drawing any attention to ourselves, but our body heat won’t suffice.
I feel a tingle and look to my right, watching as Rhea strokes her fingers down my barrier.
Unable to resist any longer, not that I would want to, I move toward her, watching as her eyes stay on mine.
Josh moves to the other members of his pack, and I grab Rhea by the waist and lay her down next to me, encasing her body as much as I can with mine.
The others settle down for the long night, keeping close to the fire as Rhea and I just watch each other.
The things I would do to keep her eyes on mine…
“Healing?” I ask, keeping my voice low so it feels like it’s only us here.
If this is something she can do, she can heal herself if she were ever to be injured.
She nods, raising a hand and placing it on my chest. The contact has that purr softly releasing from me.
“It seems so,” she says, and I notice how tired she looks. “It was a surprise, but it just felt like I needed to do it with that child. It was a calling I could have never refused.”
I nod. “Then don’t refuse it, but if it puts you in danger, I will remove you from it.”
She huffs out a laugh, but then yawns. “Ever the protector.”
She will one day understand my need to keep her safe.
When she is one with her wolf, she will feel the connection fully between us, feel the way I crave her all the time.
I can’t wait for that day where she will be fully mine.
As soon as we are done in The Drylands, I’m getting her wolf out and we will stand under the moonlight.
Like we were always meant to be.
“Sleep, little wolf, rest up.”
She hums, snuggling closer to my chest, into the safety of my arms and my purr gets a little louder in satisfaction as both of our wolves greet each other.
I inhale her, wanting to bathe in her scent as she slowly drifts off to sleep.
Trusting me.
I know then that there is nothing I wouldn’t do. No one I wouldn’t kill, and nothing I wouldn’t remove if she was ever taken from me.
I pull her even closer, closing my eyes as I hold the most important thing in my arms.
Twenty Three
Rhea
Walking and barely sleeping for three days really strains the body, especially when it’s been over a week since we entered The Drylands.
The mood is tense between us, like a thick cloud among our small group, even though we have been as normal as ever with each other.
But we are full of aches, pains, and frustration. We are all exhausted, barely resting as the land continues to change, making it hard to rest for a long period.
Making it harder for my magic to recover.
