Page 22 of The Witch's Fate
“All right.” I try not to let the relief I can’t explain show on my face. “Perhaps once the rain has cleared…if not I will find my way back alone.”
“That’s not an option, Ryker. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”
My jaw clenches and I don’t immediately respond. I’m aware of the danger but I cannot stay here forever.
“Is there a chance this could be the witch’s doing?” Jorge asks, his eyes distant, like he has been thinking this problem over all night, just as I have.
“I don’t think so,” I answer.
“No?”
“Not at all. She doesn’t want me here.” My wolf aches at the thought, curling up around a wounded spot in the center of him, as if he had actually been clawed open or cut with a weapon of sharpened steel. The tightness in my chest is shocking. I add, ignoring the wave of emotion, “She attempted to make a portal last night. Without success.”
Jorge ruffles a hand through his hair and looks past the crystal. I wonder what he sees on the other side, and would ask if I didn’t know this expression to mean he is thinking over the plan going forward.
“Perhaps,” he muses, after a minute. “It’s necessary to give fate time to heal whatever ails the territory. The storm may be a cloak itself. Let us let it pass.” His eyes meet mine in the reflection of the crystal, though his image wavers a little, as if it is caught in a strong wind. “If the trouble does not wane, we will come to you one way or another.”
I don’t expect to feel another wave of relief at Jorge’s words, but I do. Comfort at the thought of being alone with Idalis. My curious little witch. My gaze drops slightly at the thought.
My little witch who doesn’t wish to spend more time with me. If she could have, she would have sent me through a portal of her own making last night.
“But the wedding,” Jorge continues, and a growl catches in my throat. Thewedding. I had intended to trade my service in gathering the florals in exchange for being excused fromattending the ceremony. “You cannot miss it. We will recover you before then.”
I nod in understanding. “Yes, sir. I’ll stay here until it is safe to leave,” I tell Jorge firmly, as if I am agreeing with him, and end the call as soon as he nods at me so that we cannot discuss the wedding anymore.
As his face fades away, the breeze carries a heady floral scent to me, and my body hums with a new awareness of Idalis.
She’s behind me.
I gather the crystals in my hands first, then turn to face her. My shoulders straight and at attention.
“My commander wishes for me to stay here,” I repeat, because I think she has been listening for a minute or two. “So long, of course, as you will have me.” I swallow thickly as I catch sight of her. My breath leaves me. She is a vision with an umbrella held above her and the rain falling gently around her.
Idalis watches me, the hem of her dress moving in the breeze. Then her stormy eyes lift from my face to the skies, which are beginning to clear, the clouds slowly rolling up into a bundle somewhere out of sight. I find myself wishing it wouldn’t go. I’d prefer to stay here for as long as she’ll have me. However she’d like me, in fact.
Again desire forces me to stifle a groan. This is a need like I’ve never felt before. It didn’t only overwhelm me this morning, when the scent of her sent me running to the bathing room to fist my own cock. The urge is back, and stronger than ever.
I exhale through my nose and scan the open land around us. The mud is on its way to drying, but it will be some time before it is back to how it was before the rain came.
“The moon is nearly full,” Idalis mentions, her full lips staying parted at the last word, tempting me, her eyes returning to mine. “Do you have control of your wolf?”
Your wolf.The manner in which she speaks is haunting in a beautiful way.
“Of course.” This is true, for the moment, but my wolf pushes against me from the inside, desperate for control. He wants to have free rein over the body we share and the ability to get closer to Idalis. To nip at her and discover her submissive side. I long for such things as well. To have her writhing under me in complete submission.
She narrows her eyes, peering up at me through thick lashes, and even her mild suspicion makes my cock jerk with desire. Yes, of course, I would rather have her look at me with the same want I feel, but the way shedoubtsme and my wolf?—
It’s almost playful with curiosity. It’s almost as if she knows me well enough to know that my wolf is a hunter. Though I keep him in check, I’m also extremely sensitive to his wishes.
It seems like she may say something but stops herself yet again before changing the subject. “Did you sleep last night? Even for a short time?”
“No. But neither did you.”
Idalis lifts her chin with a soft sound of indignation, then begins to stroll to the cottage. She peers over her shoulder as if to tell me to follow. Like I'm some sort of puppy she can command to follow. It’s fucking intoxicating how she toys with me. Puppy or not, she’s aware I’ll follow. It is not far at all, but she takes her time with it. I slip my crystals into my pocket and fall into step beside her. During our short journey, the wind blows warmly through my hair and the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, bathing the grass in light and making the raindrops that still cling to it glisten.
I can imagine how it would be to live here. The land surrounding this cottage is quiet and peaceful, unless there is a heavy rainstorm, and even then, there is shelter and warmth anda gorgeous witch. I wouldn’t mind spending hours walking by her side. Following her as she wishes.
She opens the door to the cottage and steps inside. My eyes take some time to adjust to the changed light. At first, the cottage seems dim—almost dark—but finally I can see that it is not. The sun shines in through the windows whenever the clouds let it through.
