Page 126 of A Luna's Dynasty
“Promise me this, then.” Asher looked at Lita, then glanced up at the mirror to see Grayson and Caspian. “If I run, you run. Will you agree to stick with me, no matter what? Even if it means hiding or running away while others are fighting?” He heard her breath hitch as she bit her bottom lip.
Lita didn’t like the idea. In fact, she hated it. But if Asher agreed to run, then she would, too. She would follow her mate’s lead. “I’ll stay with you, Asher.” She tried to see what he was thinking, but his mind was blank. Whatever it was, he was purposely blocking it from his mind so she wouldn’t know. She leaned into his body, feeling his arm grip her tightly. It was weird. She felt more energized in his embrace. It was probably because he helped ease her nerves. She felt the heat of his breath and his soft kisses brushing the top of her head. She smiled internally. At first, he was like a drug. Now, he was like her caffeine fix, calming her nerves and giving her energy. She blinked as she realized the vehicle had come to a stop.
She sat up and looked around them. There was a wall of trees in front of the truck, and behind that, she could see some movement. Grayson smirked as he turned to look at them. “This is as far as the vehicles can go. Time to walk.”
“Are we expecting company?” Lita asked as she peered into the thick trees.
“Yep. I’m not taking you on a trip like this without extra insurance.” Grayson smiled as he stepped out of his truck.
Lita turned to Asher, who only shrugged. He didn’t know either. Asher hopped out of the truck and turned to grab Lita. He swung his arm around her waist and gently lowered her out of the vehicle. Caden, Rosa, and the other wolves from their pack walked up to them and stared out toward the woods. After a few moments, a group of ten men came forward. Lita recognized some of them. They were warriors from the Cedar Pack. Then, what she saw next made her gasp in shock. Eight centaurs came up to them, and one of them was Brad.
Lita turned and looked at Grayson, who shrugged. “I feel better making this trip having some extra muscle.” Lita smiled warmly as Brad came closer.
“Thanks for coming.” Lita grinned up at him and he smiled back down at her.
“Are you kidding? I’ve missed you. This gave me the perfect excuse to see you again. Plus, as a bonus, the potential promise of fighting demons sounds like the perfect win. How have you been? You being treated well?” Brad asked, looking at Asher.
“Very well.” She leaned into Asher. Maybe this trip would be fun. It gave them all time to nurture their new friendship. An alliance with werewolves and centaurs would be the first of its kind. Hopefully she and Asher could continue to be that bridge.
“How about you? How does it feel being the future king of Elysia?” Brad grinned widely as he looked at Asher. All of those connected to the fairies knew of the alpha prince. He might have been one of many alphas, but he was the only one who was the prince of the fairies.
“If I can just master all these new powers, I’ll be good. I’m still having trouble discovering them, even though I can feel them.”
“Give it time, young prince. Some of those skills get released with age. Others get discovered in the moment. You’ll learnthem soon. I see you have a couple of bags? Carter and Crater will carry them for you.” Brad motioned to two of his men, who quickly packed the bags on their backs.
“Well, let’s not just stand here like motionless targets. Let’s get going,” Grayson ordered, appointing himself as the leader of the expedition.
“We have a nice trail that leads to a clear encampment that we can use for the first trek of our journey. It’s well used by centaurs.” Brad pointed in the distance behind the wall of trees.
“Perfect.” Grayson motioned for Brad to lead the way.
Lita walked in the middle of the group with Rosa. Asher and Grayson were near the front with Brad while Caspian and Caden were walking just ahead of the girls. They had been traveling by foot for a couple of hours. Centaurs in the front and werewolves in the back, with Lita sandwiched between them. She didn’t mind, though. She was happily chatting away with Rosa. They were talking about their likes and dislikes. Rosa voiced her distaste for scary movies, and Lita felt like she had a comrade in battle. Finally. Maybe with Rosa around, they could tip the scale of power in their favor.
The world suddenly tilted, and the ground looked warped in front of her. A brief wave of exhaustion flowed through her. She took a deep breath and tried to push it back. She couldn’t be tired. She used to run for hours without getting winded. She stumbled a few steps forward and Caspian immediately caught her.
“Are you okay, Lita?” Caspian looked her over with concern in his eyes.
Lita forced a giggle. “I just managed to trip over air. No big deal,” she lied, straightening herself up from his arms and continuing to walk, couldn’t think about it. She couldn’t analyze it, because it would alert Asher. She had to ignore it. She had to focus her mind on traveling and force her head to think of everything and anything else. But no matter how hard she tried to force it, a wave of dizziness seized her again. This time, everything went black.
Chapter 75
The sun stabbed at Lita’s closed eyelids, and she winced as she tried to get her bearings. What had just happened? She could feel Asher’s concern as the muffled voices around herbecame clearer. She cracked her eyes open. She was lying on the ground in Asher’s arms, his gray eyes filled with worry. She was surrounded by people who had formed an apprehensive circle around her.Well, this was embarrassing.She sat up slowly, with Asher’s assistance, still leaning against him. She felt his mouth at the nape of her neck as he nuzzled his nose into it.
“Baby, are you alright?”
Asher’s hot breath tickled her skin. She felt little sparks as his lips brushed against her neck, little energizing shots filling her up. Okay, that was weird. She felt fine again. She wasn’t dizzy, wasn’t fatigued. In fact, she felt completely back to normal.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling dizzy?” Asher asked in exasperation.
Shit, that annoying soulmate link.Lita sighed, tilting her head to look at him. “It was only briefly, and it went away. It’s already gone. I probably just need to drink some water. Maybe I’m a bit dehydrated.”
Asher eyed her suspiciously, trying to search for more in her mind. She was keeping it blank. Yep. She was hiding something.Baby, are you okay? Please, talk to me.
Honestly, I feel fine now.She hoisted herself to her feet while Asher helped guide her from behind. “I feel fine, everyone. Please don’t worry.” Lita looked at the concerned faces and gave them a reassuring smile. She gave herself a once-over. It didn’t seem like she fell. “Did I hit the ground?”
“I caught you. Well, I managed to delay it enough for Caden and Caspian to officially catch you.” Rosa grinned and leaned into Caden, who wrapped his arms around her.
“Thank you. Okay, let’s get going. We’ve wasted enough time.” Lita watched the nervous glances around her.
