Page 31 of To Free a Soul
“Fiiine.” She pointed at him again. “Orpheus is Mavka. Orpheus is your new name.”
“Orfeee... us?”He tilted his head yet again.
“Not Fur Rear. Orpheus.” Then, as if she thought it would help her situation, she leaned closer and placed her hand over his chest. “Your name is Orpheus.”
He nodded.“Orfeeeus.”Then he pointed to his chest while repeating the word as if to commit it to memory.“Katareka name Orfeeeus.”
Weldir’s mist vibrated with humour at the way he said his new name, and he turned to Lindiwe to share in that with her. It stopped the moment he found her looking off into thenothingness with an angry furrow to her brows and her lips hardened into thin lines.
“Something has upset you.”
Her fists clenched tighter until the skin across her knuckles was taut. “A little.”
“Why? She has given him a new name. I would think this is a good sign.”
“Because it’s not his name. This is the third child who has renamed themselves. I’ve always hoped they would one day learn their names, and right as he was beginning to do so, she takes it from me, from him. It’s just... it’s not fair.”
I see. I hadn’t thought about how carefully she picks their names, often with meaning behind them.
Seeing his mate in need of consoling, he reached across while forcing the physical parts of him to his right hand. He lifted her chin and turned her face to him, gentle and coaxing.
“Fenrir has a new name, but we know what it originally was, what it meant. That is all that matters. He is still our wolf-skulled offspring, and now he has a new name to go with all that hope you have. It is a name for a new beginning.”
Not that Weldir believed her faith was well placed.
Lindiwe’s expression relaxed as she blinked up at him. Her full lips parted, and she held his gaze longer than he thought she would. She didn’t pull away, didn’t groan in dismay or glare. Actually, from what he could gather, she appeared a little dumbfounded by his words and actions.
A wounded smile lifted her lips. “I guess that’s true.”
She only pulled away to look into the disc when Katerina spoke.
“Okay, Orpheus. Now...” She rolled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “Take me home. I want to leave.”
“Stay, Katareka. No safe.”
Katerina threw up her arms. “I want to go home!”
Orpheus snapped his fangs with a growl at her loud exclamation. She gasped, her eyes widening, and then audibly swallowed.
“Okay.” She pulled one of her satchels to her chest protectively. “I’ll stay. J-just don’t hurt me.”
Orpheus gave a pleased, wolfy chuff before reaching forward. Katerina attempted to duck her feet away, but she could only scooch them so far against her backside. He gingerly grabbed her foot, as if he wanted to be careful, only to yank it too far and high, making her slide down the wall and onto the ground.
Kicking to no avail, Katerina twisted and tried to pull away as Orpheus grabbed the toe next to her big toe and wiggled it. He played with all of them curiously, and even when she laughed because he tickled her with a stray claw, she looked nothing but panicked.
His touch was inquisitive, even when he pulled her skirt in the air to look underneath it, finding a pair of white shorts, and nothing of interest. He moved onto her hands, playing with her fingers like her toes. Each time she pulled against his hold and whined about it, telling him to let go.
Yet when he grabbed her hair to sniff it, she let out a cry, and he immediately backed off with his orbs flashing orange. He lowered submissively, realising he’d hurt her when that hadn’t been his intention. Shaking, the female backed against the wall again and shoved her skirt down until it hid her feet. She brought her three bags closer to shield herself, and he tilted his head at her.
Then he tentatively inched forward. When she didn’t openly reject his approach, although Weldir knew by her expression that she was wary, he curled up at her feet with his back almost on top of them. She pulled her feet out from underneath him swiftly and wrapped her arms around her knees. He wasblocking an easy path to the exit, and Weldir was unsure if he did it on purpose or not.
Perhaps he just wanted to show her he was safe – although that absolutely wasn’t true.
“I want to help them,” Lindiwe whispered, her eyes unmoving from the pair. “There must be something we can do. Something to keep her safe. I... understand why she’s so nervous, but hopefully he gains her trust.”
“What do you suggest?”
Uncertain, she absentmindedly picked at the side of her thumb again. “I’m not sure. I could give them some blessed salt to stop the Demons from entering his home, but I don’t know if that will suffice. If it rains, it’ll wash away the protection.”
