Aggie jumped down from my arms, and I reluctantly released her. Now that it was apparent that the wolf wouldn’t murder or mount her on the spot, I could focus on bringing myself under control.
Luka growled, sniffing exaggeratedly around me.
“Right, like you wouldn’t have.”
He put his snout in the air.
“Come on! Let’s run!”
Aggie took off toward the lake, and Luka shot after her without hesitation. She used her magick to fly across the dirt, her feet barely touching the ground as she laughed in pure joy and ecstasy. Her laughter was infectious, and I couldn’t help but be caught up in it. We raced around the edge of the lake, the stars and moon the only witnesses to our supernatural dance.
Aggie easily kept up to us with her magick, and I wondered again if she truly needed us at all. If she ever completed the inheritance ritual, she’d be unstoppable, unbeatable—
A scream hit me, and a moment later I realized it was only playful. Luka had caught up to Aggie and tackled her to the ground. She shrieked with laughter as the wolf licked her face, and I watched him carefully for signs he would lose control. For as concerned as he had been earlier, he hardly seemed like the vicious animal I’d always been told wolves were on the full moon.
“Karl, his fur is so soft!”
I smiled at her obvious joy—she was a happy person like that—then gave her a mock scowl.
“I’m not feeling up the wolf.”
Luka swung his head at me and barked what I supposed passed for a laugh in dog form. Aggie wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled deep into his fur. I rolled my eyes, hoping he didn’t have fleas or other unmentionables. I was not digging ticks out of his skin. Aggie could do that, while I made sure dinner didn’t burn. And then—
I jerked, wondering where this strange, domestic vision had come from. I almost dismissed it, before examining it more closely. Would it be such a bad way to spend one’s life? Or at least her life…
Her laugh brought me back, and I refused to think such morose thoughts while she was here and alive. I would deal with the inevitable later. After all, all humans died, even witches.