Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
A faint thread of anger appeared as she judged my life, my chosen home.
“Why would I want to live with mortals when I can live with wolves?” I asked stiffly, squeezing her fingers before pulling away. “I don’t wish to live with a clan who takes what isn’t theirs.”
She winced. “What Aktor and Kivva did was wrong. But they’re just two people. The rest are—”
“Not my family. And they’re not yours, either.” I arched my chin. “I could be your family. This pack could be your family. You don’t need a name or to prove you’re one of us to be accepted.”
She glanced away. Her silence was heavy before she said quietly, “It’s not my intention to seem ungrateful.” Her gaze met mine. “I am. I’m so grateful that you found me and kept me safe while I walked in whatever world I visited. I’m grateful to you for saving me from Aktor, and I’m grateful that you understand what it’s like to have no memories. But you have to understand...Solin has been good to me. Niya and Hyath. Tiptu and Tral. They’re all good people, and I can’t just vanish without telling them I’m okay.”
My tongue burned with arguments, but I swallowed them down and forced myself to nod. If I kept her here against her will, that made me no different from Aktor. Regardless that my heart raged at the idea of letting her go, I refused to be like him.
Raking my hands through my hair, I backed away, putting space between us, preparing myself for the pain of separation. “I’ll take you back.”
“You will?” Her eyes lit up. “Now?”
I would give her up if that was what she wanted, but not yet. I would be selfish, just for a little while. “No.” I dropped my arms, my stomach growling for food. “It’s a long walk back, and I’m hungry. I’m sure you are too.”
Her touch flew to her bare belly as if she hadn’t considered how her mortal form felt after walking in a spirit realm. “Yes. Now that you mention it, I’m starving.”
“Good.” Moving toward the treeline, where the faint smell of blood indicated the wolves had been successful on their hunt, I beckoned her to join me. “Let’s eat. Once we’ve eaten our fill, we’ll drink, swim, and rest. Tomorrow, when the sun rises, I’ll take you back. You have my word.”
She nodded and padded after me. “Thank you...um...” Slipping beside me, she smiled tentatively. “I-I don’t know what to call you. If we’re spending the day and night together, I would like to call you something other than stranger.”
“Stranger?” My lips stretched into a grin. “Is that how you think of me?” I brushed her knuckles with mine as we walked into the tree’s shadows. “I’ve always thought of you as home.”
Her feet slowed. She didn’t speak.
I stole a glance at her.
Our eyes locked.
And the faintest curl of darkened shades siphoned from my ankles.
Dropping her stare, she studied the lazy, silvery shadows. “You said you don’t know how you summon them...only that intense feelings do.”
“I did.”
“What...” She licked her lips. “What intense feelings are you having now?”
I ducked beneath a low branch, keeping my voice controlled. “I don’t think you want an answer to that question.”
She studied me for the longest moment, her eyes boring into my back. I didn’t turn. I didn’t speak. I waited for her to decide if she would rather I be truthful or lie. I’d agreed to return her. For the short time I had her, I wouldn’t hold anything back.
My ears twitched as she finally rushed to catch up. Her feet found every twig, and her arms brushed aside every leaf. She wasn’t quiet or sleek like the wolves. She wasn’t in tune with the world around us because she’d been living with mortals who drowned out nature with their constant noise. But she was agile and swift, and the deeper into the forest we walked, the more her shoulders lost their pinched worry, and her face slackened into peace. She was muddy and naked, yet for the first time since we’d met, she flickered with the truth of who she really was.
Bees buzzed from a branch-hanging hive, flying on delicate wings to zip around her as we walked over rain-squelchy bracken.
For a time, she just watched the dancing bees.
We kept moving as they kept us company.
But slowly, as if they cast a spell with their darting, swirling flight, she came to a stop and sighed, holding out her hand. She moved slowly, warily, as if her decision to reach out wasn’t entirely hers.
The black-and-yellow fuzzy insects descended onto her outstretched palm, pulsing and singing their buzzy song. Five landed in her hand and, with fluid movements as if she belonged to a river instead of a flame, she brought the bees to her lips and kissed their translucent wings.