by Aileen Erin
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Better buckle up. The road there is pretty rough.”
“Got it.” I clicked my seat belt and then rested my hands on my thighs as he started driving. About a minute onto the road, his hand settled over mine.
I peeked over at him, and he grinned. I couldn’t keep looking at him without breaking into a fit of embarrassing giggles, so I kept staring out the window while I laced our fingers together.
It was nearly unbelievable. I’d somehow found my match in the middle of all this craziness.
***
When Lucas finally stopped the car, all I could see was dense foliage. The ride up the mountain had been so bad that I’d squeezed my eyes shut. My heart had been pounding so hard for so long, I felt like I’d already had a workout.
I took a look around. What little bit of road was in front of us abruptly ended and a large tree with gnarled roots stood in the way of the car. We weren’t at the top of the mountain, but we were close. To the right, I could see the valley below us. Off in the distance, a small town. But ahead of us and to the left there was nothing but forest.
“Come on. We walk from here.” Lucas grinned at me, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Lucas shoved his door into the dirt wall next to the van.
One smile, and I was mush. This was pathetic.
Laughing at my own ridiculousness, I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my door. My foot was outside before I realized there was nothing below but air.
Lucas jerked me back into the car. “Whoa. Not that way. You have to climb over to this side.”
My heartbeat throbbed in my ears. “Right.” I panted. I’d almost died. Holy shit. I’d nearly just fallen down the side of the mountain. “Not that way. Of course. Not that way.”
He cupped my cheeks in his hands. I stared into his dark eyes as his aura flowed over me. It was beautiful—bright and pure, like a sunny day. He was so strong. So kind. Being with him was like being surrounded by sunlight. I never wanted the touch to end. “Deep breath.”
I followed his order and took a shuddering inhale.
“Good.” He let out a long breath, too. “You’re doing fine. Just watch where you’re going. I’m not as young as I look, remember? You almost gave me a heart attack.”
I nodded. “Right. I’ll be more careful.” He really was making me lose my concentration. One smile and I almost fell off a mountain.
***
We spent the next few hours huffing it up the mountain. Or at least I was huffing. Lucas made carrying two packs look easy. If he didn’t have a leg up from being a wolf, I would’ve felt bad. But as it was, I didn’t. Even with the two packs, he was slowing down for me.
“Let’s take a break.”
“A break?”
“Yes.” He kicked a log, and stared at it for a second.
What on earth…
“Sit there.”
I followed his command before I knew what I was doing, and boy did sitting feel good. I hadn’t realized how tired I was already.
Lucas set down the packs and dug around in his. “Here you go.”
He handed me a plastic bag filled with some sort of jerky. “What is it?” After yesterday with the guinea pigs, I needed to know exactly what I was eating.
“Beef jerky.”
Thank goodness. I took a piece and chewed. “How much farther do you think?”
“We’ll get to the mine right before the sun sets.”
I nearly choked. My feet were already killing me, and it was just past midday.
“That’s why it’s important to take breaks. I don’t want to have to carry you back to the car.”
I thought he was joking until I saw his face. “Could you?”
“What? Carry you back? Yes.” He handed me a water bottle. “With the packs, it’d be cumbersome. But yes.”
That was pretty damned impressive. I knew my pack weighed at least fifty pounds. His was just as big, if not bigger. And then add me? “How much can you carry?”
“Let’s just say a lot.”
I laughed. “Well, all the same, I think I’m going to be fine.”
“Of course you are. You just need a little bit of time to heal up.” He paused. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
I looked up at him, shielding the sun with my hand. “What?”
“After all this is over, what do you want to do? What are your plans?”
I knew what he was getting at. He wanted more from me. He wanted there to be an us. So, it made sense that he’d ask. But I didn’t have a great answer for him. “I don’t really know. I’ve been stuck on the compound for so long…” I stood up, bushing off the back of my pants. “I always dreamed that if I left, that I’d go to college. Travel as much as I could.” I shrugged. “And maybe go to some concerts.”
“Concerts, huh?” He took the water bottle back from me. “What kind?”
“Symphonies for sure. But besides classical, I’m not sure. I guess I’ll see whatever comes into the town where I end up.”
He took a long drink before picking up the packs. “And what do you want to study?”
What didn’t I want to study? “Everything.”
“Everything?” He bumped his shoulder into mine. “That’s ambitious.”
“I guess. I just want to know more. See more. I feel like my life has been so contained. So limited and controlled. I know I might not get to everything I want, but I figure if I shoot for the stars, I might just land on the moon.”
“College and travel then.”
“Yeah.” I hoped that wasn’t a bad thing. If he was Alpha, that meant he’d have to stick around here. Would I also be stuck here if I was with him? It wasn’t that I didn’t like Peru, but I’d been so confined—especially the last few years—that being tied anywhere wasn’t in the least bit appealing.
Could I really give up my dreams for a guy?
I wasn’t sure that I could. I’d given everything up for everyone in my life. I’d blackened my soul and was still paying the price to make up for that. Now that I finally had hope on the horizon, I couldn’t just abandon my plans to be mated with some pack Alpha.
Even if that Alpha was Mr. July.
“A thirst for knowledge is never a bad thing,” he said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Neither is travel. It tells me that you’re wise.”
I hoped when he found out that I wasn’t keen on giving either up, he’d still be supportive. Otherwise…
I made a face, trying to break myself out of my suddenly gloomy thoughts. “I’m not wise. I barely know anything besides what the coven taught me.”
“Which was…”
I sighed. “Nothing good.”
“That’s not true. You helped your brother with magic.” He moved a branch out of the way, and motioned me past.
“If I hadn’t learned about my magic, then Luciana wouldn’t have been able to use it. And Raphael wouldn’t have needed my help in the first place. So, nothing good.” Fathers Valentine and Albert came to my mind. “It seems like the people practicing black magic outweigh the ones practicing white by an impossible amount.”
He grunted. “No. I don’t believe that at all.”
I stopped walking for a second. “You don’t?”
“No. I think you’ve seen far too much evil for someone your age. It’s set an impression on you, but you have to separate yourself from it. Your magic is strong and good. You just need to let yourself shine.” He reached for my hand. “Aim for the stars, Claudia. If anyone can reach them, it’s you.”
***
The sun was setting over the mountain, spreading a mixture of oranges and pinks across the sky. It looked as if the clouds were on fire.
Lucas stopped in a clearing, and set down the backpacks. “We’ll set up camp here for the night. The mine is just a couple hours away.”
I wrung my hands together. “We’re so close and we’re going to stop?”
“It’ll get dark fast. If you twist your ankl
e on the way, then I really will have to carry you back to the car.” He pulled a tent out of his pack. He gave the fabric a shake and it popped up, almost on its own. “We’re going as fast as we can. You told Raphael to hang in, and he will. But if you ended up hurt again and we couldn’t complete the journey, he’d be in trouble.”
Lucas was right, but that didn’t help. I rolled my shoulders, trying to release the tension in my back. Being so close yet not actually there was frustrating. I wanted to get there.
I tapped my fingers against my leg as I contemplated going on without Lucas. He’d catch up, eventually.
“You’re making me nervous with all that tapping.”
I sighed. Realistically, I couldn’t go anywhere without him. I’d probably just get lost.
I sat down on the dirt as Lucas built a fire. He set rocks around the perimeter so the flames wouldn’t spread, and then placed some dried leaves under a teepee of sticks. I laughed when he got out a lighter.
He glanced over at me, his eyebrows raised high. “You thought I was going to rub two sticks together?”
I winced. “Kind of. I mean, the way you were going about it—” I waved to the fire. “It seemed like two sticks was the next logical step.”
He chuckled. “No. I abandoned that method a long time ago. This is much faster.” When he was done, he went back to his pack. “I didn’t bring anything to cook for dinner, but I did manage this.” He tossed a small plastic bag.
I somehow managed to catch it. “Marshmallows?”
“I heard Americans really love them for camping.”
“Not that I’ve done much camping, but you heard right.” I set the bag down. “So, a healthy dinner of beef jerky and marshmallows. Is that enough for you?”
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about me. I can go wolf and hunt my own food.”
My mouth dropped open. “You’d eat it raw? Something furry?”
“Yup. My wolf doesn’t mind too much.”
I shuddered. “Yuck.”
“You might like a furry, newly killed animal.”
I full on gagged. “Nope. Not going to happen.”
“Don’t knock it til—”
Suddenly Lucas and the campfire disappeared.
All I saw instead was the darkening forest. A massive tree stood in front of me, with a large knot in its center.
“Luc—” Before I could get out the words, hands with thin, cold fingers wrapped around my throat.
“Careful little one,” a deep voice said as the hands tightened just enough to terrify me. “Mustn’t move. Mustn’t speak. Or Gobble will take care of you.”
I froze as I realized what had happened.
This was a fey.
I’d been kidnapped by the fey.
Chapter Eighteen
A wolf howled in the distance, and I hoped that meant that Lucas would be here soon. If that was Lucas at all…
Please be Lucas.
The hands released me and I collapsed to the ground. I whirled to face the thing as I tried to catch my breath.
In the fading light, I could see the creature’s face—long and narrow with a pointy chin and thin lips. It stared with big, round eyes the lightest shade of blue I’d ever seen. The silver hair that fell in curls to its chin was tucked behind slightly pointed ears. His tall blue and green wings rippled behind him.
His aura was like a sapphire, glittering with silver speckles. Not quite as pretty as Cosette’s, but still beautiful.
“Little you looks tasty,” he said, flashing sharp fangs.
I scrabbled backward on the leaves, trying to put some distance between us.
Please don’t let him mean that literally. Maybe he meant tasty in that I was nice.
That was a possibility, wasn’t it?
The wolf howled again, this time closer, but I didn’t dare turn toward the sound.
He wore only a tattered loincloth. If he’d have been tiny—mouse-sized—I would’ve thought he was just a creepy little fairy.
No such luck. He was big. Lanky. Tall. He wasn’t thick with muscle, but he was completely lean. My throat throbbed where he’d grabbed me.
He crouched in front of me, bringing his face close to mine. I didn’t dare move out of fear that he’d strike out. Instead, I waited and watched. Hoping I could get cast a defensive spell faster than he could attack.
“What brings such a tasty treat to these parts?”
Oh God. He really did mean to eat me.
I swallowed. “I’m looking for white mages—”
“None in these parts. Not for a long time. Just underhill.”
He slurped his lips and my breaths started to rasp. If I didn’t calm down, I was going to start hyperventilating.
Fey didn’t eat people. Cosette had never—
Cosette. I’d almost forgotten. Time to play the only card I had. “I’m friends with a fey. You must’ve heard of her.”
“Who then?”
“Cosette Argent.”
A bright flash burst and suddenly the creature was tiny—or what I imagined was normal fairy size. It flitted around my head before hovering in front of my face. “You’re the witchy witch she likes.” His voice was high pitched now. A tiny squeaking thing.
Thank God. Cosette hadn’t let me down. I was going to owe her one, and whatever she wanted in return, I’d give it. “Yes. She said she’d tell your people I was coming and that I might need your help.”
The creature snarled. Somehow, even tiny, his teeth were terrifying. “Fey don’t help witches.”
I shoved my fear down. Showing it would only make me seem weak—like I was prey. “Cosette helps witches and she’s fey.” I said it before I realized the implications. I hoped I didn’t get her into too much trouble.
Another flash of light burst and he was full-sized again. “This is not agreeable to me.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Should I apologize? “Where am I?”
“Not far from your wolf mate.”
I nearly laughed. “He’s not my mate.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure?”
“I think I’d know if we were bonded.” Wouldn’t I? Maybe it was possible, but it certainly hadn’t happened yet. “How did you get me here?”
“I have the gift of travel.” He disappeared without a sound. One second he was there and the next, he wasn’t. “I go where I want.”
I screeched when his voice came from right behind me.
He grabbed my shoulder hard. “That sound is very disagreeable.”
I cleared my throat. Don’t show your fear, Claudia. “I apologize. You frightened me.”
He let me go, and I was sure I’d have his fingerprints as bruises by morning. “I like being frightening.” He grinned, showing his row of sharp teeth. That together with the look in his eye… He was doing a fantastic job of being frightening.
I was wondering if running would be a good idea after all, when a snarl tore through the dark.
A wolf leapt between us. His back faced me as he snarled at the fey creature.
It didn’t take a second for the fight to start. I crab-crawled backward to get out of their way until I hit a tree. They moved faster than I could track, turning into blurs of aura—Lucas’ bright light yellow and Gobble’s glittering blue and silver. Their snarls and cries broke the quiet of the night. I froze for a moment, watching in awe.
But what was I doing? I needed to stop them.
“Stop!” I yelled. I stood and put the force of my will and magic into my voice. “Stop fighting. Right now.” It wasn’t a spell per se, but the words would carry my power if I believed they would.
The two separated, breathing hard as they stared each other down. The wolf transformed to human, and suddenly I was staring at Lucas.
A totally naked Lucas.
I covered my eyes with a hand. “You’re naked!”
“Yes. That’s usually what happens when I shift.” I would’ve had to be deaf to miss the humor in his voice.
<
br /> “I just… Where are your clothes?”
The fey clacked his tongue. “Little tasty is a prude.”
The nerve of that little… “I’m not a prude!” But I still didn’t lower my hand.
Well, maybe I was a little bit, but I didn’t need to hear it from him.
“I’ll shift back in a bit,” Lucas said before addressing the fey. “What’s your name, fey one?”
“I don’t share my name.” His words were so haughty, I almost lowered my hand. I was sure he was making some sort of awful face.
He was smart, though. If words had power, names were infinitely stronger. I’d read that true names were precious things among the fey. It could make one become a slave to another.
“Then what shall I call you?” Lucas asked.
“Gobble.”
I couldn’t suppress a wince. That was both creepy and appropriate.
“Fine. Gobble. Why did you take her from me?”
“She seemed tasty.”
“Enough with the tasty thing.” It gave me the creepy-crawlies.
“She’s not food and you know it. She was under my protection.” Lucas’ growl echoed across the mountain. “Or are you willingly and knowingly violating our pact?”
Pact? The wolves and fey had a pact?
“No! I didn’t break a pact! I didn’t know she was your mate.”
“You did and you took her from me. If you don’t leave us be, the pack will bring this matter to your prince.”
Gobble sputtered words in a language I didn’t know. It favored voiceless dental fricative and sibilant sounds. When he finally started speaking English again, his voice was wheedling. “She said you were looking for the mages. They’ve not been here in many years, but I remember where they were. I can help along the way.”
I doubted his intentions were anything but selfish, but if he had the gift of travel… “We might need him.”
“Take us there directly if you’re so eager to help.” Lucas’ words were half growl.
“Lazy wolf. You must do some of it on your own.”
“Her brother is dying. Time is something we don’t have.”
“Then it’s good that I can keep you from getting lost.”
Lucas growled again. “I’m going to shift, Claudia. You can take your hand down in a second, but don’t stray far from me. Understand?”