Page 35 of Destined to the Lycan (The Shadow Realms #3)

“Ride you?” she repeated, a mischievous glimmer sparkling in her beautiful eyes. “Then I guess we should’ve practiced that this morning instead of you doing all the work.”

“AMARA!” I exclaimed, heat rushing to my cheeks.

She burst out laughing, the clear, musical sound wrapping around me like a warm blanket.

The wretched female enjoyed making me blush.

My Flame looked so prim and proper that it always floored me whenever she deliberately made some raunchy innuendo to get a rise out of me.

I didn’t consider myself prudish, but as I’d never experienced the normal flirting people indulged in from puberty onward, I felt as clumsy as a newborn calf attempting to get on its feet for the first time.

“What?” she asked, opening her eyes wide with the least sincere air of pure innocence. “I cannot walk such a hard path in a timely fashion. I was merely bemoaning the fact that I should have practiced riding a wolf when I had the chance.”

I made a face at her, which only made her chuckle some more.

By Ferazan! I loved how simply being around her made me happy, even her sweet teasing.

And above all, I loved how happiness lit up her face and chased away the dark clouds of the threat looming over her.

Whatever it took, I would do everything in my power to make sure they never returned.

“Let’s go, you naughty girl,” I said with false severity. “We have a long road ahead.”

She smiled and placed the sweetest kiss on the corner of my jaw before allowing me to help her onto her horse. We set off at a good pace. A wave of gratitude filled my heart seeing how much better she handled the long ride. Clearly, our coupling improved her health. But how long would it last?

We paused a couple of times along the way before we finally reached the edge of the forest. It opened on a vast clearing with tall grass gradually fading into packed dirt and rocks at the foot of the mountain.

Despite being used to harsh travel, even I felt stiff and sore when I jumped off my horse.

My poor mate winced a little as I helped her down.

Leaning against me, she stretched her legs and her back before allowing me to lead her into the cave that would shelter us that night.

Contrary to the other ones we had slept in, this one offered far more comfort, including a couple of beds with padded cushions which acted as fairly plush mattresses, a proper wooden table and chairs, a fire pit, and basic cookware.

While my mate settled inside, I went back out to unload the horses and release them.

They wandered towards the tall grass area to graze and rest. On their own time, they would make the twelve-hour journey back to their owner.

The entire forest between the inn and Storm Hill was as safe as the Haunted Woods had been dangerous.

Only small game, mostly small herbivores like rabbits dwelled in that area.

Therefore, the horses wouldn’t meet any danger on their way home.

Their reins and saddles were also enchanted so that any potential thief would have a very nasty surprise if they attempted to appropriate them.

Not wanting to go through our food reserves too quickly, I hunted for our evening meal.

We ate and called it an early night. Although we indulged in some heavy petting, we didn’t make love that night.

Not only was the narrow cot not ideal for such activities, but we were also both tired and didn’t want to risk overdoing it until we had a better sense of how she responded to my toxins.

The next morning, the horses were long gone when we stepped outside. Before I shifted into my wolf form, I gave my mate extensive instructions as to how to bind herself to me with the harness I prepared, and how to hang our food and reagent bags in a secure way on me so that it wouldn’t bother her.

“What?” I asked when she made a funny face while I finished undressing.

“I don’t know. It just feels weird to burden you with all of this, on top of me, and ride you like a horse all the way up that mountain,” she said sheepishly. “I feel guilty. You will be exhausted.”

I snorted and shook my head. “First off, you weigh three times nothing. Second, my wolf is extremely strong. My stamina, strength, and endurance are at least five times greater than in my human form. You’ve seen how easily I’ve carried you in my arms. So carrying you on my back will be no hardship. ”

She followed my gaze when I glanced at the narrow path ahead. And I gestured at it with my chin.

“This path, though, is not particularly fun. Will I get tired? Absolutely. But it won’t be because of your weight or that of the bags.

It will be the uneven terrain and the steep incline in some parts.

But I’m used to traveling on similar paths.

I will be fine,” I said in a reassuring tone.

“If I get too tired, we’ll just pause, and you can scratch my belly to soothe me. ”

She burst out laughing and shook her head at me. “Fine. But be sure to rest when you need it. I’m starting to know you. Your overprotective side will make you drive yourself to exhaustion just to take care of me.”

“Maybe…” I said in a non-committal fashion that made her frown at me.

I kissed her, nipped her bottom lip, and then shifted into my wolf. The swiftness and efficiency with which she put the harness on me and secured both herself and our bags on my back was impressive. In no time, we set off.

The climb wasn’t so bad at first, but a couple of hours in, I could feel the strain settling in.

It was particularly difficult because we were following an almost vertical rock face where a narrow passage had been carved.

It was wide enough for me to be able to stand normally but only left a couple of inches of spare terrain to my right.

I thanked the gods that my mate didn’t suffer from vertigo.

We were literally walking a path less than three feet wide with a jagged stone wall on the left and the void on the right.

A single slip would have us plummeting to our deaths.

I only relaxed on the rare occasions that the path cut through the mountain face itself, creating a temporary wall on both sides before opening up again to where we would be fully exposed.

Thankfully, although we were climbing fairly high, the temperature remained comfortable in this summer month.

No strong winds threatened to destabilize us either.

During the first half of the journey, my mate entertained me with tales of her life, funny anecdotes about her weirdest customers, and random other tidbits I might find entertaining.

I hated that I couldn’t talk back to her as a wolf.

Soon, I hoped we would be fully bonded, and then we would be able to share telepathic conversations.

This leg of our journey was not particularly dangerous—so long as I trod carefully—but was unquestionably the toughest in terms of traveling.

We couldn’t really stop anywhere to stretch or rest. Under different circumstances, Amara’s dismay at finding out that there would be no comfortable place for her to relieve her bladder would have been funny.

We waited until we reached one of the narrow passages between two rock faces for her to free herself of the harness so that she could do her business.

Still, her embarrassment at urinating in front of me was hilarious.

I made a show of putting my left paw over my snout to cover my eyes.

She snorted and muttered something about me being silly.

Climbing back on me and securing herself once more with the harness proved far more challenging in the narrow space.

She ate as I continued to advance and fed me pieces of cured meat over my shoulder.

“You know, you could stop for a few minutes to eat,” she mumbled.

I shook my head and kept going. My poor woman didn’t fully understand our current predicament. It dawned on me then that I had failed to fully explain what this first part would be like. As the sun began to set on the horizon, Amara stirred restlessly.

“Are we close to where we will stop for the night?” she asked before yawning and profusely apologizing for it.

I shook my head.

“How long would you say?” she insisted. “An hour?”

I shook my head again.

“Two hours? Three? Four? Five?” she asked when I systematically shook my head after each number she stated. “Nine Hells, are we going to reach it at all tonight?!”

I shook my head.

“What? In the morning then? If you shake your head again I’m going to scream!” she exclaimed.

I glanced at her over my shoulder and made a whining sound.

She stared at me with a crestfallen expression. “Am I to take that as a no?”

I nodded.

A series of swear words tumbled out of her mouth. I made a chuffing sound that we used to express laughter in our wolf form.

“Are we at least going to reach it at some point before the end of day tomorrow?” Amara asked in a defeated tone.

I couldn’t be certain. It was likely but not guaranteed. As I couldn’t state that clearly, I moved my head from side to side and up and down, forming almost a horizontal eight, or the symbol of infinity.

“Does that mean probably?” she asked, resigned.

I nodded.

She sighed, and I immediately felt guilty for it. I wished I could provide a faster, more comfortable way to get her to our destination. To my shock, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. She kissed my nape, rubbed her cheek against it before resting there.

“I’m sorry for putting you through this. I can never thank you enough. You’re not just my Twin Flame, you’re my guardian angel,” she whispered.