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“Rest is important, Violet,” Gavin whispered. “We’ve had a rough couple of days, and we need to sleep properly if we want to stand a chance to cross the mountains and leave the kingdom.”
“I know that. But we aren’t welcome here, and after everything that’s already happened, I don’t want to worry about these people and everything else as well.”
“We will be fine here for one night,” Mios said. “These people have been going through something bad. You can see it on their faces, even the buildings are showing signs of it. It’s normal for them to be wary of strangers. Besides, alphas aren’t inclined to show weakness in front of another alpha.”
A stout man stormed toward them, widening his arms and looking like a puffed peacock. His bushy auburn brows nearly covered his small eyes, a funny look as he was the least intimidating male she’d ever seen. “Come on, I don’t have all day.”
21
VIOLET
The log cabin stood on the outskirts of town. It sat on a spacious lot and was surrounded by a giant patch of dirt that might have been garden beds at another time of the year. Tree branches, chopped down to roughly equal lengths, fenced off the perimeter of the place.
Erden fetched a set of keys from his pockets and opened the door. The three of them cautiously stepped in. The musky scent of moisture hung heavy around the place. Violet doubted anyone had stayed in here for a while.
“There should be some food and things to cook a meal in the kitchen. I’m sure you can make yourself useful and fix up something for the men, eh?” Erden’s black gaze met Violet’s. Turned out he was a cocky idiot with a death wish.
Gavin’s sharp intake of breath should have been enough to hold her back. She didn’t want trouble. But then again, she also wasn’t the rational type. Violet stepped forward before he could stop her, resting her hand against the doorframe as she looked straight at the man. “I don’t cook, Bill. I imagine you do, though—so I expect you to bring us our food, since you were commanded to. Make sure it’s warm, and no spitting in it. My friend Mios would smell it.”
Perhaps messing up his name on purpose was childish. But she was hungry and annoyed, and it was worth it when his face revealed his feelings.
“Bill?” Erden’s expression shifted from angry to confused just as she shut the door in his face, firmly locking him outside.
“Tedious man,” she grumbled, and waited where she stood until she heard the crunching of snow as he stomped away from the house. “Do you think he’ll actually bring us food? I doubt you two have ever cooked a thing in your lives?”
Gavin and Mios exchanged a look before the lion strolled into the kitchen, scratching his brow. He opened some cupboards and hummed before reaching for a ceramic container which had fabric wrapped tightly around the lid with twine. “I can try to make something. Not sure how edible it will be, though, as I’ve only cooked for myself before.”
“Really?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I’ve been traveling on my own for half a year now. I had to learn at some point.”
She craned her neck to see what he was doing, but after a while she got distracted by the newness of the quaint place. Aside from the smell, it appeared mostly clean. A rustic table with two chairs stood underneath a window that overlooked the garden. The small sitting room came complete with a chimney and one stiff-looking couch, wrapped in animal furs.
To her right, a narrow, dark corridor led to two doors in the back.
Violet headed toward the hearth, trying not to wince when pain shot through her wound with each step. It felt like shards of glass had embedded themselves below her skin. She cursed internally at her luck and hoped Gavin wouldn’t start fretting over it.
Her current filthy state wouldn’t help her ward off infection, either. She called for a fire spell and aimed her hand at the half-burned logs in the fireplace. Flames licked the wood, warming the place.
“Violet, I saw you limping. How is your leg?”
So much for him not noticing. “It’s fine.”
Gavin’s forehead wrinkled, and he followed her closely as she walked past him and down the corridor toward the back of the cabin. She didn’t have her familiar knives with her anymore, but Laura had given her a couple when they’d left the inn in the early morning.
There were two rooms on this side, both with narrow beds with handmade frames that matched the fence outside. The hay mattresses were stiff although they were covered in furs. The feather pillows dipped beneath her probing hands. While not ideal, this would do for one night.
She walked over to the small set of drawers by the window, in search of extra linen. The scent of wood, dust, and moths tickled the back of her throat, and she wrinkled her nose, trying not to sneeze.
On the far side of the room, a large copper tub stood in one corner, hidden behind a wall made of horizontal tree trunks. Their uneven shapes left holes gaping between them. A poor attempt at privacy… but it was something.
When she rejoined the rest of the group in the sitting room, Gavin was just coming back in from the outside. He stomped the snow off his boots on the front door mat, holding a couple of buckets full of water. He placed them over the wood stove in the kitchen area. Mios already had something boiling. Stew, to judge by the aroma.
“There’s two empty rooms at the back.” She hobbled toward them.
Gavin dried his hands on his pants, studying her leg as if he expected to see blood or even a bone poking through her clothes at any moment now. “You can take the room. I can sleep out here.”
Did she even want that? Oh, how things had changed. While her attraction to him had always been there, she’d held it off for so long. Now, she just wanted him close.
