“It seems they were not just stories.”
Dravik goes still, and for a moment he just stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “How… how is this even possible?”
“I do not know.” I let my gaze drift to the welwig forest in the distance, taking in the faint red light pulsing from beneath the canopy. Worrisome. Dangerous. I don’t like what it might mean.
I look back at Dravik, my mouth pressed in a tight line of worry. “If she is one… it changes everything.”
31
Willow
3 cycles later…
My knees protest as I crouch low to the ground, and I have to bite my lip to hold back a pained groan. Over the past few cycles, my body pains have progressively gotten worse, and no matter how many healing baths I take, I’m filled with a deep ache that’s impossible to ignore. I don’t know what to do, and I want to get rid of this pain more than anything. It’s in my bones, in my blood, and I’m starting to worry it will never go away.
At first, I thought it might have been all the sex I’ve been having lately, and that my mate’s appetites were too harsh on my human physique. But even when they gave me a break, the ache still remained. Once that was ruled out, I thought it might be the cold, but even while lounging in the heated pools and curled up in warm furs, the pain pounds in my ears.
Pushing my discomfort to the back of my mind, I reach for the wrinkled palepear hiding within the thin fissure of ice, struggling to get my frozen fingers to grasp its soft flesh.
“Would you like some help, pup?” Rhune holds his hand up, gesturing to his large pointed claws. “These were made to pluck palepears for my beautiful mate.”
I laugh under my breath, a pleasurable warmth in my belly replacing some of my aches. “You’re sweet, Rhune. I almost have it, though.”
Determined now more than ever, I shove my hand deep into the crevice, ignoring the slice of pain across the back of my palm as the ice cuts into my skin. “Aha!”
I yank my hand from the fissure, holding the palepear high above my head with a whoop of triumph. “I did it!”
Rhune claps his hands together in a raucous round of applause. “I knew you could! I’m so proud of you!”
“Didn’t you try to do it for her, though?” Nyx’s mouth tugs into a teasing smirk as he reaches out, poking Rhune’s cheek with his claw.
Rhune huffs, slapping Nyx’s hand away. “I knew shecould,but I wanted to do it for her anyway. There is a difference. And I am still proud of her.”
I laugh under my breath, stepping up to Rhune and wrapping my arms around his middle. “You’re too cute. Did you know that?”
“Yes. I never tire of hearing it, though.” His arm curls around my shoulders as he leans down, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “As long as you are the one saying it.”
I press my cheek to his chest, listening to the steady drum of his heart. I’ve never been this happy, never felt this safe or this loved. I didn’t know it was an option before, but now that I have it, I’ll do anything to keep it.
“Do you want to go look for more shells?” Rhune asks, taking the palepear from me and tucking it into the pouch at his waist. “I saw a pretty purple one earlier and noted its exact position. I thought you might like to add it to your collection.”
I grin, nodding, my heart swelling at his thoughtfulness. “I’d love to. Show me what you found.”
He takes my hand, leading me along the base of the cliffs toward the coastline, and I breathe in the fresh air, grateful I asked him and Nyx to bring me up here while Dravik and Cin are off hunting. The storm has finally settled, and between my protective suit and the extra layer of fur draped over my shoulders, I actually feel almost cozy. That, or my fever is worse than I thought.
We’re just about to step past the shelter of the cliffs onto the open beach when Kevin loses it. He wails, stomping his hoofed feet, and darts in front of me, blocking my path entirely.
“What’s wrong, Kevin?”
Kevin lets out another frantic bleat, nudging his head hard against my leg. When that doesn’t work, he shoves his whole body against me until he’s forced me back behind the safety of the cliff wall.
“What is he doing?” Rhune wonders.
“Something’s scaring him. He acted this way when the arachnyx was near.”
Fear hardens in the pit of my stomach as Nyx tips his head back, his gaze lifting skyward and searching for threats. Suddenly, his face slackens, and his turquoise eyes flash with undeniable fear.
“Nyx…?”
