Page 17 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

I nod, tightening my grip on her hand. “Yup. You were supposed to be our next bounty.” At her worried frown, I bark out a laugh, releasing her from my hold. “But then Vann decided to get all squishy and mushy, so here we are. Best of friends and all that.”

“Ah. Shall I also assume you disagree with her decision then?” she asks, still looking adorably concerned.

Muttering under my breath, I activate our glamour runes to elongate our canine teeth into the fangs I prefer having, knowing that our eyes have already changed to red all on their own. “Nope. I don’t give two shits what she does, long as I get to have fun when I want.”

She squints, no doubt noting the difference. “Neat trick.” Then she gives me a grin of her own. “I have a feeling your kind of fun is a bit similar to what mine has been lately.”

“Stabbing assholes?”

“Precisely that.” She nods, slowly lowering herself back onto our spare bedroll. “As much as I’d love to continue our little chat, it’s still the middle of the night and I could really use more sleep. I’ve had a rough… Well, I’d say day, but it’s been a rough few years if I’m to be honest.”

Letting out a grunt of agreement, I stash my dagger back under our pillow. “Sure, sure. It’ll probably be Vann ya wake up to, so I’ll see ya next time there’s someone needing a fresh hole poked in ‘em.”

Her soft laughter fills the air around us as I force my eyes closed again.

For the first time in a long time, no more nightmares come to us. As far as I know, at least.

Chapter Eight

Vannaria

Before our eyes even open, a small smile lazily curls onto my face. Even if we’d only been in town for a few days, I’ve missed sleeping in the forest. Waking to the sound of bird calls and a nearby gently flowing stream is so much more enjoyable than carts rattling along and merchants shouting anything and everything they can to get them to stop and browse their wares.

*Yes, but our back will still always prefer a soft warm bed to us sleeping on hard-packed dirt every night,* Aren grumbles, sounding just as drowsy as I still feel.

Stretching my arms out above my head, I let out a yawn. *You’re right, but it would be sore regardless. Might as well enjoy what little sleep we allow ourselves.*

Somewhat shockingly, Rayne joins our conversation to say, *Speaking of sleep, Mariane woke me up from a nightmare last night. We had a quick chat.*

*I’m amazed you’re rising before our noon-time meal, Rayne. Must’ve been some conversation,* Aren comments, clearly just as baffled as I am by her appearance in our shared mind so early.

She hums. *Eh. It was fine. But, she woke me up before the worst part, so I just wanted to pop in and let it be known that I like her. So no scaring her off.*

I yawn again, doing my best to keep it quiet. *Fair enough. I do as well. How about you, Aren?*

*She seems rather decent, though I’m not sure she would say the same about me. Seems my appearance makes her rather uneasy.*

I let out a soft sigh. *Considering what all’s happened to her, we can’t really fault her for that. I’m sure she’ll warm up to you in time.*

*Telling her about not having a dick seemed to help already,* Rayne helpfully adds.

Aren sighs as well. *Indeed. You’re not wrong. Although I do still feel bad about startling her.*

I’m about to respond to them, but Rayne beats me to it and says, *You didn’t scare her as bad as I probably did last night. I almost put one of my blades in her.*

*Rayne!* both Aren and I exclaim in unison.

*She woke me up, what did y’all expect?* She tsks. *You should really know me better by now.*

Aren hums in agreement and my hair brushes against the bedroll beneath me as I nod.

Suddenly, I hear the familiar sound of a branch breaking. My eyes immediately snap open, internal conversation completely forgotten. A moment later, I also hear rustling leaves, even closer. With one hand slowly reaching for the dagger Rayne keeps under our pillow, I whisper, “Mariane, you might want to wake up now. Seems like we may have company.”

Hearing no response from the woman, I slowly turn towards her. Her chest heaves as unfocused eyes stare up into the sky. Shit. Perhaps she’d already heard it as well. Or I should’ve chosen my words more carefully.

Keeping my voice as low as I’m able, I say, “Mariane, look at me.” Golden eyes snap to mine. “Breathe.” She takes a shaky breath. “Good. Wait for my signal, then grab your swords and stand up, alright?”

She nods, her eyes narrowing into a look of determination.