Page 62 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

Stephan shrugs, a boyish grin taking over his face. “You know I’m much too big of a coward to have ever made the first move. Had to wait for her to get annoyed enough to simply do it herself.”

“It’s true.” Kali nods, giving the tall man a loving smile. “But, it was a few years ago now. He was a wreck after you were…” She clears her throat. “One day I got so fed up I slammed him up against a tree, shoved my hand down his pants and my tongue into his mouth. The rest is history.”

“Well, you can tell me more of that history over breakfast,” Mariane says, tugging me with her as she begins walking backwards. “Considering I’m likely even more terrible at cooking than Stephan is, Vannaria’s going to do it for us.”

“Oh? I am, am I?” I tease, allowing her to drag me along. “I don't recall agreeing to anything.”

“As if you'd allow me to lift a finger if you had your way,” she quips, playfully biting her lip. “Or have you grown tired of me already? Now that I'm home I suppose I could–”

Planting my feet into the dirt, I pull her into my arms. “Never, Your Majesty. I will never grow tired of you. Sadly, I fear that means you're stuck with me.”

Golden eyes glisten as she whispers, “Good.”

The sound of someone faking a gag draws our attention back to Mariane's friends. Kali’s nose is wrinkled as she looks up at her partner and mutters, “And here I thought you were a sap. Gods, do we look that disgusting when we flirt with one another?”

“Yes,” Mariane says without a bit of hesitation.

“Ah. Well. Carry on then I suppose.” The blonde waves one hand in the air toward us while slipping her other into Stephan's. “We’ll be back here trying not to get sick from watching you two lovebirds fawn over each other.”

Mariane sticks her tongue out and laughter fills the air as we all slowly make our way back to camp.

Shoving one last bite of sausage into my mouth, I give Mariane a brief kiss on the cheek before whispering, “Take your time, I’m going to get the horses ready.”

She nods absentmindedly, entirely focused on listening to her friends’ story about how Kali’s mother had walked in on them making love. And how she’d then beaten Stephan with a spoon until he’d agreed to marry her daughter.

With a quiet chuckle, I begin gathering up our belongings, leaving the trio to get reacquainted with each other.

As I’m lifting Mariane’s saddle onto Obsidian’s back, my eyes drift back over to our pile of weapons next to the remaining saddle. While our food had been heating up, Mariane and I had changed out of our sleeping clothes and into our normal travel attire, and for some reason, there was a small sword tucked beneath the pile of clothing Mariane had washed last night.

Considering I’ve been the one to pack away our belongings every day, I know for a fact she didn’t have the blade with her during our journey so far. Which begs the question on where in the hells she got it from last night. And how I hadn’t noticed her absence while doing so.

However she might’ve acquired the small sword, it clearly means a great deal to her. She’d all but snatched it out of my hands when I’d picked it up, glancing over her shoulder to ensure her friends weren’t watching before asking me if she could place it into our enchanted bag for safekeeping. I’d agreed, of course. But, when I’d questioned her about it, she’d simply smiled, offering no explanation other than to say it was hers. Not that she owes me an explanation or anything. I just find the entire situation…odd.

Shaking my head, I force myself to focus on the task at hand. Once I’ve finished securing the saddle to the large horse’s back, I give both horses a few handfuls of oats, not wanting them to feel left out after being forced to watch us eat our own breakfast. After wiping their combined slobber off on Adaman’s neck, I begin saddling him as well.

So far I’ve done a decent job of ignoring Mariane's conversation with her friends, but as I’m buckling the strap of his breastcollar, I hear her ask, “How did you find us, anyways? Aren’t we still a day’s travel away from our village?”

Kali giggles in response. “Well, we can get a bit loud when we fuck, so we’ve made a habit of putting quite a bit of distance between us and the rest of our tribe when we intend to have a bit of…fun.”

My chest fills with warmth at the sound of Mariane laughter. “I’ll have to keep that in mind in case Vannaria and I decide to have a bit of our own fun while we’re here.” I’m glad I’m not still sitting with the others when that same warmth now travels to both my cheeks and between my thighs. “We’ve only become a couple quite recently and it’s been hard keeping my hands off her. She’s…”

It takes considerable effort, but I force myself to stop listening, not wanting to eavesdrop further on a conversation I’m not a part of. Even if I had somehow become the subject of said conversation.

*Are you not afraid she might reveal our secret?* Aren asks, interrupting me while I’m attempting to tie our bags to Obsidian’s saddle.

I quirk my brow. *Are you? I thought we’d all agreed she was trustworthy.*

*I find myself not entirely sure.* They let out their typical pained sigh. *When we’d been alone together, it felt like the right thing to do. But now I’m fearful of what might happen if she lets it slip to any of the other members of her tribe. Especially considering they were the ones that–*

*Shut your trap, Aren,* Raye snaps. *Her father was the one responsible and he’s not here anymore. And I have no doubt the rest of the wolves that were with him that day are still with him now.*

*And if they aren’t?* I ask, already anticipating her answer.

*Then we trust Mariane to point them out to us so they can be dealt with,* she replies, accompanied by an image of her shrugging.

*Fair enough,* I mutter, checking to make sure the bag is secure before stepping away from the horses.

Aren hums but otherwise stays silent.