Page 25 of Protecting His Treasure

“I guess it’s a good thing I found us a bigger tub.”

“It is. I enjoy bathing with you.”

“I enjoy everything with you, mate. Now rest. Tomorrow is your Christmas.”

“Our Christmas,” she corrected.

“Our Christmas,” her mate agreed.

It wasn’t long before they were both sound asleep. That night, Sin dreamed that Kaede and her went fishing on the ice lake. She only caught one fish. But she still outdid him. He only caught some snake looking fish.

After fishing, they returned to their house to cook what they’d caught, snake looking thing and all. Around here, you didn’t waste food just because it didn’t look good. They cooked their food over a fire. The fish came out perfectly. The snake, not so much. They didn’t care. Nothing mattered but the two of them.

They were simply happy to have each other. Dreams always meant something to witches. Sin interpreted that dream to mean that no matter what happened, Kaede and her would be happy, as long as they were together.

But even the best witch could misinterpret a dream.

******

Kaede

We almost lost control.

His beast’s words pulled him from his sleep. Kaede opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His mouth felt dry and entire body ached. Kaede eased the covers off of him and slowly climbed out of bed. He looked back to make sure he hadn’t awakened his treasure. The sound of her snoring let him know she was still sound asleep.

He grabbed some clothes from his closet and a pair of shoes then left the room to get dressed. He dressed in silence. If Sinclair woke up, she’d want to know where he was going. He didn’t want her to know. He didn’t want her to worry or to doubt him. He didn’t want her to know that he was just pretending to be alright when in truth, nothing was alright.

Today, he’d barely resisted the urge to kill Rhen. Afterward, his beast had taken over. Luckily, it had enough sense to seek out the Elders. Kaede had half expected the creature to seek out trouble. Instead, the creature had gone to the Frozen Forest where the Elders lived to seek council with them.

Unfortunately, the Elders had been doing their daily meditating and asked him to come back tonight. Kaede spent the next hour, soaring above the forest, trying to sort out his thoughts. When he finally returned home to shower, he hadn’t figured shit out yet. He still didn’t know how to handle the fool moon situation.

And he had no idea how to prepare Sin for it. Sighing, Kaede walked over to the bedroom doorway to catch one more glimpse of his mate before he left. She was still sleeping peacefully. Even in slumber, she was beautiful. She was the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. He felt blessed to have in his life.

That’s why he was determined to find a way to make sure he didn’t do anything to hurt her on the night of their first full moon. Unable to help himself, Kaede strolled into the room and pulled the comforter up over her.

He kissed her cheek gently and whispered, “I’ll be home before you wake up.”

He rose and left the room. After leaving the house, he locked the door behind him. The chill of the night slammed into him and he realized he hadn’t put on a jacket. He stared up at the night sky. It was starting to snow again. Large flakes dropped from the sky. Clouds prevented him from seeing the moon but he knew it was there.

He sensed a storm was coming. He could feel it. A gust of wind blew, kicking up some of the freshly fallen snow. He couldn’t risk going back inside to get his coat. He didn’t want to awaken his mate. He’d just bear it. He wouldn’t be cold for long anyway. He didn’t have far to go.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Kaede headed toward the front gate. When he arrived, Cooper and Takeo were on tower duty. They peered down at him.

“Hey, K,” Cooper called down from the tower. “Where’s your jacket? Tak says there’s a storm coming.”

“I won’t be out for long,” Kaede shouted. “Open the gate.”

“Where you going,” Takeo asked.

“To see the Elders.”

“Again?” Cooper yelled.

Kaede held in his groan. “Open the gate.”

“You’re still not ready for the first full moon?” Takeo asked.

“I’m getting there.”