AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am getting out, so turn around,” I warned him. My fingers were pruning, and almost embarrassingly, I was ravenously hungry again.
Draven waited for an uncomfortably long pause. “Why are you ashamed?”
“I’m not—” I stopped myself mid sentence before I could speak a blatant lie.
I was ashamed of my own nudity. I rarely had reason to see my own body, unless Yana was tending my wounds, and the heavy veils and robes we all wore hid even the outlines of our forms.
I should not have been embarrassed to be seen by a Beast. They weren’t even human; itshouldhave had the same impact as walking naked in front of a deer.
But they were intelligent. And I could tell from the warmth and gentleness in Torr’s touch that he certainly thought of me as more than a deer, even if we were different species.
I was embarrassed because they were males, and I did not want to be judged as ugly. Maybe that was ridiculous, as the Beasts were eight feet tall, with long snouts and pointed ears and tails, and covered with hair, but… it was true.
Which I would not tell him.
“It’s common courtesy,” I finally told him. “It’s impolite to watch people while they’re naked.”
Draven showed his teeth in a wolf-like grin. “You’re deflecting.”
“I am not. Turn around and close your eyes.”
“Hmmm.” He didn’t sound like he believed me, but he did turn around. The moment his back was turned, I crept out of the hot spring, shivering in the sudden blast of cold air, and fumbled for the new dress.
I pulled it on as quickly as possible, but goosebumps had risen all over my body and my teeth chattered. Draven heaved a sigh. “May I turn around now?”
“Yes.” My teeth clacked at least six times on that word.
“Good. BecauseIthought ahead, and brought something warmer than that.” He snorted, wrapping a thick quilt that smelled like fresh soap around me. “Torr forgets that you do not have the protection of fur.”
He was so close that his body heat radiated against me, and I leaned into it. He smelled like the Wood, and I heard his breath hitch as I pressed closer.
Tentatively, his arms circled around me.
“Are you still cold?” he asked, sounding anxious. I nodded, unwilling to unclench my jaw and let my teeth start chattering again.
He made several rumbling noises, his tail sweeping hard, and finally picked me up. I squeaked as I was lifted high off the ground, but his warmth made me squirm closer. “We are building a fire. I will take you there.”
Draven sounded relieved to have a task that wasn’t just holding me. I allowed him to carry me down the mountain path, basking in the warmth.
“What am I to you, Draven?” I asked. “Why am I here?”
His arms tightened. The muscles beneath the silky fur were hard as iron, an oddly intriguing sensation.
When he answered, his growling voice was low. “Torr will tell that story tonight. Then you will understand what you are to us.”
Chapter Ten
The clearingbeneath the massive tree had been cleared when we arrived, and night had fully fallen.
The Beasts had created an enormous bonfire in a pit, and a pot full of fresh, raw deer meat had been settled near the flames. They shifted around the crackling fire, eyes in all colors watching us sidelong as Draven carried me down to the pit, where I saw Torr sitting in front of the flames.
His crimson eyes glowed as he looked up at us. I could’ve sworn the look on his lupine face was one of pleasure.
“This night is for us,” he told me, extending a clawed hand. Draven sat next to him, still cradling me in his arms, and I tentatively reached out and took Torr’s paw. “Now that you have rejoined the Wood, we must bring you into the pack.”
I shook my head, watching as a large Beast across the fire snorted. “I was never part of the Wood to begin with. I was born in Vostok.”
Torr’s eyes were sad. “There is so much you do not know.”
