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We fell silent as he reached for the deer and we fell into the familiar routine of preparing it for the fire. Cordy glanced up at us after a while and shot power at the fire I had built, making flames shoot high before settling into a steady burn.
By the time the sun began to set, the smell of roasted meat hung on the air. The fire popped and crackled as sizzling fat dripped steadily down onto it, my wolf sniffing haughtily at what he considered to be a waste of good meat. It was true, if we weren’t with Cordy we could have just hunted and eaten in wolf form and not bothered with the cooking. But I couldn’t deny that I preferred my meat well roasted and warm in my belly.
Something niggled my senses a split-second before Noah sat bolt upright, jostling Cordy from where she sat with her legs over his lap. Leaping to my feet, I saw Liam doing the same as a crack of branches sounded nearby.
A deep growl rumbled from all three of us as a figure appeared through the trees. There was no strong scent of magic around the cloaked male, but he wasn’t a shifter so there was only one other option. My hands curled into fists as he stopped just short of the treeline. Clearly not voluntarily, as I smelled Cordy’s magic when he looked around in confusion.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve approaching us like this,” Liam snarled.
The male pushed back the hood of his cloak, his dirty brown hair spiking up messily. He tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. His gaze was keen as he took us all in, settling on Cordy as he spoke.
“It’s you.”
Her brow quirked up, that familiar strength and sass rolling off her in waves. “I am going to suggest that you fuck off in the direction that you came from. Sneaking up on shifters is not only idiotic, but disrespectful.”
He laughed, making Liam step threateningly towards him. “I would be careful. I assume you want the chance to leave on two functioning legs.”
The witch’s face fell as he took in our Alpha and slowly lifted his palms. “I come in peace, wolf. I just smelt the fire and was hoping for a meal. I had no idea you wouldn’t be witches.”
“Why would there be witches out here?” Noah piped in. “We’re nowhere near a settlement.”
The newcomer looked surprised. “There are groups of travellers all over the forest now. Many of us happily left the confinement of Tobias’ village, and there are those who have lost their homes since the Queen closed the portals.”
“You’re from that village,” Cordy said, understanding in her voice. “Where we freed the slaves.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “You freed us all when you showed us the truth.”
“What do you mean they’ve lost their homes?” I asked, stuck on his previous comment.
He shrugged. “Queenie shut down all the inter-world trade when she blocked off the portals without warning. Families lost their livelihoods. The food ran low. People lost all faith in her when they had to roam the woods and forage for enough to survive.”
His eyes flicked to our fire. “Now, any chance of some warmth and food?”
“For you? Or for your friends too?” Liam asked, making the witch blink in surprise.
Cordy sniffed, unimpressed. “You can’t hide from shifters, you should know that.”
He recovered quickly though, calling out behind him briefly before turning back to us with an unrepentant smirk that only irritated me.
“You know how it is, none of us know who is safe lately.”
I raised a brow. “And somehow you’ve decided that we are?”
He nodded at Cordy. “I trust her.”
The three of us looked to our mate, knowing her word was the only one that really mattered here. We could chase them off easy enough, but something told me the witch wasn’t a threat. Nor was he lying. He might not recognise us, but he knew Cordy’s face.
She chewed on her lip for a long second, watching as three more witches appeared behind the newcomer. Like him, they were dirty and carried threadbare bags. They also looked hungrily at the cooking meat.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Share the meal with us and tell us what’s been happening. But then you go. You’re not sleeping here.”
They all nodded eagerly. Cordy waved a hand to drop the shield she’d been holding between us and sat back beside the flames, giving Liam’s hand a pointed tug.
“Scowl at them all you want,” she murmured, too low for the witches to hear. “But stop growling and start carving. I’m hungry.”
His expression relaxed as he looked at her. If I was honest, it was still incredible to see the change in him in the last year. He was both harder and gentler; he was stronger but totally weak for her. Plus there was a sense of peace and rightness in him now that spread through the pack link and steadied all of us.
The witches introduced themselves as Liam shared out the food. Three out of the four claimed to be from the village where we had met Tobias. The other was a tradesman from the northern city, claiming that the portal closures had left him on the verge of starvation and forced him out of his home.
