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“And you have. In so many ways.” She tore her gaze off the hide and plucked a plump berry from the vibrantly coloured salad. “I misjudged you when we first met. You are nothing like I thought.” I didn’t look away as she placed the red fruit on her tongue.
Once again, the heat in my blood seared, and I clasped my hands between my legs with a soft groan.
She swallowed the mouthful, moaning. “I didn’t realise how hungry I was.” Her hand dove into the falling apart basket, selecting dandelion leaves and flowers, eating faster and faster until the tightness around her eyes faded a little. Raising the mostly empty basket, she asked, “I’m so sorry. Did you want any? You haven’t eaten either.”
I balanced on a lie and the truth. In the end, I chose truth. “I have eaten, Runa.” I pointedly caught her stare. I didn’t need to tell her what I’d eaten, only that I had.
“Oh.” She nodded, finishing off the greens with a wince.
Once the basket was empty, she placed it on the cave floor. Reaching over, she stroked Natim, a smile twitching her lips as the little fawn stretched in his sleep and nuzzled closer to his littermates. Not looking at me, she murmured, “As much as I appreciate you feeding me, I wasn’t faint before. I gasped because I...I had a memory. Or at least...I think it was a memory.”
My stomach clenched. “What memory?”
She yawned as exhaustion crept over her. With her belly sated, the tiredness that’d stalked her since I’d found her in the thunderstorm settled heavily. “The moon. When you mentioned the moon. I saw something.” She frowned, her shoulders slouching. “I saw you standing bare beneath it. I saw beasts with starlight for skin and black shadows licking at your feet.”
I froze, searching my mind for that memory.
I tried to recall beasts that wore stars for flesh but came up blank. Shaking my head, I muttered, “I don’t remember.”
“Me either.” Her eyelids drooped. “I only remember the moon speaking to you. Speaking to us.”
“What was the moon saying?”
“Hmm?” Her mouth went slack as she tipped to the side, unable to fight the tug of sleep. “I...”
I caught her before her skull could crack against the cave floor. I didn’t know if her exhaustion had come on so quickly from the long day and whatever trance she’d endured with the man named Solin, or if I’d unwillingly fed her something poisonous. Either way, the time for conversation was over.
I cradled her close, bringing her bare skin against mine like I’d longed to do all day. Snatching the clean deer hide, I spread it out over the cool cave rock and placed her on top of it. She shivered once and rolled onto her side.
I hoped the deer’s spirit had long since passed, leaving its old home to find another. I hoped Runa would find peace in her dreams so she was happy here. With me. So she’d never want to leave now we’d finally found each other.
Kiu’s yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as I inched closer to Runa and lay down beside her. Gritting my teeth against the pleasure of closeness, I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her hips into mine.
She moaned low in her sleep and then went completely lax, giving herself up to my embrace.
The joy of that.
The absolute homecoming.
I fell asleep with my body cocooning hers, watched over by a wolf and moonlight.
* * * * *
I woke just before dawn to guttural grunting.
My heart sped up with worry, my first thought for Runa’s safety. Sitting upright, I froze as round-bellied pups whimpered around us. Kiu raised her head, her lips stretching into a pant that looked suspiciously like a grin.
“These belong to you,” I whispered, careful not to wake Runa as I gathered up the four bronze and grey pups that’d tumbled out of their nest and come to share ours. Placing the pups carefully back against Kiu, I ran a hand over the fawn. He opened hazy jewel-black eyes, shook his head so his ears flopped, then wriggled closer to the pile of warm wolflings.
The noise came again, wrenching my eyes to Runa. She lay tucked up on her side, her arms wrapped tight around another pup who snored contentedly in her hold. Grateful that she still slept, I twisted on the deer hide and looked toward the cave’s entrance. Silhouetted against the first blush of day, Salak thrust into a female from behind. His front legs held on around her shoulders, his teeth bared as he drove his hips into hers.
I froze.
I’d seen Salak take his females before, yet this...this felt different.
This felt raw and intimate because Salak had a cave full of mates who he loved and protected, and for the first time since I’d joined the alpha’s family, I had a mate too.
