AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There wasn’t enough time for me to leap and grab her before she sailed through the portal. In a flash, the magic sphere collapsed in on itself and disappeared. For the briefest of seconds, I stared at the place where she’d been, but then an orc grasped my arm and threw me backwards.
I spun, throwing my weight to the opposite side, and only just catching myself on another tree trunk instead of smashing my face into the ground. The orc ran at me full force, and I sidestepped to the right. I leaned as he thrust his arm towards me, the edge of his knife missing my cheeks by no more than an inch or two.
I needed a weapon.
Quickly, I rolled towards a fallen orc and grabbed at the sword in his dead hands. I was just about to raise it up to defend myself when the entire pack of snow wolves bore down on my attacker at the same time. I threw myself at another as it ran at me, using both hands to sink my stolen blade deep into his chest and straight into its heart. He stared at me with open shock in his deathly pale white eyes as he coughed and black blood spurted from his mouth.
I tried to pull the sword out, but it was stuck, and I soon gave up and took the blade of another. I did my best to stay alive, but I didn’t have any real battle skills to rely on. I did manage to kill two more only because they were distracted by the wolves, and I took pride in that.
The orcs and other various monsters that had come here with Mais didn’t go down without a fight, but the wolves fought more viciously. One by one, the wolves destroyed their forces and ripped through them until there weren’t any left.
Above us, Nykor bore down the drakewing. I glanced up to see his mouth clamp down on the creature’s wing. He tore through the thin flesh as the drakewing roared with agony. He spit hellfire directly at Nykor, and my heart pounded as he quickly threw himself out of the way. The deafening sound of a tree snapping in half resounded through the valley, and my heart pounded in my chest, suddenly worried that Nykor would have been hurt in the clash.
The wolves surrounded me, forming a protective ring as the battle continued. There were several more orcs that emerged from beyond the trees in the frozen wood, but they met a quick end at the mouths of the wolves.
Eventually, the sound of the battle between Nykor and the drakewing quieted. I tried to rush off in their direction, but the snow wolves blocked my way, so I stood there and waited, unable to quell the frantic beating of my heart until there was a rustle of movement in the brush.
Finally, when I felt like I could bear it no longer, Nykor pushed a stray pine branch out of the way and emerged out of the clearing. My sigh of relief was audible. The pack parted, and I raced forward into his outstretched arms. He swept me up off the ground, whirling me around as his lips met mine in a possessive kiss that left my body burning. I felt his fear of losing me and his relief at finding me unhurt and alive all in that single kiss.
It stole my breath away at the same time that it touched the very center of my soul.
“My Ella, I was so worried,” he murmured.
“My Nykor,” I whispered, my voice hoarse with relief. My arms squeezed tight around his waist, holding onto him as closely as I could as if he might disappear at any moment.
“Thank you for looking out for her, Seer. And Orin, for bringing her here,” he stated, looking directly at the lead wolf. The wolf nodded with understanding and then turned to me. His glowing blue eyes leveled with mine. There was a sense of calm that passed between us, like he had done everything he could do, and his work was done here.
“Thank you,” I mouthed. The wolf lifted his head and let out a resounding howl which echoed throughout the valley. The rest of the pack joined in, and my heart swelled with emotion.
This was what was meant to be. I could feel it deep in my bones.
Once their howling stopped, the wolf pack bounded off into the forest, leaving me and Nykor to ourselves.
His hands grasped the sides of my neck, lifting my face up to his.
“What next?” I asked softly.
“I’m going to take you back to my castle, sweet girl, and I’m going to do what I should have done all along.”
“What’s that?” I asked, flushing a little bit at the suggestively dark glint in his eyes.
“I’m going to claim you as my mate,” he growled.
There was no time for me to ask what he meant. In a sudden rush of movement, he shifted back into his dragon form. He pressed his chin to the ground, allowing me leverage to climb up onto his back. Before I got settled, I pulled the edges of my mantle tightly around my shoulders.
When he sensed I was ready, he leapt up into the air and flapped his wings hard, lifting us up from the ground and shooting north towards the castle.
CHAPTER20
Ella
I slept on and off during the journey until at long last, we landed in the city of Icehelm far to the north. The skies had been ice cold, and my teeth were chattering by the time we arrived. Not even the thick fur mantle was enough to keep me warm.
Without a word, Nykor shifted back to human form and carried me inside. He flicked his wrist in a circular motion, shooting a volley of magic straight into the fireplace. Immediately, a roaring fire flared to life as he carried me to the massive fur rug on the cobblestone in front of it. The fire crackled loudly in the empty room as he laid me down on the plush carpeting.
His body surrounded mine, warming me with every fiber of his being. For several minutes, this was more than enough as my body slowly stopped shivering.
I couldn’t turn my mind away from his promise to take me as his mate. I was fixated on what that could mean, and it made me come alive with need.
