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“Through here,” I said, and both guys ducked past me. Kyle first, then Xander.
Just like when they first came through the veil, they didn’t touch me, but the heat of their bodies so close to mine had my nipples hardening and butterflies opening their wings low in my belly.
Oh my. My sleepless night was coming back to bite me, in spades.
I dropped the veil curtain and followed the guys into the forest. The smell of trees and moss heightened. I inhaled deeply, loving the scent and wondering why such smells weren’t available while in my realm.
“We’re going to run, okay?” Kyle said, stripping out of his shirt. Then, he pushed his jeans to the ground.
When he stood back up, fully naked, I couldn’t help but stare at all the beauty before me.
I licked my lips. Yes, I really did, and then my cheeks burned with the heat of embarrassment. “Yeah, sure. I’ll wait for you here,” I said.
It wasn’t like they were going to run off and never come back. I knew they’d return. They were waiting for the high warlock to help them with their curse problem... and then there was their bond to me, of course.
“We won’t be long,” Xander said, and I turned to stare at him.
My heart fluttered in my chest like a trapped bird. Oh, my God. He was so big, his muscles so defined. And deep in his eyes there was a wild animal trapped and raring to get out.
“Go,” I urged him, then swallowed hard against the awkward lump stuck in my throat.
“Don’t leave,” he said, though his words were becoming more garbled.
I smiled at him. He was worried, and I could sense it.
“I’ll be here when you get back. I promise.”
He nodded, and then the Xander I knew was no more. Instead, standing in front of me was a huge, powerful black wolf, with eyes that I somehow recognized, even though he was no longer human.
I stared back, not wanting to look away. He needed to know I wasn’t afraid of him. I wanted him—and Kyle—to know I would embrace every aspect of their personality, whether human or wolf.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered. “As a human, and as a wolf.”
He threw back his head and howled, a shiver of awareness running through me even as the hairs on my arms prickled. This was my destiny. This was my path. These men. My body knew it already, and my mind was fast becoming aware of that fact, too.
Xander turned tail and ran off after Kyle, who’d left moments earlier.
I glanced around for somewhere to sit, my legs unsteady. There was nowhere to rest except for a wet, mossy log, so I waved my hand and magicked up a small table and a chair to sit on.
I felt the instant drain on my magic, and the toll it took on my body for such a simple spell. Living out here, in the real world, would be very different to the life I’d known behind the veil. My lonely, yet magical and power-filled life.
Was it really what I wanted?
I sighed as I sank onto the wooden chair and placed my elbows on the table. I had nothing to do. No reading, or food preparation, or spells.
For once, I could just sit and admire the beauty of my surroundings, and take the time I needed to consider my possible future.
I could enjoy the forest, its sounds and scents, and feel the breeze against my face.
We had always been safe within the veil, in the magical realm over which the high warlock had full control and power. But we were also isolated, sheltered, and in many ways, numb.
Warlocks had the chance to explore out here in the real world, but witches like me rarely had the opportunity, unless we snuck out against the rules.
And yet, despite the perfection of my realm, out here, in the forest, I felt more alive than ever. I always had, and I’d never been able to explain it to myself, or understand it.
I smiled as that strange part of the puzzle dropped into my mind. That was why I’d always snuck off and left the village to creep beyond the veil, when no one else did.
I felt stifled in there. Incomplete. All the other witches and warlocks seemed to enjoy the consistency of our life. The dullness and the pretty flowers were soothing to them.
To me, it was a prison.
I had already decided I would go with my wolves, even if it meant losing some of my power. I would visit places I’d never been before and spend my time with two men who made me feel things I’d never felt before. Behind all the fear and worry about the unknown, I was excited about what lay ahead.
I decided to risk a little more tiredness, and magicked myself up a cup of tea. I drank it slowly, enjoying the pure feeling of being alive and happy, while I waited for my wolf shifters to return to me.
