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Chapter 9
Ayla
I looked carefully at the larger, enchanted skeins I’d hold my potions in while on the road. I could fit more of the smaller vials in my bag, but they weren’t exactly conducive for sneaking through enemy territory. They made too much noise and were far too fragile.
I still didn’t know who was on our accompanying task force, but I didn’t particularly care. I'd no idea who would be willing to take on the rather harrowing risk. It wasn’t like I had heaps of camaraderie with many people stationed at the fort.
Besides, just knowing that Kai would be on the trip had my nerves on absolute edge.
Closing my eyes, our last interaction played through my head in beautiful but excruciating detail. He’d come into my room, my safe place, my tiny little haven that I'd just freshly scented. Having my fated mate stand in the middle of my nest, in the place that was chock full of pheromones whispering safety and solace, was an exercise in torture, and I’d nearly folded like a cheap table.
He'd been so tall and imposing, standing over me and using a hint of his alpha voice so close by. My entire body, and my wolf,ached for him. I wanted to taste him. To press my lips to his and fully lose myself.
Thankfully, the acute pain of his being unable to notice my scent when it should’ve been driving him wild certainly helped keep me in check.
Now I was supposed to go on a wholemissionwith him. How was I supposed to stop that from happening again? It already seemed like my curse wasn't as strong as before, and too much exposure could simply overwhelm it entirely. The key was distance and in laying low, neither of which really went hand in hand with a week-long traveling mission together.
At least we'd be in mortal peril for a good amount of time. That had to be a good boner killer if there ever was one. At least I hoped it was, because if all of that adrenaline had the opposite effect, we were definitely screwed.
I wished I could just not go, but that’d be an exercise in futility. There was no way anyone else would even find my coven. Even if they somehow denied all logic and did, my mothers would never give up such a valued religious item to complete strangers. Honestly, as kind as my coven was, I wasn’t even sure if they could risk letting a team of soldiers leave.
I needed to go, and since Kai had made up his mind about things, that was that. I'd do the best I could and keep my mind solely on the mission. If I failed, then thousands of men, women, and children would pay the price.
That was unacceptable, so I'd just have to deal with it.
Checking my watch, I saw that we were nearing the time when I was expected to report to the Easter court with the rest of the team. It was unusual to be rallied right after sunset, when the sky was only just bleeding from the hazy, blazing oranges of summer, into the royal lavenders and periwinkle of twilight, but it wasn’t so rare that we'd stick out like sore thumbs. That’s what I hoped, anyway.
I’d neither performed on a covert mission in enemy territory before, nor ever spent this much time around Kai. The last week was full of all sorts of firsts for me, and I wasn’t sure I liked any of them.
My instinct was to hurry through the rest of the packing, but I forced myself to be methodical. Most of my fellow soldiers would likely have bedrolls and full packs, and I wasn’t expected to be as strong as they were. That was the downside of pretending to be a simple witch and not a shifter. I often had to pull my strength back lest people get suspicious.
All I had was a medic’s bag with two changes of clothes, my potions, amulets of protection, and an old bedroll. The next few nights werenotgoing to be comfortable, but honestly, a hard place to sleep was the last of my worries.
About ten minutes before my call time, I finished up my packing and gave my room one last spray of scent neutralizer. After what happened with Kai, I didn’t want someone coming in while I was gone and figuring out my little secret. It was unlikely, but that didn’t mean I wanted to risk it.
I walked out into the hall and kept my head down. Since it hadn’t even been a week since the battle, people often stopped still to thank me for saving them or a friend. I absolutely hated it and couldn’t wait for things to go back to normal so I could just be the healing hermit again. Being so seen made me fearful the malevolent shadow curse that haunted me would affect the entire fort.
Maybe I should do something to make everyone hate me?
My stomach twisted at the thought. I certainly didn’t want to resort to such measures, but I would if I had to. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, and a week or two of my absence would allow me to slip back into anonymity.
Fortunately I was able to slip away to the east entrance without stopping too often and made it just in time. I wasn’t surewhat I expected when I got there, but it certainly wasn’t for Darla to be waiting there, geared up like she was…
Like she was about to go on a mission.
I couldn’t breathe for a second, I was so surprised to see her there, but then my eyes flitted past her to see Kai and two others who were especially prepared for travel.
Oh, God, it was really happening, wasn’t it?
“Hey there,” Darla said, grinning broadly as she approached me. “You’ve been scarce lately.”
“Are you coming with us on the mission?” I asked before realizing that if she wasn’t, I most definitely would have just blown our cover. 007 would be ashamed.
“Well, I’m not just standing around to look pretty,” she said before giving a little twirl. “Although, I do look great in these civvies, don’t I?”
I wouldn’t exactly call what we were wearing civvies. We all were in dark green pants and black shirts. I’d been given brown gloves and a slicker coat of the same color that was rolled into my bag.
As surprised as I was about Kai being willing to risk Darla’s life for our little mission, I was, indeed, relieved to see her. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her far enough away that the shifters couldn’t overhear us.
