62. Raine
62
Raine
“You’re in a good mood today,” Rose comments as soon as I meet her in town.
I’ve grown a little more confident in showing my face around here, especially now that Nyx and I are kind of a thing. While I don’t expect the pack to jump for joy in accepting us being together, I’m hoping that I at least won’t be running for my life trying to dodge an angry mob.
“Yeah, it’s been a nice few days.” My face tilts back toward the sun, letting the fading rays shine on me while facing the horizon.
The clouds are washed with pinks and reds that bleed into a stark golden yellow where the mountains in the distance crest against the backdrop of the sky. The sights out here are so startlingly beautiful, nothing like the ones I’m used to back home.
Sure the sunsets back in Andromeda are amazing to look at, but typically the trees obscure any kind of full sunset from view.
Here though, there is nothing to block the full expanse of the sky.
“You mean hot as fuck?” Rose groans. “I swear, if I wasn’t afraid of us getting caught again, I’d bring us back to the creek to swim.”
Actually, that sounds delightful. I’m kind of tempted to test our luck, actually. With it being so close to sunset, most people are wrapping up and heading home for the night. The air is still tepid with the dry heat, which won’t be fading until after the sun has folded behind the mountains.
“Why don’t we go farther upstream?” I suggest. “We already know where that woman’s house is. We can avoid it if we don’t stop at that particular bank.”
Rose’s eyes light up. “You minx. You really want to get caught again?”
“Well, no. Not really.” But then again, I have a hard time believing Nyx will punish us in any way.
I don’t foresee him avoiding me for another week, not with the way we’ve been going at it for the past few days. If anything, he’d just lecture me, tell me not to do it again, and then hopefully take me to bed.
Rose grins at me. “But you want to do it, anyway.”
“I’d say we have at least an hour before your brother or Nyx come looking for us.”
She grabs onto my arm, pulling me through town. “Then we better get going.”
We hurry through town and out where the brush grows thicker and wilder. Out here, there is peace to be had among the fading sun and the stars soon to be twinkling along the skyline. I’m surprised at how free I feel, now that I’m no longer bound to a pack that hates me.
I no longer have to worry about being shunned or hurt every time I dare to enter town. There isn’t anything in the world that I’d trade this for.
Rose finds the path to the creek easily, veering us west instead of east this time. The sounds of running water pick up through the trees, along with the scent of something else drifting faintly along the breeze.
Grabbing Rose’s arm, I stop short, taking in a large lungful of air.
She turns to look at me. “What?”
“You smell that?”
She turns her nose up toward the trees overhead, breathing in too. “No—”
Something darts through the tree line, startling us both. My body crouches down toward the ground, readying myself to shift if it turns out to be more than just a prey animal passing through.
Outside of my eyes catching it for a second, there is no other sound that I hear moving through the brush surrounding us. Then, the scent grows stronger.
More familiar.
Rose lets out a growl, crouching too just as the figure steps into view.
“Delilah,” I breathe out, recognizing her instantly.
She sags in relief, her eyes pinning on me. “There you are.”
I run for her, completely ignoring Rose as she lets out a confused sound. Delilah darts forward, throwing her arms out to me and catching me when I all but launch myself at her. She laughs, stumbling back, her agile reflexes the only thing that keeps us both from tumbling into the dirt.
“I can’t believe it,” she says, squeezing me.
Tears roll down my eyes. This all feels like a dream—it can’t be real. There’s no way I’m hugging my best friend right now. In the flesh!
She pulls me back to look at me, laughing with her own watery eyes. “I knew it. I knew if I snuck over here, I’d find you.”
“What the hell are you doing here? Does Daniel know you’re here?”
She shakes her head. “No one knows.”
She traveled all this way to find me. How the hell she managed that all by herself, I’ll never know. Delilah’s always been scrappy and resourceful. If ever stranded on a deserted island, I’d choose her as my teammate any time.
“Uh…what the hell is going on?” Rose says from behind me.
“Shit,” I mutter and then turn to her. “Sorry. Delilah, Rose. Rose, this is my best friend Delilah, who I was telling you about.”
Rose nods slowly, still half in her stance while confusion is etched across her features. “How…did you get across the border?”
Delilah shakes her head and then focuses back on me. “Come on, we have to go.”
She tugs me forward, toward the trees.
“Wait, what?” My heels dig into the dirt. “I can’t go.”
“Raine, come on. We have to go before we’re caught.” She tugs on my arm again, a little harder this time.
But I’m shaking my head, still remaining planted in my spot. “I can’t.”
“It’s okay.” Her smile is kind, reassuring. Her hands come up to rub along my arms in that soothing manner she always uses when she needs to calm me down. “Everything will get figured out after we bring you home.”
“We?” Who the hell is we ?
Oh gods, is Daniel here with her? Did he put her up to this? My stomach clenches in fear.
“I can’t go back there,” I say, stumbling back from her. “He’ll kill me.”
“What?” Delilah’s brows knit together. “No, no. It’s not like that. Raine, he misses you. Seriously, he’s kind of a mess without you.”
I let out a laugh. That’s rich. I’m sure Daniel does miss having his favorite punching bag around to abuse. Who else will he take is undying rage out on?
“I’m not going back there to be locked up again, Delilah.” My voice is firm. “I’m sorry if he put you up to this. The alpha king here can grant you sanctuary if I ask him.”
“Sanctu…? Raine, no. I’m not bringing you back to Daniel.”
Okay, now I’m confused. “Then who did you come with?”
My nose picks up another scent—this one much darker and richer than Delilah’s. It’s painfully familiar in the worst way, like waking up from a long sleep to realize one hundred years have passed you by.
He doesn’t bother to hide the sound of his tracks as he moves through the brush. I’m glued to my spot, not even daring to breathe as he grows closer.
Without even meaning to, my eyes focus over Delilah’s shoulder to where the tall bushes part and another figure steps into view.
My entire body responds instantly, my wolf snapping awake from its slumber as my mate—our mate—stands before us.
Aiden.