Chapter Eight Ronan
Chapter Eight
Ronan
Avine uncurls right in front of us with a tiny violet flower perched on the end, making me frown as I step around it.
My chest hums in satisfaction, and for the first time since I laid eyes on her, the tugging sensation has finally stopped, telling me that she is exactly who I think she is. My fated mate.
I was the last of us to depart for the Mating Hunt, thanks to the random draw, and when I let my heart guide me in the right direction, I ran straight to her, finding Hawk and Bo guarding her hiding place, unbeknownst to her.
I hold her a little tighter, reveling in finally being able to touch her.
I still can’t believe it’s true—that my clansmen and I have been given the rarest of gifts, a fated mate.
And here she is, in my arms, letting me protect her even though she seems completely confused by the entire situation.
It’s clear she doesn’t know we’re her mates, so we need to tread carefully with her so as not to overwhelm her.
Seeing her cry is something I never want to see again. But being the one to soothe her and calm her down almost made up for seeing her that upset.
Something tells me that her life has been far more strenuous than our own. When I saw her, crumpled on the ground, looking terrified and filthy, I was ready to rip the world apart to get to her.
But I knew we had to be careful on the mainland.
They didn’t believe in fated mates like we did in Redmere.
And slaughtering her brother in front of her might not endear her to us, either.
That was why I beat my fist to my chest for her.
It was a silent promise. An oath that I will give my life for hers, that I will protect her above all others.
We might have come here to find the magical charm that will save our island, but now our plans must include keeping our mate safe and protected while we search.
The sound of flowing water reaches my ears as I follow behind Bo, and as we move through the trees, the sound gets louder.
When we step into the clearing, a small waterfall, about eight feet tall, looms in front of us, spilling into a small pond, which is surrounded by large rocks. It’s perfect for cleaning her up.
We stop at the edge of the water, and Hawk moves around the perimeter, his spear pointed at the forest as he listens for any threats.
I’m surprised we haven’t run into more men, but she had run really far into the forest. Though it’s only a matter of time before we run into others.
We still have six days out here before we can take her home.
Bo removes his sandals, untying the long straps from his legs, then steps into the water, his eyes searching it for signs of anything dangerous as I slowly lower her to her feet.
“Your name is Willow, yes?” I ask, just to be sure.
She frowns at me, so I explain. “We heard your brother call you that, but I wanted to make sure.” Slowly, she nods her head, looking at me nervously.
“And that was your brother, right?” I need to know the man who touched her is family, or else I’ll have to track him down and remove that hand.
She glances away for a second before answering. “Um, sort of?”
“What does that mean?” Bo asks, returning from his inspection of the water.
I remove my own sandals as I watch her fumble with her words nervously. “It’s… uh… hard to explain.”
“Well, you can tell us while we clean you up,” I tell her as I set my sandals aside and stand tall in front of her.
Looking down at her ill-fitting blue dress, I realize it will have to be removed in order to get her clean.
Tilting my head, I pinch the sleeve of her dress as I tell her, “We need to take this garment off so we can take care of you.”
Her eyes widen with fear, and she jumps back, making my heart clench with unease. I didn’t mean to frighten her.
“I—You… what?” she asks nervously.
“You’re injured and dirty,” Hawk tells her as he moves to my side. “We can’t take care of you unless you remove the dress.”
“You can keep your undergarments on, if you wish,” I tell her, hoping to calm her nerves, but that just makes her cheeks turn bright red.
“I, uh… I’m not wearing any.” Nobody says anything as our eyes trail over her breasts and down lower, as if we can see right through the fabric.
She wraps her arms around herself, and I realize we’ve made her uncomfortable. “Bo, do you have anything to cover her with?” I ask, lifting my gaze to meet his.
His brows pinch in thought as he opens the bag that’s slung over his head and peeks inside. He rummages through before pulling out a few small strips of material, which are used for bandaging up wounds.
“That will do,” I say with a nod, reaching for them. She watches me with interest as I tie a few of them together until I have two longer pieces. They won’t cover much, but hopefully enough to make her feel more comfortable.
I hold them up to show her. “We will bind these around you here,” I say, pointing to her chest, “and here.” I point between her legs.
“But,” she bites her lip nervously before continuing so quietly it’s almost a whisper, “you’ll be able to see me.”
Realizing her dilemma, I wish I could just explain right now that we are her mates, that even if she is not ready to give her body to us, it is inevitable, and she may as well show us so we can more easily care for her.
But mainlanders don’t understand fated mates the same way we do, so I know I have to take this slow. “I’ll close my eyes while I do it,” I tell her before glancing at the others. “Bo and Hawk will stand guard and keep their backs turned.”
“I can do it,” she says, holding out her hands for the strips of fabric. My lips press together in a thin line, not liking her having to do anything on her own, especially something like this. But I also don’t want to push her when we’ve only just met, and she still looks so fearful.
I place the fabric in her hand and nod at my clansmen as we all spin to face the forest. I hear the rustling of her dress being removed, and a couple of small grunts, and it takes everything in me not to turn around. Instead, I focus my gaze on our surroundings, knowing I need to stay alert.
After a few minutes, she tells us, “Okay, I’m done.”
The three of us spin to face her, and I suck in a sharp breath of surprise.
A mountain of emotions crashes into me all at once, fighting for dominance.
Seeing so much of her bare skin is delectable, at least it should be.
But she’s covered in filth, scratches, and worst of all—bruises.
She’s also much thinner than she should be.
“Who did this to you?” I ask in anger.
She wraps her arms around herself and looks down, telling me not to push her, that I need to go slow.
“Has no one been feeding you?” I ask a little gentler as anger coils in my belly.
She tries to cover herself up with her arms, looking embarrassed as she quietly answers, “Not so much.”
I want to ask what that means, but the primal need to take care of her overpowers every other feeling. I step forward, scooping her back up into my arms as gently as I can. I step over the rocks and carefully lower us into the water together.
She gasps when the cool water touches her skin, her arms moving to wrap around my neck as she turns her body to mine, clinging to my front as I place an arm under her backside for support.
I can feel her body trembling, so I rub her back gently. “It’s okay, my tiny treasure. I have you.”
“I-I can’t swim,” she admits, making me hold her a little closer as my confused eyes meet Bo’s, who’s stepped in the water with us as Hawk stands guard. How can anyone not know how to swim?
A hundred questions spring to mind, demanding me to ask her, but I know I have to take this slow. She’s a flight risk right now and needs to know that we are going to take care of her, not just pepper her with non-stop questions.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I tell her, “We will keep you safe. It’s shallow here, so you’ll be able to stand. Do you want to try? So we can clean you?”
She pulls her head back and looks at Bo. Seeing him standing there with the water up to his waist, has her nodding her head as she unlatches her legs from me, and I reluctantly let go of her ass to let her stand on her own feet.
She holds onto my arms as she finds her footing, and when she feels a little more secure, she lets go and runs her hands through the water.
“It’s kinda nice,” she says with something akin to a smile gracing her lips for the first time.
I nod as I consider how to clean her. Normally, we use sand from the bottom to scrub our skin, but if we do that on her injuries, it will hurt her.
Glancing at Bo, I ask him, “Is there any more material? We need a cloth.”
He smirks at me and holds up a piece, obviously already realizing what I hadn’t.
“Bo’s going to wipe you down, okay?” I tell her as I look down at her frail form. She looks at him and nods nervously as he steps up to her and lifts one of her arms, dipping the cloth in the water.
We both watch as he gently strokes her skin, lowering her arm under the water repeatedly to rinse the dirt away.
The brown water that starts to surround her surprises me; she’s even dirtier than I thought.
We have to move her a few times to cleaner areas as we take turns slowly cleaning her pale skin.
Once we’ve done all the visible spots, I hold the cloth out to her. “Lower yourself into the water and clean under the bindings.” She looks at me in surprise, but does as I ask, avoiding looking at us as she cleans her breasts and between her legs.
“We need to clean your hair,” I tell her. When she nods, I lower my body into the water and reach for her. “I’m going to hold you while Bo cleans it.” Lifting her up, I hold her body across my arms. “Tilt your head back.”
Bo moves in behind her as I hold her still. He gently massages his fingers against her head, and her eyes close as a tiny moan escapes her lips. Bo smirks at me as he continues the massage, helping her relax.
Eventually, he moves on to clean her hair, using sand from the bottom of the pond to scrub through it. Once that’s done, we move her around to the clean water as he rinses it all out. It takes a while, but soon her hair is no longer light brown but instead a beautiful blonde.
I gently place her on her feet, and her eyes pop open, as if surprised we’re done. I pull my own comb from my side pouch as I turn her to face Bo and start working it through her tangled hair as gently as I can.
Deciding it’s a good time to get some answers, I start to ask her some questions.
“Where are you from, Willow?”
“California.” I glance at Bo and he shakes his head; he’s never heard of it either.
“Where is that? In the North?”
“No, it’s on the West coast of America.”
“America,” I say, the name sounding foreign on my tongue. “I’m afraid I don’t know it.” She doesn’t respond, so I prod her for more answers. “Did it take you long to travel here?”
She still doesn’t respond, and Bo, watching her face, lowers himself in the water to be closer to her height.
He steps right in front of her and slowly grabs her hands.
“What’s wrong? You don’t want us to know where your village is?
” he asks in confusion. I feel a small pain in my chest. Is she still scared of us?
Is she planning on running and doesn’t want us to know where she lives?
“It’s not that,” she says nervously. “It’s just that.. Um.. Well. I don’t think you’ll believe me.”
I frown down at the back of her head as I continue combing her hair. “Tell us anyway?” Bo asks. “I promise we’re pretty open-minded.”
“Well. I, uh… Yesterday, I sort of came through a portal into your world.” That has me freezing mid-stroke.
“You’re not of this world?” Hawk asks from the nearby shore, where he’s been listening intently.
“No. I sort of switched places with a woman who looked just like me, but cleaner,” she adds on at the end.
I continue combing her hair as I try to understand what this means. There are two Willows? Are we certain that this one is our fated mate?
I shake my head the second that question pops into my mind. I know she is mine. I feel the pull to her, even now. Suddenly, a new worry has me frowning. If she just came here yesterday…
“Did you sign up for the Mating Hunt?” I ask, worry filling me.
And when she shakes her head, a pit starts to form in my stomach. She didn’t sign herself up to be hunted. She might not even fully understand what it is. No wonder she’s been looking at us with fear and apprehension instead of excitement and anticipation.
To her, the three of us are just men who hunted her through the forest. And now that we’ve caught her, she must be terrified about what will happen next. No wonder she broke down earlier. She must be so confused and think we're a bunch of barbarians.