Chapter 11 Bo
Chapter Eleven
Bo
“Little one,” I whisper softly. “You’re pushing me to my limits here.” I hear her inhale sharply as I try to focus on our surroundings and not my little mate squirming against my back like she’s desperate for a rutting.
“W-what?” she stutters out, sounding worried.
“If you keep rubbing yourself against me like that, I’m not going to be able to concentrate on keeping you safe.”
“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t realize,” she whispers, right beside my ear.
“I know,” I tell her as I continue marching behind Hawk, with Ronan taking up the rear. Over the next few minutes, she’s so stiff, I wonder if she’s fallen asleep, but one glance over my shoulder at her face and I can see the shame there.
“Sweetheart,” I whisper, just for her ears. “To be clear, I want you to rub yourself on me. In fact, I request you do it as much as it pleases you. Except for now, when we’re walking through the forest with enemies all around us. Your little body is too tempting for me.”
When she doesn’t respond, I ask, “Do you understand?” I feel her nod her head, and when I glance at her face again, the shame is mostly gone, and she gives me a tentative smile. That is probably the best I can do while we’re on the move.
The waterfall isn’t too far, and I look forward to getting there. I want to be able to see her body again, to study her curves, however slight they are right now. But we will feed her well and be sure to get her healthy in no time. I just wish I had something to get rid of those bruises.
Suddenly, an idea comes to me, and I let out a quick, low whistle to get Hawk to stop. When he looks back at me, I motion him over as Ronan steps up from behind, his knife out and his eyes on the trees.
“What is it?” Hawk asks as he scans our surroundings.
“No threats, I just had an idea. Do you remember Miryam’s special healing balm? She made it when you fell from that tree?” I ask Hawk and he nods. “I think I can recreate it if I get the right ingredients. It will heal her bruises in just a few hours.”
“What do you need?” Ronan asks eagerly, clearly on board with the plan.
“Comfrey root, yarrow, bitterleaf, and redwort,” I tell them. “Plus a few drops of water to make, then I’ll be able to make the poultice.”
“Alright, let’s keep our eyes peeled as we move,” Ronan says, before we step back into formation. By the time we near the waterfall, I have everything but the yarrow. But since they tend to grow close to water, I’m hopeful we’ll find some near the pond.
But before I can step into the clearing, Hawk freezes in front of me, slowly lowering the point of his spear to aim in front of him. I take a step forward so I can see over his shoulder, and my eyes widen in shock.
Sitting on one of the large boulders that surrounds the pond is a fucking troll. At least, I assume that’s what it is. We don’t have trolls or ogres in Redmere, so I’ve never actually seen one before.
His massive body is hunched forward as he digs his teeth into some sort of dead animal, probably a rabbit. He has dirty, green skin, pointy ears, and a long, curved nose. His big black eyes stare dimly down at his food as his black hair lies messily down his back.
One good thing about trolls is that they are said to be slow and dumb. Not exactly a difficult enemy for us to vanquish. Except they say where you find one…
The bushes beside us rustle, and my head shoots in that direction, searching for the threat.
Willow’s body tightens around mine before her entire frame starts to tremble.
I wish I could offer her reassuring words, but I don’t want us to be heard.
I watch through the trees as the second troll stomps toward the pond.
When he steps into the clearing, the first one lifts his head to see who it is, then goes back to eating, seemingly uncaring about his company.
Hawk slowly walks backward toward us, careful not to make a sound, until I place my hand on his shoulder, letting him know he can stop his retreat. Ronan joins us as we duck our heads together to speak quietly.
“There could be more,” I tell them, and they nod, already assuming the same thing.
“We should kill them,” Hawk whispers, but Ronan is already shaking his head.
“There’s no point. We won’t be able to stay here with the stench of their dead bodies in the air.”
“Then we find somewhere else to go,” I add, but Ronan shakes his head again.
“Look where the sun is. We only have an hour of daylight left. We mustn’t risk being left without a safe place to spend the night.”
“There’s always my tree,” Willow whispers quietly.
Ronan smiles at her and nods. “Let’s call that Plan B.”
“What’s Plan A?” she asks.
“Distraction,” he tells her.
With perfect timing, the sound of muffled male voices reaches our ears, and we all turn toward it.
On the opposite side of the clearing, a group of four men saunters in, laughing and stomping as if they don’t have a care in the world.
That quickly changes when the trolls set their sights on them. The one who’s standing lets out a roar so loud that even I wince. Then he moves in their direction, each step shaking the ground. He must be over nine feet tall and as thick as the three of us combined.
The men screech in fear before hightailing it back the way they came. The troll follows them, as the first one stands, and takes a moment to throw the rest of his dinner in his mouth before turning and following them.
As he passes us, I get an even closer look at his disgusting body. Apparently, trolls don’t wear any clothes, and these were both male. I want to lift my hand and shield the sight from Willow’s eyes, but he’s already moved on and ducked into the trees.
More loud footsteps come our way, and a third troll stomps into the clearing from our right. Seeing where his brethren went, he rounds the pond and follows them into the trees.
None of us moves for a full five minutes before we decide it’s safe. Hawk goes first, walking around the clearing and listening for any sign of others. When he makes his way back to where we’re still standing inside the trees, he tells us, “All clear.”
As we step up beside the pond, I bend down to one knee, and Willow unhooks herself from me and stands. I spin on my knees to look at her, taking in her face and checking that she’s okay.
“Are you alright, little one?” I ask, reaching out to grasp her hands.
“W-what were those things?” She shudders, turning her head in the direction they disappeared.
“Trolls.” Her eyes widen as she looks back at me. “You don’t have them in your world?”
“They’re like a myth. Made up for children’s stories.”
“Well, they are no myth here. Luckily, we don’t have any trolls or ogres on Redmere.”
“Ogres are real too?” she asks in surprise. I nod as I get to my feet, keeping one of her tiny hands grasped in mine.
“I’ll go check for the cave,” Hawk says as he removes his sandals and a few of his weapons. I hope there’s actually a cave there after all of this. We’re running out of options before the sun sets. Even now, the woods are starting to darken, the trees casting long shadows along the forest floor.
Hawk wades into the water until it’s too deep to stand, then he swims right up the waterfall and disappears behind it.
Willow squeezes my hand a little tighter for the ten seconds he’s out of sight.
As soon as his head reappears, her grip loosens, and I see her shoulders visibly drop, the tension leaving her.
She was worried about him. A smile tugs at my lips.
I did wonder if not being from this world meant she doesn’t feel the mate bond the way we do.
I’ve noticed she never reaches out to touch us; it’s always us reaching for her.
But I think that has more to do with her sheltered upbringing and shy nature, and less to do with how she actually feels.
If there is anything I’m better at than my clansmen, it’s getting people to relax. So I’m going to make it my mission to make her feel more comfortable around us.
Of course, we still haven’t revealed to her the fact that we were lonelings, and I hope that doesn’t make her reject us outright, that she’ll still give us the chance to prove ourselves to her.
As Hawk steps out of the pond, Willow’s eyes track the water running down his chest. He notices it too, based on the way he stands a little taller. “The cave is big enough for us all to fit comfortably. We can even have a fire in there as there’s a small gap in the ceiling for ventilation.
“Perfect,” Ronan says with a nod. “I’ll get the food. Hawk, you get the wood and figure out how to get it there without getting wet. And Bo, you get Willow in there safely. Remember, she can’t swim.”
We both nod at him, and he moves back into the trees as I turn to Willow. I realize her dress is going to get soaked if she keeps it on. But she’s not wearing anything underneath.
“Shit,” I whisper as I start to look through my bag.
“What’s wrong?” she asks worriedly.
“I don’t have any bandages left.”
“Are you hurt?” she asks in alarm.
“No, it’s for you, to cover yourself. If you wear your dress in the pond, it’ll be too wet to sleep in.”
“Oh.”
“I have a dilemma too,” Hawk says as he dumps a few logs by our feet.
“I don’t know how to get these through the waterfall without getting wet.
” Both our eyes turn to Willow’s blue dress.
It’s the only piece of material we have that could work.
The coverings we wear around our hips are too small to cover even a single log.
“We need to use my dress to protect the logs,” Willow says in realization. Her cheeks turn the cutest shade of pink as she stares down at herself.