Chapter 15 Hawk #2
I marvel at how small she looks in his embrace. She’s so tiny, it’s clear she needs our protection, not just from the Mating Hunt, but from everything. She is ours to protect and cherish. I just hope we can make her see that too. That she belongs with us.
She sits sideways in Ronan’s lap, which seems to be the only way she can sit without her dress riding up. He feeds her pieces of meat and some of the berries and nuts that Bo collected. We eat in silence as we watch her nibble away until she refuses more.
Feeling satisfied that she’s been well fed, Ronan eats as she stares into the flame, looking lost in thought. I see her eyes dim with sadness, and wonder if she’s thinking about her sister again.
Wanting to see happiness on her face instead, I start singing one of the songs of our homeland. Bo joins in quickly, and when Ronan’s finished eating, he starts to sing too. We harmonize easily, since we’ve been singing around a campfire most of our lives.
This song, in particular, has always been one of my favorites. Its soft, enchanting tones blend perfectly with the words that speak of love and fate.
When the hearth is low and the night runs deep,
And the waves beat time on stone,
We sing of the one the gods will keep,
The heart the sea brings home.
Oh, bind her name to your breath and bone,
Bind her fate to thine,
For the one you love is never alone,
Her soul was forged with mine.
She may come in storm or come in flame,
With fear in her wake behind,
But call her true and speak her name,
And the gods will make her thine.
If she is lost, be her guiding star,
If she is weak, be her hand,
For no man walks the long years far,
Without his mate to stand.
So sing her name to the dark and dawn,
Sing it soft or loud,
For the gods hear best when warriors sing
With their heads unbowed.
The sea may take, the gods may test,
But love is the oath we keep,
Heart to heart and breath to breath,
Until the long last sleep.
“That’s beautiful,” Willow whispers when the cave grows quiet, only the sound of the crackling fire filling the air. “You all sing so well.”
“Can you sing, little one?” Bo asks with a tilt of his head.
“No, I’ve never sung before.”
“We could teach you a song?” he suggests, but she’s quickly shaking her head.
“That’s okay, maybe another time?”
“Of course,” he agrees easily, offering her one of his easy smiles.
He’s always been the best of us three at showing his emotions.
You never really have to guess what he’s feeling at any given time.
I, on the other hand, am the worst. When I was younger, I always worried about being judged by my family, and so I found it easier to hide what I was feeling.
I worry it will make it harder to connect with Willow, that she won’t understand what I’m thinking, and will misread my intentions.
When I see her hand cover her mouth to hide her yawn, I use it as my excuse to take her to bed.
I’ve been craving her all day, but ever since I held her almost naked body to mine in the pond, I’ve been itching to hold her once more.
I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight without her in my arms.
I push to my feet and step over to them. “Let’s get you to bed,” I say as gently as I can muster before bending down and scooping her up, not giving any of them the chance to refuse.
She clings to my neck as I carry her over to the spot right behind where I’d been sitting, that one of the others has already prepared. A blanket lies folded, to provide as much padding as possible under her, and another blanket is folded at the end, clearly meant to cover her.
I set her on her feet and gesture. “Lie down.”
She frowns down at the bed, then glances around, as if looking for something else. “This isn’t big enough for everyone.”
“That’s right. It’s just for you.”
Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “Oh, no! I can’t take all the blankets. Can’t we share?”
“We are used to the hard ground. You are not.”
She frowns at my response, then bends down, grabs the folded blanket, and shoves it into my arms. “Hold that a sec.”
I do as she asks and watch as she bends down and unfolds the blanket that was placed for her to lie on. She spreads it out as far as it will go, looking at the area it covers then nodding in approval. “That’s better. We might all fit on it now.”
She eases herself down in the center, then looks up at me expectantly. My heart swells in my chest as I take in what she’s just done. Not only have we been blessed with a beautiful mate, but a kind and considerate one as well.
“Well?” she asks, tilting her head.
“Well, what?” I ask, still in a little awe over her wanting us to share the blanket with us.
“Aren’t you going to join me?”
I nod, then glance down at my leather coverings. “I will get changed and join you.”
“We all will tonight,” Ronan adds as he and Bo stand. “The traps we set will alert us to any intruders.”
I watch Willow long enough to see her cheeks turn pink, then quickly grab my now dry leaf coverings and change.
I finish before the other two and move back over to find her lying on her back with her eyes closed. I kneel beside her and her eyes fly open, widening when she takes in my body looming so close to hers, but she doesn’t move away.
Instead, she seems to study me, her eyes not knowing where to look.
I lie on my side, facing her, and she turns her head to look at me.
The pink returns to her face as she offers me a nervous smile.
Unable to stop myself, I reach out and stroke a finger down her pretty cheek. “Why are you nervous, angel?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers, her cheeks growing even redder.
“Hmm,” I hum in response, placing my hand on the blanket between us. “Is it me? Do you want me to sleep elsewhere?”
“No!” she exclaims, sounding worried, which settles me a bit. “I just… I don’t know. I’ve never slept beside someone before. Maybe this feels normal to you?”
“I’ve never lied beside anyone either.”
Her brows pinch together as if my answer confuses her. “What, like ever? I mean, you’re not a… you know?”
I shake my head, not understanding. “Not a what?”
The other two appear near our feet, and Ronan quickly moves to lie on her other side. She watches him with that same nervous expression until her eyes turn to Bo. She sits up when she sees him moving to lie on the other side of me.
“The blanket’s not big enough, is it?” she asks him worriedly.
“It’s fine, lie back down,” he tells her as he lies down behind me, half on the blanket and half on the hard ground.
“Use that one,” she says, pointing to the blanket by our feet that we were going to use to cover ourselves.
“Honestly, it’s fine, Willow.”
“But, it’s not right. You should be on the blanket too,” she says with the tiniest pout of her lower lip. I’m tempted to sit up and suck on it, desperate to know what it tastes like.
“If I can offer a solution?” Ronan asks, clearly not as distracted as I am by her tempting body. She turns her head to him expectantly. “We just need to move closer.” When she continues to stare at him, he crooks a finger at her, beckoning her closer.
Amusement and happiness fill me. He’s brilliant, and not as unaffected by her as I thought. She shuffles her butt closer to him as Ronan tells her, “Lie on your side, facing Hawk.”
When she does as he asks, he praises her. “Good girl. Now move backward. Keep coming, if you want Bo on the blanket too. There needs to be no space between us.”
I watch in amusement as he wraps an arm around her waist and drags her body back against his. She bites her lip, but he keeps his arm around her as he whispers, “Just relax, tiny treasure. We’re just going to sleep, nothing else.”
I hadn’t considered that she might think we are trying to mate with her right now.
“Come on, Hawk,” Ronan says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Move closer so Bo can fit too.”
I shuffle my body toward hers until most of our bodies are touching in some way. I feel Bo move behind me before he announces, “I’m officially on the blanket!”
A smile finally graces her lips, and I watch her shoulders lower with the release of tension. She looks up at me, and only the sound of our breaths and the crackling of the fire reaches my ears.
I grab the other blanket and throw it over all of us. Then I find her hand and kiss her fingertips before holding it between us. “Goodnight, Willow.”
“Goodnight, Hawk.” She tilts her head back and adds, “Goodnight, Ronan. Goodnight, Bo.”
They both whisper their goodnights, and I wait until I see her close her eyes before I do the same. Her breath skates over my fingers and cheek and helps send me into a restful sleep.