Chapter 21
Twenty-One
E ven though I wanted him to stay, I didn’t ask Verus to not go on the hunt. I couldn’t. It was his job, and he’d told me how honored he was to serve his clan. Instead, I forced a smile and wrapped up the bread I’d made for him and the three others who were going on the hunt. When I handed it to him, he looked at the bundle curiously, tipping his head at me.
“What’s this?”
I was so hopelessly smitten with him, I could only shrug helplessly and blush as I admitted, “I wanted you to have enough to eat. If you’re careful, it should last a while. Yamileth added some fruit to it, so it’s healthy and?—”
He swooped down, cutting me off with a kiss that took my breath away. It was so intense and filled with emotions that I didn’t dare hope for, I could only cling to him and try to commit the feeling to memory. When he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine, I felt a lump form in my throat.
“I won’t be gone long, ravsol. The others will face Rath if they drag their feet. He will not allow it to take longer than necessary.”
As much as I wanted him to hurry, I didn’t want him putting himself at risk either. “Be safe,” I pleaded, my fingers digging into his tunic. I’d just found him. I couldn’t stomach the thought of losing him.
Smiling softly, he rubbed his forehead against mine in an affectionate gesture. I closed my eyes and savored it, and when he was summoned to join the other hunters, I firmed up my resolve and forced myself to smile for him.
“Go. Do your duty for the clan. I’ll be here when you get back.”
He stole one last kiss before pushing to his feet and walking out of the cooking tent. A part of me didn’t want to watch him go, but I couldn’t help but follow, hobbling on my crutches to see him off.
Finn was in a similar state about Rath’s departure. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he clung to Rath’s tunic until Zoya pulled him away. Moving to stand beside him, I nudged him to get his attention.
“They’ll be okay as long as they’re together. Right?”
Sniffling, Finn looked up at his bondmate, then at Verus, who was on his horse beside Rath, his expression serious. Finn huffed out a watery laugh at that expression, shaking his head.
“He’s never that serious. It looks weird.”
A smile tugged at my lips and I tipped my head, studying the barbarian I was falling for. “Maybe you’re right. It looks wrong for him to be serious.”
Verus, noticing he was the center of attention, frowned, looking between us. “What?”
Zoya smirked, rolling her eyes. “They think you look weird being all frowny like that. Lighten up a little. I’ll watch over them.”
Verus’s expression softened, and he nodded once. “I trust you, clan healer. And Finn? I’ll bring him back in one piece after proving I’m the better hunter. It won’t take that long.”
Rath rolled his eyes, but Verus’s teasing did a lot to ease the heart-heavy feeling in the air. He winked at me, all smiles, and I forced my sadness away for him. I didn’t want him out there worrying about me. I wanted him to focus on his task so he could come home safe.
“Move out,” Rath grumbled, giving his bondmate one last soft look before turning his giant horse and making a clicking sound to get the animal moving. The barbarians didn’t start moving at an easy pace. He raced off at a gallop, the rest of the hunters following after him. Verus turned to look over his shoulder at me, lifting a hand to wave just before they all disappeared over a hill.
Finn choked on a sob, hugging his middle, and Zoya sighed, wrapping her arms around him. She flashed me a small smile.
“Are you okay?”
A part of me wanted to cry like Finn, but I held it back. “Yeah, I’m okay. Will he be okay?”
Poor Finn looked devastated and almost inconsolable. Zoya cuddled him close, kissing the top of his head affectionately. “He’ll be alright. He just needs a distraction.”
I thought about it for a moment, then tipped my head toward the cooking tent. “Finn? Do you want to help me with breakfast? I could use a hand.” And technically, there were supposed to be two extra people in the tent to watch over Yamileth. She’d be a lot happier if one of them was Finn. He wouldn’t get in her way.
Finn didn’t immediately answer, but Zoya nudged him to get him moving, urging him along. “Come on. You can help Patrick while I check on Marienne. Her baby is due soon, and she said she didn’t feel well this morning.”
It took some coaxing, but eventually, I had Finn on a stool next to mine, carefully chopping vegetables. Yamileth didn’t comment on his sad state, but she did put some tea in front of him, and every time she passed by, she patted his shoulder or touched his head to remind him she was there. It was sweet, but I got the feeling if I told anyone she was doing it, she’d adamantly deny it. The look she gave me when I smiled as she passed said she wouldn’t appreciate me sharing the moment.
I was checking on the vegetables cooking in the pot above the fire when my favorite group of people joined us. A group of boys, from age two to ten, all came rushing in, begging for treats. They showed up every morning after breakfast, giving me and Yamileth big pleading eyes for more of their favorites. They found out pretty quickly that I was faster to give in than Yamileth was.
“Patrick!” they squealed, running up to me. I bit back a grin, pretending not to hear them, even while I sat back at my table and started chopping fruits for their treats. Little fingers pulled at my tunic, demanding my focus, and when I finally turned to look at them, they shoved the smallest right up front and nudged him.
“Do it!” his older brother whispered.
Taking his cue, the toddler put his hands together and stuck out his bottom lip, his eyes wide and pleading. “I has tweat?”
“Oh goddess, how can you say no?” Finn murmured, a crooked smile on his lips.
The other kids joined in, giving their biggest puppy dog eyes. “Please! Please, Patrick!”
Laughing, I nodded. “Fetch me your bowls, and you can each have more.”
They squealed and raced off to get the bowls, all but the youngest, who didn’t have a hope of keeping up. I snatched him before he could toddle off, pulling him into my lap and handing him a cut up piece of fruit.
Finn melted watching him, his red rimmed eyes finally dry. I introduced them, chuckling when the toddler asked Finn for more fruit instead of saying hello. He was happy to oblige the tot, offering him some from the pile I’d cut up.
“Will you take him? I need to get the rest of the fruit ready for the others.”
Finn looked surprised but pleased when I handed him the toddler before I pushed to my feet to grab more fruit to cut up. Yamileth poked me in the side as I filled a small bag, rolling her eyes at me. “You’re worse than I am.”
I snickered, shaking my head. “I like kids. They never judged me or treated me badly. As long as I had bread and treats at my store, they were always happy to see me.”
She hummed, patting my cheek affectionately. “You will make a good father someday. Verus is very lucky.”
My cheeks flushed bright red at the thought of having children with Verus. I’d always thought about adopting when I got more settled. It got lonely in the store by myself, and there were kids out there who needed homes. Sharing that experience with Verus filled me with so much want, it made my chest ache.
“Do you think he’d want that?” I murmured. “With me, I mean?”
She rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips. “I think if you told him you picked him, he’d bond with you before daybreak. Have you not noticed how he looks at you?”
Lifting a shoulder, I carried the bag back to my table and got comfortable on my stool again. “I want it to be real, but we’ve never discussed it. He’s a sweet person in general. It could just be in his nature to dote on those he’s… spending time with.”
Finn snorted, raising his eyebrows at me. “You mean Verus? He’s smitten with you. Rath says he’s too distracted on the hunt because he won’t stop thinking about you. I’m glad he went on the long hunt. He’ll be just as eager to come back as Rath, and between the two of them, hopefully it won’t take very long.”
I hoped that too. Verus said he’d get back as soon as he could. Counting down the days was going to be brutal, though.
The children came back in a flurry, holding up their bowls for treats. I had to focus on cutting up the fruits and passing them out, struggling to keep up before their bowls were empty again, and they were begging for more. Yamileth had to eventually send them away to give me a break.
“Shoo! Off with you! You’re going to eat all our food, and we’ll have none for later! Wait until your next meal!”
They squealed and laughed, running from her as she batted at them with a towel. She chuckled as they disappeared, the last one being the toddler who slipped off Finn’s lap to run after the others.
I sighed watching them go. If what she and Finn were saying was true, I could finally have the future I wanted. A future filled with love and warmth, with days feeding people and making them happy and nights wrapped in the arms of the man I loved. It was a dream I thought was too far-fetched to ever come true. But because of one barbarian who showed up to rescue me, maybe it could actually happen.
As soon as he came home, I’d ask. I had to. I needed to know one way or another if it was possible. Because the more time I spent with Verus, the harder I fell for him. If I had any chance of sparing myself the heartbreak, I needed to know sooner rather than later. Because I wanted forever with him. Hopefully, he wanted the same thing.