Chapter 21
Bowen
Anudge at my side stirred me awake. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was, and was afraid that when my eyes opened, all I would see was the black nothingness that had swallowed me in the mine.
A gentle voice in my head whispered, “It is all right, young one. You are safe.”
Recognizing her voice, I turned to the side, finding myself face-to-face with Aurelia.
Rudy’s arms tightened around me as he wiggled closer.
His warmth radiated through my back, reminding me he was here, that I was under the open sky, and I was safe.
The pleasant ache in my body reminded me of the intensely hot pounding Rudy had given me, and the fact that we lay here in the nude with his dick nuzzled against my ass. Safe and satisfied.
Ellie’s wide amber eyes were only inches away from mine as she studied me.
It didn’t bother me that she’d found us in the buff.
If it were one of Rudy’s friends or a guest, that would be different, but animals didn’t have the same kind of concerns with nudity as humans did, and they didn’t seem to care much for personal boundaries.
It was funny how often I ended up having conversations while naked…
with animals, at least. Though Aurelia wasn’t a typical animal.
I held my hand out, and she rubbed her head against it. She eyed me once more before lying down next to my chest, with a wing spreading over my side and over Rudy’s arm that banded my waist. It was as though she were trying to offer comfort to both of us at the same time.
“I am grateful you have returned. I did not doubt it, for I knew the wolf would find you, but I was worried for you.”
Running a hand along her back, careful to avoid the spiked ridges that ran down her spine, I spoke into her mind so I wouldn’t disturb Rudy. “Thank you. I knew he would, too, but I’ll admit I got a little lost for a while.”
Ellie leaned her head against my stomach. “That is understandable. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come to your side. I cannot leave Malterra. I’m bound to this island.”
My brows pinched together. Having been bound myself not too long ago, the idea didn’t sit well. “What do you mean? Like a captive?”
“No, Bowen. I am no captive. My magic is tied to this place. If I leave, my magic leaves with me, and the island will be left vulnerable to the outside world.”
Magic. It would have been hard to believe in such a thing not too long ago, but not anymore.
What did she mean that the island would be left vulnerable?
My mind went back to my first trip here and the way the island was covered in mist, or the clouds that covered it most of the time, blocking it from view.
I’d even looked up the island to see what I could find out about it, but the satellite images only showed a blur where I thought the island should be.
It didn’t have large gates like Jurassic Park or any kind of defense system, though I was certain many of the beings here were defense enough, but still, it wasn’t somewhere most people just found, aside from me.
“You’re the curse!” I shouted to her in my mind. Somehow, she managed to cover the island to keep it away from prying eyes.
“Mmm. Curse or guardian, it’s all in how you interpret it, descendant of Gwrhyr.” Her voice had a hint of smug amusement. “There are limits to my magic; it isn’t as strong as it once was, back before the earth was corrupted with technology and civilization growth, but I use what I have.”
“Incredible.” I found myself smiling as I thought of this small creature who often came to comfort Rudy, and now comforted me, but who had the entire island under her care. It made me wonder… “Why Rudy?”
“Hmm?”
“He’s told me about all the times you would be there for him when he changed back from his wolf form. I’m not complaining; I’m beyond grateful you’ve been there for him. I’m just curious, what was it about him?”
“He has a good heart. He revealed it to me from the moment we first met. It was what first drew me to him,” she replied in a soft tone.
Maybe it wasn’t the first thing I’d noticed about him, more curious about the wolf than anything, but after getting to know him, it was what made me fall in love with him.
“Once I saw how affected he was by his transformation, it tugged on my soul. I, too, know what it is like to lose yourself and do things you wish you hadn’t.
It’s a lonely feeling that makes you want to pull away.
I didn’t like the idea of him facing it on his own. Not if I could help him through it.”
My thoughts shifted to the minotaur, Bryan.
How easily I had reached into his mind, which was the one place he didn’t want me.
The violation of it sat heavily in me, and a part of me wanted to slink away to hide, while the other part wanted to cling to the comfort I felt from my mate.
I couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of state I would be in if I didn’t have Rudy here. The dragon, too.
“He’s no longer on his own,” Aurelia said, giving me another nudge with her head. “And neither are you. You two take care of each other.”
“We will.” The words were spoken instead of thought, making Rudy groan awake. When he saw the dragon resting at my side with her wing covering his arm, he let out a soft sigh.
“Hi, Ellie, I’m glad you’re here. We’re both okay, though.”
Ellie licked his hand in response. “Yes. You are. I will leave you to each other. Goodnight, friends.” At that, she disappeared again.
I turned to face Rudy and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. “She said she knows we’ll take care of each other.”
Rudy brushed his lips against mine and met my gaze. “We will. I will always take care of you, however I can. There’s no doubt that you will do the same. I can feel it in my heart, in my body, and in my soul. My perfect mate.”
“I love you and your beautiful heart, Wolfie.” I gave him another light kiss.
With a glance up at the stars, I thought of how nice it would be to stay suspended in this moment forever.
Naked, embracing, out in nature, and under the moon.
It was a perfect moment, but one I knew had to come to an end, at least for now.
Rudy’s friends had been deeply concerned about me, well, about us, while we were gone.
It was only right to catch them up on everything.
And then there was Bryan. Fuck, I needed to talk to him.
“I think we should head inside,” I said reluctantly.
Rudy’s eyes roamed over mine. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Thank you, though. This was…” I waved a hand over us, my body still twinging with pleasure. “Fuck, this was perfect. You were perfect. Exactly what I needed.”
“It was what I needed, too.” Rudy gave me a warm smile.
It was more than the sex, though it was fucking amazing.
It was being here with him, feeling our bodies and souls so tangled together, casting out the shadows.
It was being held in his warm embrace and feeling like nothing else could touch me. It was the love between us.
Rudy nuzzled into my neck and breathed in my scent before letting out a sigh.
He rolled away from me and stood up, holding his hand out to me.
I took it, enjoying the sight of his bare body shining beneath the moon’s light.
Damn! I really would never get tired of his body, or the way he looked me over, appraising my nakedness. Naked. Right.
Looking around, I took in the sight of my shredded clothes, right down to the lacy briefs he’d ripped off me like I’d been fantasizing.
The reality of it was so much hotter than what I’d imagined.
Except now they were in tatters; not a single piece of clothing was salvageable.
A laugh popped out of me. “You’re a killer, Wolfie. Straight-up killer.”
When he followed my gaze, I could see his cheeks redden even in the moonlight, and felt a wave of mortification come from him. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
I walked up to him, tilting my chin up to look at him. “I’m not. Hottest fucking moment of my life. Only… I’d prefer not to walk back naked.”
Rudy sucked on his teeth. He picked up his large shirt and threw it at me.
I pulled it on, laughing at how far it hung down my legs.
Ridiculous, but at least I wouldn’t be all balls out.
Rudy put on his boxers and jeans, which had managed to survive the ordeal.
I stuffed all the remnants of my clothes into my messenger bag and slung it over my shoulder.
We were quite the pair. Him in his baggy pants, me in a shirt I could drown in.
It was completely laughable, and somehow, completely us.
Taking his hand, we walked back to the inn. I’d been hoping to have a moment to clean up and change before interacting with anyone, but they were all there in the lobby, waiting. I didn’t have to look to know Rudy’s cheeks were bright red. He tried to pull his hand out of mine, but I held it tight.
With my chin lifted high, I said with as much confidence as I could muster, “We’ll be right back.”
Zephyr snorted while the others tried to avert their eyes.
I marched boldly past them in my T-shirt dress and headed straight to the courtesy closet.
Knowing my clothes were in tatters in my bag, it finally occurred to me why the closet existed.
I might not have shifted and lost my clothes, but my mate sure did a thorough job of them.
A laugh bubbled up in my chest, and Rudy met my gaze as I pulled clothes off the racks.
After all that effort to go shopping, I ended up back here anyway.
“This is going to be a weird life together, isn’t it?” I snorted.
Rudy shrugged. “I’m a werewolf, so yeah, probably. Is that… a bad thing?”
I shook my head with a grin and gave Rudy a hard kiss while handing him his shirt back. “No. I was never going to have a normal life anyway. With you, it’s the very best kind of weird, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”