Chapter 28
VESSA
My cellphone buzzes to life, ripping me away from a delicious dream. Anticipation courses through me as I sit up to read the screen.
Axe Skornokovy
After you finish breakfast, I'd like to take you somewhere.
Sure. Where to?
Axe Skornokovy
Up in the mountains. Be sure to bundle up.
After a rocky off-road ascent, we reach the mid-level peak of Malabaht. Axe parks the truck and wraps around to my side to open the door. Thanking him, I plop onto the ground and shiver. He snickers, teasing that I haven’t dressed warmly enough.
The sarcasm isn’t wrongfully placed. I look completely ridiculous in my current ensemble—gloves, a thick wool scarf, a blue fleece hat, two layers of pants, and a chunky turtleneck sweater under my insulated parka.
I can’t walk without waddling. Meanwhile, Axe is at ease in his usual jeans and a weathered shearling jacket.
“Just a second,” he says.
The Alpha trots back to his pickup, reaching behind the driver’s seat, and plops the brown cattleman hat atop his head. My heart proceeds to squeal every curse known to man.
Axe brings me to a higher elevated spot just up ahead.
There are several large stones, fragments of what was once a boulder, lying just six or seven feet from the overhanging cliff.
He takes a seat next to me and together we finally take in the most breathtaking panoramic view I’ve ever seen.
The hazy sun casts its streams of light over the snowy mountain range, revealing a new world.
“All this here is the handiwork of a single glacier, carved out about ten thousand years ago.”
Pine trees of every shade of green sweep across the entire valley below.
In the distance, I spot Lupine Manor and the smaller dwellings that surround it.
Trees and rocks extend for miles, peppering the landscape.
Only now do I begin to realize just how expansive the wilderness of Aurora’s Belt truly is.
I do not fear the animals that roam beyond the pines because I know that the most dangerous one is at my side.
He protects every square inch of what we are gazing upon.
Words evade me. Despite the remarkable beauty of the terrain, what strikes me is the stillness. The tranquility of a cathedral. It’s so quiet that it feels as if we are the only two people on this earth, paying our respects to the gods’ craftmanship.
“This lookout . . . is very special to me. Whenever I’m frustrated with my duties or if I have . . . difficult memories, I come here to shift and recenter myself. It’s my wolf’s favorite place to wander off to.”
“It’s magnificent,” I say, pausing for a moment. “Is it alright if I ask about last night?”
Seeing him so vulnerable terrified me as much as it tore my heart in half.
Facing the gargantuan sloping mountains, I feel him stiffen. His nod is subtle but affirming.
“Was that the first time you’ve had a paralysis episode?”
Swallowing tightly, he considers his answer. The extended silence is answer enough.
His voice is raspy. I wonder if it’s still raw from the nightmare’s torment. “They come and go. Few times a month.”
Gods help him.
“Who else knows?”
“Apart from Jabir, you’re the only one. He saw it firsthand when we bunked together at the base in Marsda.”
Neither of us speaks for a short while. I gaze out into the horizon, watching a strong gust of wind stroke the valley of lush pines below.
Overhead, an eagle’s call ripples across the wispy sky.
The moment hangs as the two of us watch her glide through the wind and perch on a lush pine off in the distance.
A tremor of anxiety ripples through me. Here goes nothing. “You should hate me. I know I partially hate myself, even though everything I’ve done to deceive you has been for self-preservation. I swear, I never meant to hurt you. Any of you.”
He glances over his shoulder. “If I keep you around, you’re bound to start an avalanche. That alone should make a man wary, even setting aside the fact that up until five days ago, I couldn’t trust a damned thing you say.”
He’s not wrong there.
“Paul seemed convinced that it isn’t possible. For the two of us to be mates. He made it sound like I’ve got you under my spell.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No. But you can’t deny that a giant omen has been placed in your lap. That I pose a real threat to your people and that violence will be inevitable. Even if there’s something between us . . . I don’t know if I can just sit back idly, knowing that I am responsible for what’s coming.”
His jaw clenches. I can’t tell if it’s anger or fear that prompts his silence. Dismissing the thought, Axe moves close enough to fully block out the sun. “We will protect you. With training and proper counsel, you can have a future here.”
A future with Bleeding Sun, not an execution. Relief washes over me.
“Lycans kill for thousands of reasons, Vessa. I will always bear the stains of the souls I’ve taken. The blood I’ve spilled. But for you, I can think of no better cause.”
“Axe . . .”
His eyes blaze with incinerating conviction. “He doesn’t own you. Hunting you down and murdering the people you care about to force your hand . . . that doesn’t make you cursed. That’s coercion. He wants you to live in fear. All I want is to free you from it.”
Warmth collects along my face. My throbbing heart.
He laces our fingers together. “If I have to bend this world in half, if it means that I have to face an army of demons on my own and cut down everything in my path to keep you, then I will. So long as the moon watches over us, I will always want you, Vespera.”
I grip his arm, tugging eagerly. “Can you show me more?”
Axe and I spend the next few hours roaming the forest along the mountain.
He explains how to keep track of our surroundings, how to spot prey in hiding, or where they may be heading.
Another mile ahead, I locate a set of footprints that belong to an elk.
Squatting, he confirms with his augment, noting how disappointed Demi would be that we didn’t pursue it further.
A male of his size could have fed the entire pack.
With only a couple hours of daylight remaining, we head back to the truck and cruise leisurely, gradually making our descent along rockier terrain.
Two different hordes of caribou scatter ahead of us, along with rabbits that blend in seamlessly with the icy ground cover.
As we make our final approach, the sound of rushing water grows louder.
My jaw drops. “A waterfall. Are you serious?”
He tosses back his last swig of coffee. “Just you wait.”
Together, we step through an entrance concealed by bushy balsams. The foliage reveals another clearing with a slick ledge that looks over a sixty-foot drop where water crashes against the jagged rocks below.
A stream swiftly carries the glacier runoff beyond our view.
Not a single part of me wishes to know how frigid that water is.
Axe clears his throat. “Would you be an angel and hold onto this for me?”
“Huh?”
He places the rugged cattleman hat in my hands. With a wink, he takes two steps close to the ledge, peeling off his jacket and shirt. The black ink that spans his muscled back is almost vibrant against the wispy grey sky.
“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Axe chuckles, kicking off his boots next. “Lovely day for a swim, wouldn’t you say?”
Finally, I hear the jingling of his belt coming undone. “I would say that you’re out of your mind!”
“Suit yourself.”
I raise his hat over my face just in time for those pants to hit the ground. Howling, Axe flings himself over the edge, simultaneously shifting into an enormous furry beast. I race to the edge, watching the wolf plunge into the water.
He’s done this before, right?
A black speck pops out of the water and relief settles over me. The wolf floats downstream for few moments before paddling over to the left bank. He looks up, marking my position, and then starts to ascend, toppling snowy rocks and broken trees, reaching the ledge in two minutes flat.
The animal slowly approaches. While normally lightning dances in his cobalt eyes, this time there’s a flicker of mischief. Water droplets swish out of his tail.
“Oh, no. Don’t even think about it.”
I start to back away, but Axe shakes his entire body, flinging icy droplets all over me. The attack has me shrieking like a furious house cat. Of course, my left foot finds a slick spot and I’m brought down to the ground with no chance to get out of range as he lets me have it for a second time.
I hiss at him to stop, fighting back a laugh. Instead of wringing out his black coat for a third time, he drops his head down to my level, and with a deep, hot breath, yanks off my scarf with his teeth. I’m perfectly caged in now, exactly how he wants me.
“Easy,” I whisper.
With a playful yip, the wolf licks a long, slobbery stripe from my chin all the way up to my forehead, removing my cap. My hands grip behind his ears, desperately trying to push him off me.
“No, no, no!” I beg, bordering on a squeal.
The wolf huffs what must be a laugh and continues to mercilessly lick my face. Realizing that nothing I do will make him budge, I surrender, squirming beneath hot panting and drool. My abdomen starts to ache from the fit of laughter. And that’s when I feel a sudden heavy weight pressing against me.
My eyelids shoot open. Axe has returned to his basic form, naked as the day he was born. His wavy hair is jostled, hanging over his forehead. Parted lips force out thin, labored breaths. Like every muscle in his body is fighting the primal inclination to kiss me.
Quite the opposite from the last time a man had me in this position.
The flashback to the burgundy wolf I encountered the day we met in Shanoah makes me flinch. Looking over my shoulder, I try again to wiggle out from underneath him. But I can’t. He’s far too heavy.