Chapter 6
SAPHIRA
My paws were sore by the time the scent of water hit me, stronger than before, and my ears twitched, switching this way and that as I tried to pinpoint the source of it.
I lifted my head as I ran at Morden’s side, his larger wolf form like a shadow of my own, and peered through the canopy of the pines, glimpsing a steep cliff that veered sharply into the forest to my left and a mountain looming above it.
We were close.
I was sure of it, and it was as if that certainty that the river wasn’t far now gave my body permission to give up the fight.
My strides slowed, becoming more of a trot than a gallop, and the distance between myself and Morden grew.
Until he paused and looked back at me, canting his head, his silver-grey eyes concerned.
He padded back to me and nudged his head against mine, telling me without words that I could rest soon and that he knew I was tired.
It had been a long time since I had travelled so far on foot. If I had ever travelled this far in my life. I wasn’t sure I had.
We had covered miles to get here in one day, and we had traversed many more miles in the days since we had left Lucia.
Kaeleron.
My mood turned sombre as I thought of him, my instincts to return to him stronger than ever when my wolf was at the fore.
I ached to see him again, to see with my own eyes that he was well and that those terrible things I dreamed each night were just my fears coming out from the places in my heart they constantly lurked, taking advantage of the fact I couldn’t defend against them in my sleep.
I walked beside Morden, appreciating his slower pace as we neared the river and the rushing of water reached my ears.
We passed the base of the cliff and I glanced there, at a small alcove that was close to being a cave, partially concealed behind a veil of trailing vines.
It would make a good camp for the night.
I glanced skywards again and scented the air.
It smelled of rain and looked like it too.
I gestured towards the makeshift shelter and Morden shook his head and jerked it towards the river.
Making it clear I wasn’t the one in command of this little expedition of ours.
I huffed, the sound coming out as a snort, and trailed after him as he moved off.
When we reached the river, he shifted back and tugged his clothes on.
I spat mine out and lay down to lick my aching paws, earning myself a grumpy look from my companion.
He came to me and eased into a crouch beside me, his expression slowly shifting to one of concern as he pushed down whatever he had really wanted to say and plastered a terribly diplomatic smile on his face.
“It’s just better to avoid caves or any natural crevice a predator might decide is good shelter when it looks like we might be in for a stormy night.
I’ll build us a more manmade shelter, one they should avoid.
” He lifted a hand, as if he might rub my ruff, and then dropped it back to his thigh instead.
“I know you’re tired. I know I fucked up and I should have thought of the pack instead of the fae town. ”
I looked at him, catching the regret in his soft grey eyes as he averted them and scrubbed his neck.
I let the shift come over me, reached for my blouse to cover my front, and said, “It’s not your fault, Morden. Stop blaming yourself for everything. For this situation we’re in. For what Lucas did to me. None of it is your fault.”
His lips compressed.
And he pushed to his feet.
“I’ll go hunt while you gather pine branches for a shelter.” He was gone before I could say a word, before I could make him stay and listen to me for a change rather than letting it roll off his back in some twisted determination to hold on to the guilt he felt for some reason.
“It’s not your fault,” I whispered to him as he slipped into the woods on silent feet, a predator on the hunt, and wished he would believe it.
He hadn’t failed me.
Fate had.
But now I was going to make my own fate.
I pulled my clothes on and pushed my feet into my boots, and set about my work, doing my best to gather everything Morden might need to build a shelter.
Not that I really knew what I was looking for.
I fumbled my way through it, breaking off branches that had dense clusters of green and stacking them on the ground in the spot Morden had decided we would make camp.
My gaze drifted to the small rocky alcove as I passed it on my way back to camp, dragging five more branches along behind me.
I didn’t understand why we couldn’t use it if we were going to build a shelter anyway.
What was the difference?
I wasn’t sure there was one.
In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I felt Morden just wanted to build a shelter with his own hands, providing care for me, proving he was a good protector. He didn’t need to prove it to me.
I dumped the branches and walked to the river, a beautiful broad creek that tumbled around grey moss-capped boulders. I stooped and washed my hands as I watched the rushing water, my sharp eyesight picking out the small fish that darted between the cover of the rocks.
Gods, I hoped Morden didn’t come back with fish.
I would eat it, but I wouldn’t find it satisfying.
My wolf side was hungry, demanding meat, and I salivated as I remembered the salty piles of bacon and buttery fluffy eggs I had dined on every breakfast on my balcony in Falkyr, wondering what the day had in store for me or looking forward to training with Jenavyr.
Or seeing Kaeleron.
Seeing that quirk of his lips and the glitter of amusement in his silver eyes as he teased me, as we passed the time in easy conversation, or he drove me mad about something.
A sigh escaped me.
I toyed with the ring on my finger, staring at it, my mind fixed on him even as I tried to banish him from it and focus on my own problems.
I shoved to my feet, determined to do just that—to stop thinking about him and start thinking about how the hell I was going to convince Morden that heading to the Ryland Pack was the best course of action when he seemed determined to do the opposite, and seemed to think he was leading us.
Maybe it was time I put my foot down about that, but I wavered. Morden did have more experience.
It took all of the short walk back to camp for my mind to drift back to Kaeleron.
And this time I ached as I thought of him.
Ached.
Not the ache of pining, but of a more wicked nature.
Every brush of his strong hands across my bare flesh filled my mind, making me feel them as phantoms on my body. The way he had cupped my breasts. The way he would plunge them between my legs. How he would grip my hair as I pleasured him with my mouth.
I shivered, my nipples beading as heat stirred in my veins, as those echoes of pleasure tormented me and had my body coming alive, aching to feel his hands on it, his lips dancing across my skin to tease and madden me.
My mating heat might have broken, but I still hungered for him. I wished he were here with me now, touching me, trailing kisses down my bare body, making me howl at the sky as pleasure overtook me, and grinning at me as I blushed in the aftermath of letting go.
The ache became unbearable.
I canted my head, nerves trickling through my veins, mingling with the inferno just the memory of him had ignited in my blood, and listened hard, struggling to calm my breaths so I could hear over them. Nothing stirred within the reaches of my sharp hearing.
My heart raced, adrenaline surging as I crept away from camp, heading for the alcove in the cliff.
My fingers shook as I neared it, arousal clashing with the sensible part of me that said this was a bad idea and questioned whether I was really going to do this.
I was. I was going to do this, because I needed to take the edge off.
I was sure I would go mad if I didn’t. Morden would never know.
Once I had tamed my hungers, my needs, I would take a dip in the river, washing away all evidence of what I had done.
I felt wicked as I stepped into the shadow of the recess in the cliff and checked the ground and found it dry.
Was I really going to do this?
Gods, yes.
I tugged at the fastenings on my leathers, quickly opening them, and shimmied them down just enough that I could reach where I needed.
If I heard Morden, I could have them back in place before he saw me.
My heart thundered as I sat on the ground, leaned back against the rough stone wall and spread my legs as far as I could with my leathers around my knees.
I bit back a groan as I delved my fingers between my thighs.
I was so wet that the pads of them slid easily over my clitoris, sending jolts of pleasure shooting through me.
My eyes slipped shut as I sank into the desire building with each stroke of my fingers, as images built in my mind to shorten my breaths.
Kaeleron’s head between my thighs, his tongue stroking me masterfully as his fingers thrust into me, making me ache for his cock.
“Oh gods,” I whispered breathlessly as I palmed my breast with my free hand, tweaking my stiff nipple through my blouse, and stroked harder, faster, my pulse becoming frantic as I strained for release.
The thought of being caught cranked my temperature higher, sending my arousal soaring as I imagined Kaeleron coming upon me, finding me pleasuring myself while I thought of him.
I groaned and looked at the patch of forest before me, picturing him there, how fierce he would look as he watched me, how his heated gaze would burn me, making me blaze all the hotter, making me crave him all the more.
Yes. I moaned and rocked my hips, rolling my clit as I pinched my nipple. Gods, yes.
How wicked he would look standing before me, watching me, hungering for me.
How delicious he would be as he came to me.
As he lifted me to my feet and shoved my back against the cliff and took me hard against it.