How did you…?
Drenched bloody, they smiled. “Oh, the Queen allowed graceful pursuits. That included archery on the list, so Elyon got pretty good. Thanks for letting us use your horse.”
I had a suspicion Evie let them use the horse, but I couldn’t be mad that he would carry our dressed prey back to the group.
Declan burst into the clearing, the limp squirrel in his mouth.
We have plenty of meat,I told him.
He dropped it to bark his joy, and it revived long enough for Declan to snatch it by its tail, send it sailing into the air only to stomp on it again. The poor creature wasn’t getting up from that. Perhaps I underestimated the wolf’s capacity for violence.
Jogging back to the group, I growled at any hungry shifters who eyed our prey.
Declan added his snarls for emphasis, snapping at a jackal that got too close.There’s plenty in the woods,he barked.Hunt what you need instead of hoping for a hot meal by the fire. Go feed your animal.
The poofy wolf spoke the truth in more ways than one. I had starved my bear of this kind of experience for too long, wrapping myself in the title of ‘mage’, ‘King’, even ‘human’. How would I help Evie conquer her new… interesting… shifted form if I’d forgotten what it was to be a shifter myself? Bringing food back to my mate was just the bonus. Her eyes rounded on the bounty that I would feed her piece by piece tonight. I bristled a little to show off, shaking out my coat.
“Is all that for us?” she asked.
As much as you want, mate.
The small smile she gave me sent hope straight into my heart. I had faith this far in our Fated pairing. I had to have faith in the Goddess that my mate didn’t find me a complete monster and she would come around. Because without her, I really would become something to fear in the Harrowlands.
Chapter15
Ward
The trip turned out to be more interesting with a brood of shifters on the loose. The road wound through the idyllic countryside with an ease that belied the hurry we were in. We didn’t slow as we approached a small, rural town and the townsfolk sensed it. Hard-working farmers stopped to stare at our number. Carts, carriages and riders got out of the way with due speed. So did the wildlife. A Bakh bull three times the size of Greg tossed his black face and pawed the ground, but didn’t harass us further.
When we reached the quaint clatch of cozy homes, doors shut and locked. Invisible hands pulled children away from windows. Even the flowers on the windowsills closed up and shrank. Shifters boiled around buildings, running through gardens.
“Keep going,” a sturdy man, who had to be the mayor, shouted at us. The crossbow in his arms didn’t move, but the threat was implied. The brood wove in and out of the road, feeling out the hierarchy but always looking to Evie for the way forward.
“He seems friendly,” Declan said. We passed the man who gained a few friends at his side. He wasn’t being sarcastic. Truly, nothing kept that dog’s spirit down.
“I don’t know if I have seen this many shifters in one place, either. I think I would be afraid, too, if we all rolled up to Harrowood.”
“Fearsome? Us?” Declan smiled with all of his teeth. “Speaking of which, we should start hunting for dinner once we get past this town.”
Evie took one glance at the assembling townspeople and picked up the pace. We left the village behind quickly enough and Declan and I tromped into the woods. He turned out to be an amusing hunting partner.
“Have you told her she’s the Alpha?” Declan asked as he pushed through the underbrush, smacking away branches. We were trying it in our human forms to make sure no outlier townspeople shot us.
“I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that. My mate is… an unusual shifter.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen that snake thing before,” Declan agreed. “Guarding the Brothers hasn’t allowed me to meet a vast variety of shifters.”
“No. You’re right. My mate is, unfortunately, unique. I’m not sure I can teach her any sort of shifter instincts at this point.” I shot a hare in the underbrush to add to the dinner pot.
“Well, thank Godds for that. A shifter with that much favor from the Goddess could rule the Harrowlands. Or destroy it.”
She certainly could. Declan and I wandered back to the main group just as we reached halfway to the foothills of the Infernal Peaks on the first day. As the sun set on our party, the brood formed a circle of shifters surrounding us. I made camp in the center of the mass of animals, since they followed me every time I tried to claim a more secluded spot.
Magic was my secret weapon. I whispered the structure of a shelter spell and provided Evie with a tent for the night, along with some Silence to keep our conversation private. It would drain some of my magic, but with an entire camp of shifters between us and the wild, I could afford it. Declan, Noora, and the harem boys looked on longingly and I grudgingly made tents for them, too. Otherwise, Evie would offer ours when she came back.
I was just about to go find her when she careened up to the fire, giddy with glee.
“Ward!” I was so entranced by her excitement, I barely took in what was in her arms. It was good to see a smile on her face. “Look what I found!”
