Ned’s shiny eyes nearly levitated me from the floor. Fallon let out a squeak. The dog was a ghost sometimes, but his random appearances had the added benefit of forcing Fallon to clutch me closer. I guess he could be the exception.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Fallon said as she shifted in my arms to kiss me on the cheek.
I might have accidentally, not really, turned my head. The movement brought her up short so she hovered just before my lips. It was hardly a chaste distance between her wind-chapped skin and my pout. She didn’t close that infinite space. I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to do the wrong thing. It shouldn’t have been sexy with the way I was suddenly sweating, but an arc of pure fire lit up my body from head to toe. Fallon swallowed and the moment collapsed in on itself. We pulled back as if we wereboth doused with pepper fire. I was terrible at this. This was the farthest I’d ever gotten with Fallon and I ruined it.
Gently setting her on the bed, she wiggled over to make room for me. Ned hopped up and nestled into her side. I stepped back. Never in ten thousand years could I sleep in the one bed we had. What if I messed it up again? Fallon’s body sagged into the mattress. She deserved to rest without my clumsiness. So I took the floor between her and the door, shifting into my wolf.
“Why aren't you huge still?” Honey asked into the dark room.
I will be when I need to be.
“But…”
Stop trying to make it make sense, Honey. The Old Magic will drive you crazy if you try to think of it logically.
I needed to take my own advice and enjoy the fact that my mate was safe, snug in a comfortable bed and well-fed by my hand. Because our fake mating was just the start of what I hadn't told her. Even though I would do anything to see Fallon powerful in her magic, being back home meant all of my responsibilities were about to come crashing down on my head.
And the dildo of consequences rarely came lubed.
Chapter 7
Fallon
Gentle puffs of warm breath ghosted over my cheeks as I slowly awoke. Cracking my eyes open, I searched for Declan’s soft smile but came face to face with a jowly Ned. His tongue stuck out just a little, jaws slack as he snored into my grimace. When I sat up to look for Declan, I jolted at the sight of Eilie standing at the foot of the bed.
“I was about to wake you. Sorry for scaring you.”
Not more sorry than I was that someone had to witness my bedhead. I scrunched my curls, trying to buy myself time to rouse myself and assess what kind of day it was going to be. My ten-point checklist needed reviewing each morning.
“I’ll be right there and then we can get moving,” I said.
“They’re all fighting over who’s going to cook breakfast. I just didn’t want you to miss it.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll carve out my portion.”
Eilie nodded and carried a still sleeping Ned out of the bedroom.
Once alone, I flexed my left hand, bending my fingers, my wrist, working out the stiffness as much as possible. Sawing my left knee back and forth, I still had pretty good range of motion. My left ankle and hip were manageable. My stomach didn’t immediately slosh like I was going to throw up and my vision was clear.
That meant the daily stuff was under control. I scoffed at Lenora’s pronouncement of “you’re pushing yourself into stage two”. I woke up moving better than I had in ages. All those rough nights in nothing like a bed should have broken me. Instead, I was ready to do it again. Maybe Declan put some magic in the warm stone he left in my lap. It was a kind gesture, especially when I had never talked about the Hollow Fever with anyone.
Although kind wasn’t exactly the word I would use for that almost-kiss as he put me in bed. I rubbed my fingers over the place we hadn’t touched. I got that we had to sell the mates thing, but that near brushing of lips sent an out of proportion bolt of lust straight to my long-dormant lady bits. It felt like a revelation.
For a long time, I wasn’t sure if something was wrong with me. Other than the obvious. I liked men, but I barely navigated my life with my best friends, let alone with apartner. The closest I usually came was with the Terminator dildo I snuck out of Evie's collection. When Ward had gifted her with so many, she hadn’t missed it. The Terminator was an easy date and an even better conversationalist.
I didn’t have to explain my late nights in the kitchen or my morning rituals to get my body functioning. I wouldn’t know how to broach the topic. Was it too much to ask to accept me with all my pain, my crazy hours, and Bakh Bull determination, not in spite of all that? I didn't want to have to be cured to be chosen. With every passing year, that looked more and more unlikely. Our village considered twenty a desiccated corpse so thirty-five and single was positively Godds ancient. A small part of me whispered that Declan had never asked that of me, but that was because we were friends. That was a friendly, almost-kiss. I didn’t want it to be more. Right?
Whatever. That’s why I focused on my career. Fixing a smashed tart was easier than navigating feelings. My reputation might have been in tatters, but I would figure it out. But first, breakfast.
Briggs made passable eggs, nothing a little butter couldn’t fix. I slipped tiny bites to Ned, who very politely told me with his liquid brown eyes that he had never before eaten in his life and might I please feed him. Declan pressed some void berries into juice he assured me was safe. Stale crackers weren’t the most delicious of starts, but I crumbled them up to add texture to myeggs, then watched everyone do the same. At least we had full bellies as we left the cabin.
I didn’t argue with Declan when he lowered to the ground for me to climb on his furry back. We had a full day of travel to get to Nightfell and, at this point, it was more efficient to ride. Not because his fur was soft as silk and his warmth eased my muscles in the face of another bitter day.
Other than the gratuitous nudity, I appreciated that the others stayed in human form so I could hear the conversation. The siblings all vied for Declan’s attention with more hunting stories. Did they do anything else in this territory? As Declan grew to his monstrous size again, none of them batted an eyelash. They piled on more assurance that everyone would be thrilled that Declan was finally home. No one had a lick to say about food so I was just about bored to tears until Briggs shooed the others away, claiming it was her turn to catch up with Declan.
“She’s going to stiffen up, riding you like a pony. Let the woman walk, dog breath.”
Briggs wasn’t wrong, but I got the sense she wanted me to hear this conversation. “I think my legs still work, if this one lets me.” Though Declan was warm, my outer coat and cloak still let some of the chill through. It would be good to warm up with some exercise.
