Fallon scoffed. “You’re talking nonsense.”
She was dead serious, and so was I. “I will kidnap you to the furthest reaches of my territory if I have to. You need a break, Honey!”
Luckily, she didn't notice me saying ‘my territory’ because I wasn't ready for that discussion. She laughed in a short huff but she leaned forward into my space, putting a hand on my arm.
“You know us girls can't resist a light kidnapping. Are you serious or is this a joke?”
My eyes glowing in the room, growling in my wolfvoice until I let out a ‘are you kidding?’ yip. “It worked for Ward.”
Our friend had stolen his mate right out of a bar while in the grip of a Goddess’s rage. To give him credit, he had apologized immediately.
“I'll mark that down as serious.” She looked more nervous than she had any right to be. Was taking a break that bad for her? But I had her full attention for once. Even watching her make decisions was captivating. “Okay. Only because it’s you.”
I tried not to do a victory lap around the room. Making a show of sniffing her up and down, I said, “Wash up and the abduction will commence. I eat pickles, I don't kidnap them.”
My annoyance washed away as a blush stained her cheeks. The color perked my ears and set my internal tail wagging. What did I say? Wait, was she thinking about me eating her? I wished, with the depths of my soul, that the mate bond was stronger. But she hid in the washroom before I could ask, and it didn't seem quite right to question her mentally when I didn't want to blow my chance of actually getting Fallon to take a break.
Clean, I bundled her in as many layers as I could find until she was a wad of winter clothes. She was too cute not to kiss her little upturned nose and she wrinkled it adorably.
“I can’t move, Dec.”
I shrugged, completely unbothered. “Then you can’t run away from the kidnapping.”
Lifting her up as easily as you would a small child, she squawked as I nabbed a blanket or two. I raced to the pantry.
“Pick something easy to eat.” I instructed her before checking on Momma and the milling siblings in the hallway.
“Do you need help?” I grinned into the face of my next words.Sabotage her again and I will leave here and never return.
Momma’s skin paled. The pack froze in response to the calm threat washing over the hall. No posturing. No growls. These were facts. The Old Magic could hide forever, as far as I was concerned, if they didn’t treat Honey with respect. I didn’t enjoy making my point so bluntly, but this had to stop. Fallon would never be the woman my mother thought she should be and the irony was, they were exactly the same person in so many ways.
Cosomo whined. Eilie showed her neck. Even Ned sat like a good boy and looked at me expectantly.
“Ask the Whitewolfs for help with the clean-up. They need something to do and Briggs should be returning with their son in a few minutes. Okay, have fun!”
I tossed the last behind my shoulder as I collected my mate, her too-full sack of food and the blankets. Prancing from the house, I inhaled the crisp winter air and shifted. Fallon arranged herself on my back without too muchfuss. She huddled in the thick clothing, clutching my fur as we raced into the foothills, up into the mountains. Snow plumed around us as we pushed higher than the treeline. The wind picked up, but it wasn’t savage. Just enough to wave the cream and red poinsettias dotting the blanketed land.
I hadn’t slept, but giddiness zipped through my veins. I had Honey in my clutches, away from her troubles, vulnerable in the safest way. Did she need all those layers against the cold? Not really. Was I looking forward to stripping off as many as she would allow? Absolutely.
I padded around boulders, paws connecting with the earth, scenting the path.
Not far now,I told her, tongue lolling with happiness. My inhale gobbled up the crystal clear air.
Unless it’s to a kitchen, it’s too far.
I chuckled and trotted over the rocky terrain, careful not to step on any of the small winter flowers.
You can eat these if that helps you pretend you’re working.
What are they?she asked.
I described the delicious tea and powder dye you could make from the Star Harpie’s bright blue blossoms. It had to be ground in a certain way, and I outlined it at length, but mainly just as a distraction from the next part.
My saunter to the edge of the sheer cliff wasn’t exactly stealthy. I said,Hold tight,as casually as possible, before I dropped into the void below us. Herscream echoed off the mountaintops. We only fell for a few seconds before my paws hit the ledge of the east-facing temple’s portico.
"Aren't there stairs?” Her choked words mirrored her thighs squeezing me.
There was.Where’s the fun in that?
