‘Me,’ he growls. ‘Only ever me.’
‘Hmm, interesting.’ I allow the grin to flicker in my eyes, tempting him back towards me, yet as he leans over, a throat clears in my mind.
Not interrupting, are we?
I jolt so sharply that Kyor’s face freezes only inches from mine.
‘Oh, for the love of—’ I hiss aloud.
Kyor’s eyes narrow as he backs away. ‘Fen?’
‘Yeah.’
In the darkness, two pairs of ringed eyes gleam, and though I wouldn’t have thought it possible, I swear there’s a smugness to their gazes.
‘I guess we’re busted,’ I whisper to Kyor as he reaches down to pull me to my feet.
‘It was always going to happen,’ he replies, ensuring I’m upright before he reaches down, picks up my furs, and hands them to me.
Both of us ignore the pointed looks of our mated dire wolves as we pull our clothes back on and brush them down before walking in silence back to the camp and its welcome warmth.
‘You okay?’ Ruben asks as I silently take a seat next to the fire. ‘You’ve got a load of twigs in your hair. Did you trip?’
‘Yeah,’ Benny snorts. ‘Onto Kyor’s cock.’
A crack of laughter breaks from Caz’s throat a heartbeat before she reaches out and hits Benny on the shoulder.
‘What? She did! And you found it funny. You laughed.’
‘I got something stuck in my throat,’ she lies before turning her attention to me. ‘Why don’t you have some food?’ she suggests.
‘Yeah, to recover your energy,’ Ruben finishes for her, smirking.
I study my friend, but when I meet his gaze, there’s nothing but his usual ineffable warmth shining through. So apparently he’s okay with taking the piss now too. My feelings are mixed on that score. I’m glad he’s not hurting, but I also don’t need someone else to join Benny in his salacious banter.
I look towards Thessa. She’s wrapped in her blankets on the ground, facing away from us, and I worry that our idiocy has bothered her.
Caz reads the worry in my eyes. ‘She took a potion,’ she murmurs, ‘to help her sleep. She’s out for the night.’
I nod in relief.
Caroline is correct, you should eat, Fen’s voice murmurs in my mind.Build your strength. Your kind values stamina, and that mating was somewhat short, was it not? I’m surprised you could have found such enjoyment in so brief an interaction.
My face goes hot enough to ignite another tree trunk.
Privacy, I say to my wolf huffily.It’s a concept. Look it up.
Fen’s amusement hums, but thankfully he remains silent.
Conversation is sparse as we eat, and as the temperature drops, the camp settles into uneasy stillness.
‘It’s a cold one tonight,’ Ruben says as he feeds the flames with his power. ‘Anyone need a hug before we bed down?’
‘I guess it’d be rude to say no,’ Benny replies, immediately on his feet.
Caz’s gaze shifts to slumbering Thessa. If anyone needs warmth, it is her, but Ruben isn’t going to wake her.
I don’t know if he’s ever offered either of the Sannings his furnace power before, and a sadness sweeps in as I think of Stide’s body, now cold beneath the earth.
