Blood for Wolves (20 page)

There had to be more. No one would
send such intense magic after a girl born in a fairy ring for no reason. Way
too many puzzle pieces, and I didn’t know how to make them fit.

“What about your friends? Weren’t
their parents worried too?”

Marianne went silent as she
thought. And she thought about it for too long. The answer was no, it had to
be. No other parents were worried because Marianne was special in some way. I
wondered if maybe her sister had been a part of it and maybe that killing
Marianne would finish some kind of job. I switched tactics.

“Is it special to be born in a
fairy ring, Marianne?”

She shook her head, abandoning her
other thoughts. “No. Fairy rings are dangerous though. My papa was worried that
both me and mama would be taken away.”

“Your daddy’s right about that
one,” Alex said. “I walked into a fairy ring before we found you.”

“How did you get out?”

Alex pointed at Wolf. “He saved
me.”

Wolf performed an elaborate bow.

Good old Alex. He’d mentioned his
fairy ring mishap just to give Marianne a little more faith in Wolf.

“Is that why everyone wants to eat
me?” Marianne asked after a moment. “Because I was born in a fairy ring?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “but I’d
like to find out.” I glanced at Wolf. “Do you know why whoever rescued you is
after her?”

He shook his head. “We were never
told. It was just, ‘You’re free now. Put on these collars and do what I say.’ I
was just happy to be out.”

“Out of where?” Alex asked, a look
of disapproval forming on his face.

Wolf scratched at his neck
uncomfortably and muttered, “The Impound.”

“You were in the Impound?” Marianne
gasped. “You
are
bad.”

“I am not. All I did was eat some
sheep.”

“Yeah, and we all know where that
tends to get you,” Alex said.

“They’re just sheep. I was hungry.”

“All right,” I said loudly, “all
right. Everyone chill out. We’ve been through this. What we need to focus on is
getting Marianne home and finding someone with magic power to protect her until
she gets to the kingdom like she’s supposed to.”

For a few moments we were silent. Wolf
sulked beside me. I patted him on his arm and in return he gave me a weak
smile.

“I’m hungry,” Marianne said at
length.

“Are you?” I said. “Then we’ll take
a break and get you something to eat. We’ve got some supplies in my pack.”

We detoured off the path far enough
to be out of sight in case something unwanted decided to come down it. Alex sat
Marianne down on a fallen log and set about helping Wolf clear a small area for
a fire.

“Wolf, is there a lake or a river
or something around here? We need water.”

“Yes. Just a little ways through
those trees,” he said, pointing.

No doubt located through scent. I
pulled my water bottle out of my pack and set off.

“Wait, I want to come with you,”
Marianne cried behind me.

I stopped and offered her my hand. She
ran after me and latched on tight. The poor thing. I could only assume she
didn’t want to be left with Wolf, even with Alex around. Together we made our
way through the trees, eventually arriving at a wide lake with a surface like a
mirror. A set of mountains pointed into the sky beyond the trees on the other
side, echoed in the quiet lake waters. A few birds chirruped in the branches
above me. I closed my eyes for a moment. Relaxing. Sunny. Warm. For a moment I
made myself believe I was at home, in my world, finishing my recent checkup on
the Blue Royal Wolf Pack. That I’d named the pups and had all my notes. That I
wasn’t scarred up and trying to figure out magic.

Then I gave up, filled the one
water bottle I had, and we returned to our camp.

They already had a fire going, and
Wolf was rummaging through my pack in the search for food. I pondered our
situation. I wanted to shower. I was covered in dirt and dried blood and sweat
and felt gross in every way. I could hop into the lake, as cold as it might be,
and try to scrub some of the grime away. Yet at the same time, I wasn’t
comfortable leaving Marianne for any length of time. As Wolf pulled items out
of the pack, an idea hit me.

I picked up the small leather pouch
he’d set on the ground and circled around everyone, sprinkling salt on the
ground.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked.

“Making a barrier. That way nothing
can get us when we sleep tonight, and I can go for a swim in the lake to try
and clean up and not worry about you guys.”

“You think that’ll work?”

“Salt was listed everywhere in
those books. It’s practically an ingredient for every potion ever made.” I’d
seen it enough times in multiple books to feel safe about using it. I cinched
up the pouch, satisfied. I tossed it to Alex. “Okay, I’ll be back. Thirty
minutes tops.”

I walked away, but didn’t make it
more than ten feet before Marianne latched onto my arm.

“You’re leaving?” Her eyes were
wide and frightened.

I smiled and kneeled down, setting
a hand on her head. “I’m just going to wash up. I’ll be back. Don’t worry.” I
touched the new strand of morning glories I’d woven around her neck. “Keep
these on and stay inside the circle. Alex will look after you until I come
back. I’m your Guardian, so if any magic comes near us, I’ll know it.”

Then I realized I’d just mentioned
my Guardian status aloud. I looked over at where Wolf and Alex sat. Wolf was
staring in my direction, but the moment my eyes met his, he glanced down into
the fire. Had he heard me? I didn’t know what it might mean if he had. The
witch warned me not to tell him. I sighed inwardly and patted Marianne’s
shoulder.

“Go back and get something to eat,
honey. I’ll be back in just a little while.” Then as an afterthought, I added,
“And I promise Wolf won’t hurt you.”

After a few more moments, she
finally nodded and returned to the inside of the circle. Alex handed her some
slices of jerky.

Once at the lake, I stripped down
and did what I could to wash my clothes in the water. They’d dry fast enough
under the sun while I washed. I spotted a clump of lavawort nearby and rubbed
it into the fabric. Lake water wouldn’t get out the scent of week-old unwashed
me, but lavawort could at least mask it. Then I laid them over tree branches in
the sunlight to dry and without another thought, ran straight into the lake.

It dropped down quickly and I went
under, but I welcomed it. The cold water shocked my skin, but at the same time
I felt vibrant, alive. I scrubbed more lavawort into my hair, on my skin. The
lake was incredibly blue where the water went deep, clearer near the surface. I
swam, twisting and water dancing like an excited kid in a pool. My feet
indulged in the relief of having hiking boots and thick socks off. I was free
to kick and feel water rush between my toes. I would have to tell Alex he
should go for a dip. I dove deep, laughing under the water from the sheer rush
of feeling good.

Finally I got out. I had to chew up
more lavawort and plastered a new gum leaf to my injured hand and arm since I’d
completely forgotten about them during my bath. The wounds were still raw and
sore, but a great deal better after already having a few hours worth of
lavawort on them. I stood, wringing out my hair as best I could with one hand,
tilting my face toward the sun with my eyes closed. Spring hadn’t yet turned to
summer here, so the breeze was slightly chilly when it swept across the water. When
I opened my eyes I was only half surprised to see Wolf crouched at the edge of
the trees, watching me. A few lavawort leaves danced on the end of their stem
as Wolf chewed lightly on the other end.

At any other time, I would have
felt vulnerable, standing there naked with a man staring at me like that. But
now, after being through so much, I didn’t. Instead, standing naked in a forest
with a half-wolf looking at me somehow seemed natural. He wasn’t staring at me
in a hungry way; meal or sexual-wise. In fact, he looked completely normal. More
normal than even a regular man would have looked when faced with a naked
female. I wanted to know what it was he wanted, but there was something going
on in his head that I didn’t want to interrupt.

After a few more moments he stood,
keeping his eyes lowered, and walked toward me. He took the lavawort stem from
his mouth and tossed it to the pebbled ground. The moment he reached me I
opened my mouth to speak, but before I could he dropped to his knees before me.
I gazed down, surprised into silence. Then it hit me. He was being submissive. But
why?

“Forgive me,” he said.

“For what?”

“For hurting you. For forgetting
you. I shouldn’t have. I should have been stronger for you.”

Was he talking about the barn
incident? He was still berating himself for that?

“Oh Wolf,” I said quietly. “Stand
up.”

He obeyed and reluctantly looked
into my eyes. I smoothed his hair, giving him a soft smile.

“I forgave you that same day.”

He stared at me a few minutes more
before his arms went around me and crushed me to him. I could almost feel the
relief flooding his body.

“You jumped on that pyre for me. You
were going to die trying to save me,” he murmured at my ear.

“I had to try. You’ve already saved
me more times than I care to count. And I didn’t do a very good job anyway,” I
said, hugging him back, indulging in his warmth and strength.

He released me from the hug,
settling one hand on the side of my face and pressing his cheek to mine. He
breathed in deep, then sighed, contented. Then I felt his other hand grazing
over my shoulder. Over the place where he’d bitten me. The wounds were still
covered in now-soggy gauze and duct tape. He gently peeled it away and ran his
fingers over the ugly red scabs that had formed.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, running
my fingers through his hair.

He tilted his head and placed a
soft kiss along my throat. Then another. And another. Then he pulled his face
back enough to stare into my eyes. I loved the beautiful hazel color of his,
the mix of earth and sky.

“I was wrong,” he said.

“About what?” I asked, confused.

“When I said you would spoil your
scent with water.” He smiled. “You smell even better when you’re clean.”

I laughed and kissed him. It began
lighthearted, but quickly grew deeper, slower. He tasted like fresh lavawort,
warm and delicious. He held my face in his hands, his mouth slowly working at
mine. This was a different kind of kiss. Something special. An indescribable
feeling knotted in my chest. I wanted to be closer to him. Always. Forever. I
wrapped my arms around his neck. Finally he pulled away, both of us breathless,
Wolf resting his forehead against mine.

“I love you,” he whispered, and for
the briefest of moments, it sounded like he was losing something when he said
it.

I brushed my lips against his, my
heart pounding. “I love you.”

We kissed again, and this time when
he broke away, he shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the pebbled lakeshore
behind me.

I briefly reached out, searching for
magic, and found only the tiniest bit from Wolf’s ankle collar, the ring of
salt, and the protective power of the morning glories. I refocused on Wolf,
sliding the shirt off his body and running my hands down his powerful chest. I
followed their descent with my mouth, kissing his scarred flesh and feeling his
lean muscle under my lips. He groaned and pulled me back up. His bare arms
encircled me and his mouth fell on mine again, exploring me with his tongue. I
luxuriated in the heat of his skin against mine, the sensation of my breasts
against his bare chest, the strength of his arms. Wolf planted a series of
kisses down my neck. His hands caressed my back, one hand snaking up to twine
into my hair to gently hold my head as he worked at my mouth.

I reached between us, his belt
buckle clinking as I unfastened it. Then I traced my fingers down his back,
slipping them inside the hem of his pants to touch his tail. He sucked in a
breath as I ran my hands over the soft fur. I upped the ante a little more. Leaving
one hand to brush his tail, I moved the other to the front and found him, hard
and ready. I wrapped my fingers around the smooth shaft. He shuddered and let
his head drop to my shoulder. I bit my lip and smiled.

“You are,” he breathed against my
neck, unable to finish. His hands tightened around my waist as I petted.

I knew what he meant. I was
different. A human unafraid of his wolfishness. We’d both been under the
influence of magic before, but this was different. This time, it was just us. No
magic. No seducing. Just us and our true desire for one another.

“I am your mate,” I whispered back.

He shed his pants and together we
lay on his coat. The gold band on his ankle gleamed in the sun. I wanted to
kiss him forever, to be this way forever. His tongue caressed mine. I moaned
softly under his weight, aching for more. His hands found my breasts, his
fingers stroking at their sensitive peaks. I entwined my legs with his, my body
taking on a mind of its own as I arched against him, wanting to feel every inch
of him. Wolf obliged, brushing his lips along my jaw, down my neck, until he
wrapped them around one taut nipple, his tongue molten against my flesh. I
whimpered softly, writhing under his hands, my body coaxing, pleading. He
licked and nipped tenderly, sliding one of his hands down my belly, then lower.

My skin tingled in every place he
teased and touched. He was taking his time. Tasting me and learning the
contours of my body as he’d never had the chance before. I took up one of his
hands and brushed my lips over his fingertips, kissing his palm before gently
sucking on one of his fingers. He groaned against me. I smiled. He hadn’t
expected that. He looked up at me, the hazel in his eyes swimming in liquid
gold as they changed.
Oh yeah?
they seemed to say. His fingers stroked
between my legs and I gasped. Wolf’s mouth claimed mine, harder, more fervent
this time, drinking me in as my hips rocked hungrily against his hand. I kissed
him back just as violently, gripping at his shoulders and rubbing my entire
body against his.