Red and Her Wolf (Kingdom, #3)

He nodded. “Are ye tired, Red?”


She nodded. “A little. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Neither did I.” His lips tightened, trying to forget the reason why. “I don’t smell the witch, we’re safe to stay here tonight, rest while ye can. I’ll keep watch.”

“Okay.” Glancing around, she spotted a thick cluster of gumdrop leaves and settled upon it.

Planting his hands behind his back, he listened to the eerie night. There was nothing save for the gentle breeze, her soft inhalations, and the steady gurgle of the chocolate stream in the distance.

Enough time passed he’d thought her asleep, when she said, “I’m scared.”

Her face was covered in shadow, her red dress looking like a sea of blood upon the ground.

“I know. Me too.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve waited so long to know ye, the thought of losing ye now is more than I can bear.”

She didn’t answer, and he didn’t think she would. Maybe he shouldn’t have said it, but truth at all costs…

“Are ye going to try to kill yerself again, Red?”

A second ticked by, then another, until finally she shook her head. “I’m sorry for that. I didn’t really want to kill myself, I knew I would heal from that wound. I didn’t actually cut my vein, just cut deep enough to make it bleed really bad.” She sighed. “I wanted to hurt you.”

“Don’t do it again,” he gnashed his teeth, letting the pain leak out, letting her hear the depths of his plea.

She didn’t say anything, but their gazes locked and he knew she understood. Her lashes gave the barest flicker before she turned and rolled onto her side. Eventually she fell asleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Several hours later he noticed her shivering, drawing her legs up to her body and wrapping the dress tighter around herself.

Calling the unbecoming, he got up and trotted to her side. Scooting in as close to her body as he could, he shared his wolf’s warmth with her. She sighed, her fingers ran through his pelt and his body trembled.

***

“I don’t like this place,” Red grumbled as she knelt by the thick viscous stream. “There’s no water to wash myself with. Nothing but this chocolate I cannot even touch.”

He grinned. “I donna think this place was created for the likes of us.”

She glared at him, her blond brows drawn into a fierce scowl. “Food everywhere and I can’t even have a bite. I hate sweets, and right now I think I could gobble an entire tree.” She stared at a gingerbread elm longingly.

Grabbing her hand, he helped her stand. “Trust me, lass, ye dinna want what the witch has to offer. All is not what it seems.”

She curled her lips, huffing, and dusting sparkling bits of sugar off her luscious rear. “I’m hungry and irritable. Let’s go find this stupid witch, before I forget myself and dive head first into that chocolate river.”

Red stood there, staring down at the stream with a sad, pitiful expression. She’d barely eaten the day before, only picking at her food. Ewan wanted to provide for her, but to do so would mean backtracking, which he could not do.

“C’mon, Red,” he tugged on her finger. “Doona look. Walk away.”

Sighing, she turned her back on the stream and he gave her a swift tilt of his lips. Calling the becoming, Ewan quickly switched forms. They resumed walking, Red within the forest itself. She seemed possessed with a natural instinct to shy away from being easily spotted. Preferring to traipse through the rougher terrain, so as not to be exposed to the elements of the unprotected trail he walked on.

Not that he didn’t want to join her, but he sensed keeping his distance for a while might help her better acclimate to not only her strange surroundings, but also him. Ewan wanted to ravish her, take her, drive into her and roar to the heavens that she was his mate. It wasn’t easy controlling his baser instincts.

Huffing, he attempted to appear nonchalant. Tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, looking like little more than a stupid dog that had wandered down the wrong path. His size was a dead giveaway that he was definitely not a dog, but he hoped the act would keep the witch from immediately going on the offensive once she spotted him.

He knew Red was supposed to be the one to take the witch on, but it was ingrained in him to at least help ease his mate’s way into the battle. Give Red a little time to study the witch before the witch noticed her.

Hopefully.