“You want to come up?” Heath asked me.
“Yeah,” I said, about to attempt the climb myself, before Heath dropped to the ground beside me. He lowered himself, allowing me to slide onto his back before he climbed onto his father’s neck again and seated us.
“Thanks,” I said.
He smiled. He looks so handsome when he smiles.
Wanting to distract myself from the rising temperature in my cheeks, I glanced back at Arwen and Brock. Following my gaze, Heath smirked. “Hey, Broccoli,” he called.
Refusing to part his lips from Arwen’s, Brock shoved up a middle finger at his best friend.
I giggled. Brock hated Heath calling him that almost as much as he hated the vegetable itself.
“You two should have stayed back,” Heath went on. “Seriously.”
Finally, Brock unglued his mouth from Arwen’s to murmur, “You’d be doing the same with Grace right now if you had the balls to ask her out.”
That shut Heath up. As I glanced at his face, I could’ve sworn I saw a blush creeping up his cheeks. I did not think that I had ever witnessed Heath blush. And was it just my imagination, or was he deliberately not looking at me?
He quickly regained composure, however. His eyes narrowed on Brock, casting him a hard glower, before turning back to me. His expression was dark as he muttered, “He will live to regret that comment. I assure you.”
I chuckled. We held each other’s gaze for a few moments before he glanced away again.
I couldn’t help but wonder exactly what Brock had meant by his comment. Did he think Heath liked me too, or was it just a convenient insult?
I shook the thought away. I analyzed things too much sometimes.
We became pretty quiet after that. Heath and I focused ahead, on Micah, leaving Arwen and Brock to themselves. The silence would have felt awkward had we not had such pressing matters on our minds.
Finally, Micah stopped short. “I’ve got her.”
“Thank goodness,” Vivienne said.
“I’m guessing that they touched down around here and then…” He continued moving forward. “It smells like they went this way.”
I heaved a sigh. I felt relieved that we had at least caught the start of Victoria’s trail, but I also felt daunted. Something told me that this was going to be a long, winding journey.
Victoria
After my agreement to accompany Bastien, I had been expecting him to immediately pick me up again. Instead, he took a step back. Then, sinking to the ground, he crouched over on his knees and hands. His limbs began to shake and expand until his torn clothes burst from his ballooning form. His head widened and silky black fur started sprouting from every inch of his skin. Then his teeth lengthened, becoming razor-sharp. His hands and feet balled up as his legs took shape. The transformation complete, he lifted himself up onto all fours and I was met once again with his penetrating gaze. As a wolf, his gray eyes were larger, brighter, even more intense.
So this werewolf really can shift at will…
He padded up to me and nudged my hands with his head, guiding them to grip hold of the fur at the back of his neck. I acquiesced, sliding my fingers through his sleek hair. With two hands and one working leg, I managed to pull myself onto his back.
“Be sure to hold on tight, Lady Vaughn,” he said, his voice deep and rumbling.
“Uh, you can just call me Victoria,” I muttered. I gripped hold of him as tightly as I could before he launched into a sprint that knocked the breath out of me. As he bounded through the woods, low-hanging branches whipped past us, and I ducked down, pressing the side of my face against the back of his neck and closing my eyes, afraid to get injured. Pain shot through my ankle. This bumpy journey was the exact opposite of what it needed, but I had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it. Hopefully when we got to his hideout, wherever that even was, I would have a chance to rest it. What I really could use is some ice.
It seemed like an eternity had passed—certainly several hours—before we finally reached the edge of the woods and emerged into a wide open meadow filled with luscious-smelling, bright purple flowers I could not put a name to. Now that we were out of the dense woodland, I could see that dawn was on the cusp of breaking. The sky was streaked with the most breathtaking hues of pink and peach.