The Hidden (Shadowed Wings Book 1)

by Ivy Asher

  A distant screech pulls me from my naughty daydream, and Zeph’s heated gaze flashes up from mine to the sky. He searches for something, and I feel his body shifting from need to action. Why am I disappointed by that? I don’t even like this guy. Yes, I got a little swoony as he fixed me and gave me some petting, but he’s also the reason I was fucked up in the first place. Zeph rises suddenly from his crouch and starts moving swiftly through the forest. I bite down against the pain that strikes through me at the jostling of my arm, and hope that my shifter genes kick in soon and start healing me.

  Zeph moves from tree to tree, his eyes darting from the path he’s tracking through the forest up to the sky, checking for whatever threat he’s anticipating. I stay quiet, not wanting to distract him or do anything that could clue whatever is hunting us in on our location. Another screech fills the air, this one closer, and Zeph’s muscles tense as he freezes under a canopy of branches and needles. He holds me bridal style, and his grip tightens as he turns and presses me against the tree. The bark against my slowly healing shoulder fucking hurts, and a whimper I can’t help sneaks out from my lips.

  “Shhhhh,” Zeph’s deep whisper brushes over my face, his mouth a hair’s breadth away from mine. His gaze goes distant, and I can tell he’s listening for something as our breaths mingle and the drive to kiss him bubbles up inside of me.

  “Not the time or the place, Pigeon,” I scold. “Your bullshit has caused enough trouble already,” I add, and then I wet my lips with my tongue and try to ignore the fact that if I just leaned in a little, I could claim his full lips as mine.

  After a couple beats of silence, Zeph starts to move again, but the erection slapping against my ass as we run makes me horny as fuck and aware that Zeph is not unaffected by my naked body in his arms. Maybe I’m not as indifferent as I thought to this asshole. Or maybe I just need to get laid, and the position we find ourselves in would make anyone start to think dirty thoughts. I latch onto the second explanation, much to Pigeon’s dismay, but it has to be that. I know she’s attracted to him on some instinctual level, but on a logical level, I am not.

  He’s a dick, and I can’t just excuse that because he happens to have a pretty one I would like to play with right now. We just need to make it through this fucked up episode of Naked and Afraid, and then I’ll find some other pretty dick to play with. A growl rumbles in Zeph’s chest, and I look up in alarm to see what set him off. I search the sky like he’s been doing, but I don’t see or sense anything. My eyes dart to Zeph’s, and his stare is fixed on me. He’s angry, and his hold tightens on me. I wiggle uncomfortably until he stops squeezing me, and he looks away, irritation and fury in his eyes.

  Yep, definitely need to start hunting for a pretty dick attached to a nice gryphon who’s down for a little no strings attached fuckery, I decide, and I stop myself from nestling into Zeph’s chest the way Pigeon wants me to as he starts running again.

  12

  “What is this place?” I ask, not able to help it as I’m carried deeper into a cave of red rock with black veins crawling through it.

  “It’s a hidden shelter. We have them scattered around for situations just like this,” Zeph tells me as he makes his way further in.

  Our voices crash against the rock and bounce back at us, but Zeph is talking, so I figure it’s safe to keep doing the same.

  “And what exactly is it that we’re running from?” I press. He said it wasn’t safe on this side of the lake, but I still have no idea what’s going on.

  “The Avowed patrol this side of the lake. It’s the furthest their territory reaches. You could have been spotted any minute, which is why I—”

  “Made me crash,” I interrupt, and he narrows his gaze at me.

  “Saved your life,” he corrects, and then he sets me on a cold rock and hurries away from me like I have something contagious.

  “Saved my life, almost killed me, potato, po-tah-to,” I snark as I stand up in an effort to save my ass cheeks from frostbite.

  Fuck, it’s cold in here. I fold my arms over my diamond hard nipples and try to rein in the teeth chattering that’s started. Zeph pulls wood from a massive stack toward the back of the cave and has a fire flickering to life in a matter of minutes. I step closer to it and try not to be mesmerized by the fire shadows now dancing over Zeph’s massive and well-muscled body. He bends over a large wooden chest that’s been situated against a wall of the cave and starts to rummage through it.

  I tilt my head in appreciation. Fabric smacks me in the face, and it jerks me away from the pervy thoughts starting to rise up in my mind. Maybe if I fucked him once, it would get it out of my system? The eager head nod I can practically feel Pigeon giving me makes me suddenly leery of that thought. I hold up the bunched, dark green fabric in my hands to find a large long-sleeved shirt. I pull it over my head, ignoring the musty smell, and it falls just shy of the tops of my knees. The laces that cinch up the neck dip down to my naval, and I start pulling the leather ties tighter and covering up. I roll up the sleeves until I can find my hands, and by the time I’m done making the large shirt fit, I find Zeph in a pair of too short and too tight pants.

  I can see the outline of his cock a third of the way down his left thigh, and I’m not sure which is worse, staring directly at it or at the hint of it now in his pants. How about you don’t look at it at all, Falon? That just might help the too horny for your own good situation you’ve got going on right now. I nod in agreement with my internal scolding and lift my eyes up from Zeph’s dick, vowing that my gaze will be waist high for the rest of this fucked up adventure.

  I roll my shoulder, relieved to find that it’s only a little sore now, and I poke at my ribs and breathe in deeply when I discover that they’re at the same stage of healing. I should be all patched up by morning. Zeph shakes out some kind of fur and lays it on the ground next to the fire. He shakes out another one and then tosses it to me, and I mirror his actions on my side of the fire. I guess we’re back to trying to stay as far away from each other as we can. I ignore the irritation that surges through me with that thought.

  I sit down on the soft fur and run my hands through it. I thought it was black at first, but now that I’m closer, I can see that it’s blue. I open my mouth to ask what kind of animal this came from and look up just in time to catch a waterskin that’s about to hit me in the face. I stop its punishing trajectory and snatch it out of the air.

  “Watch it!” I chide with a glare aimed at Zeph’s back. Is there some invisible line now that he can’t cross to hand me things? He has to chuck them willy nilly at me without any fucking warning?

  “What’s your fucking problem?” I ask as I set the waterskin down beside me.

  Zeph turns a loathsome glare on me. “You are my fucking problem,” he snaps at me, his mouth stumbling over the word fucking, like he’s never said it before.

  I stand up defensively and take a step toward him. “What the hell did I do?” I demand, fed up with all the unearned hostility that’s been rolling off of him since we stepped into this cave.

  “We’re in this situation because of you. I’m at risk, which means my people are at risk, all because of you.” His words are coated in venom as he spits them out and steps toward me.

  I close the distance between us, pressing my chest against his and rise up on my tiptoes. It only brings my eye level higher up on his chest, but it makes me feel more powerful all the same. “We’re here because one of your people threw me off a cliff. No one has told me where it’s safe to fly. My gryphon didn’t know any better. Maybe if you stopped treating me like the spy you know I’m not, I would have fucking known what’s safe and what’s off limits.”

  “You have no business being here,” he shouts down into my face.

  “Then let me fucking go home!” I scream back at him. “You think I want to be here with you? You think I like being looked at by everyone like I’m shit on their shoe, being ignored, ridiculed, made to feel responsible for something I didn’
t even do? I have white fucking hair, but I am not Avowed. I know shit-all about your fucking war. You’re the asshole that brought me here. You’re the asshole not letting me leave!”

  “I have no choice!” he bellows, his eyes filled with anger.

  “Well, I fucking do,” I seethe at him, and then I head for the opening of the cave.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Away! You don’t want me here, I don’t want to be here, problem solved,” I throw over my shoulder.

  “They will find you,” Zeph threatens, the words ricocheting off the give no fucks armor I just wrapped myself in.

  “Maybe.” I shrug, ignoring the twinge of pain it sets off in my shoulder. “If I get caught, I’ll deal with them; if not, I’ll find my own way home.”

  I stomp toward the waning light at the entrance of the cave. It’s clear the sun is going down, and the rational side of me argues that setting off into strange and unfamiliar territory right before it gets dark might not be the best plan of action. I ignore the self-preservation instinct and opt to focus on my need to get the fuck out of here. I’ve had enough with all of this shit. It was fun to train and figure out what I was while it lasted, but I have a life to get back to, and Zeph is right, I have no business being here.

  I’m pulled back suddenly and pushed against the red and black wall of the cave. Zeph cages me in with both of his arms on either side of my head and presses his mountain of a body into mine.

  “You will stay right here,” he orders on a growl.

  “Get the fuck off me, asshole, who the hell do you think you are?” I shout at him as I try my hardest to shove him off of me.

  “They will catch you,” he repeats, like somehow it should explain everything.

  “Why do you fucking care?” I challenge.

  My lavender gaze, filled with fire and hurt, slams up against his melted honey stare that’s leaking frustration and fury.

  “They would hurt you, force the mark on you,” he tells me, his voice smooth and even, his eyes suddenly begging mine to understand. “I can’t let that happen,” he confesses, and then he shocks the hell out of me by pressing even closer and leaning down to run the tip of his nose up the bridge of mine.

  I breathe in, surprised, and my lungs fill with his scent. It taints my anger and indignation with something I don’t understand. I feel the need to soothe him. To fuck him. To fight him. I’m bewildered by the onslaught of conflicting needs and emotions. His lips are so close. Our breaths are ragged. His chest is pressing against mine, each lungful of air stroking my nipples and lighting up my body. I lift my hands, needing to touch him, but I force the traitorous limbs down and ball my fists at my side.

  Zeph drops his face to the crook of my shoulder and inhales deeply. His muscles relax minutely and then tense again. The tip of his nose runs up the side of my neck, and he breathes me in, his lips barely skimming my heated skin.

  “Just stay here where it’s safe, little sparrow, and when we get back, I will take you home,” he rumbles into my ear.

  My body responds to his tone, and need pools between my thighs, but my brain responds to his words. He’s going to send me away. Zeph steps back from me, taking all my warmth with him, and walks toward the dusk-kissed entrance of the cave.

  “I’m going to find some food. Stay here. I promise I will get you home just as soon as I can.” With that, he disappears, and I’m left panting and confused, clutching the rock of the wall I’m still pressed against.

  I clench my thighs against my body’s demand for satiation, but inside I feel crushed. Even Pigeon is fucking sad, and that feels beyond wrong to me. “I’m sorry,” I offer her uselessly, and she retreats further inside of me. I debate for a minute what I should do. Part of me is tempted to leave anyway, but the other part doesn’t want to risk capture. If the Avowed are as bad as the Hidden say, it would just make things worse for me. I want to go home, and Zeph said he’ll get me there. I decide I can put up with his hatred a little longer if I get what I want in the end.

  I feel a sliver of hope from Pigeon that maybe Zeph will come around, but I do everything I can to keep my thoughts on that to myself. Once an asshole, always an asshole, and we deserve more than that. I push off from the rocky wall and head back toward my fur and the warm fire. I take a drink from the waterskin and moan as the clean, cool water fills my mouth. It tastes like heaven, and I try not to drink too much, not knowing how long this water needs to last.

  My moan echoes off the rock and dances around me. The sound teases my thoughts, and I find myself replaying my naughty daydream from earlier when I was in Zeph’s arms. Sensations flutter down to my clit, and I shake my head at myself. Get a fucking grip, Falon. I lie back with an exasperated sigh, but the feel of the hem of my shirt brushing against my thighs brings my salacious thoughts back to the forefront. Fuck that gryphon asshole for leaving me so needy. Pigeon rears up in agreement, and I moan again in complaint against how horny I am.

  I’m just taking the edge off, I tell myself as I bring one hand up to pinch my nipple and dip the other hand between my thighs. Better to get myself off than throw myself at someone who doesn’t want me. I spread my lips, not at all surprised to feel how drenched I am, and dip two fingers inside of me. I moan again as I pull my wet need up to my clit and start circling it. I move my hand to my other nipple and pinch it hard as I play with myself. It doesn’t take long for the pressure to build inside of me. I grind against my own hand and pull my fingers away from my clit and dip them back inside. I pick up the pace, the base of my palm hitting my clit as I thrust my fingers in and out, stroking all the spots I like.

  I come on a deep moan and work myself quickly into another orgasm, forcing the sensations to smash together and prolonging the intensity. I writhe and ride my orgasm like a wave, reveling in the delicious tingles that ripple through my body as I float down through the pleasure. I release a deep contented exhale and stroke my fingers in a circle one last time inside of me before I pull out.

  That was exactly what I needed.

  Solo orgasms are never quite as good as orgasms other people pull from my body, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. Need no longer drives my every thought, and my mind feels clearer now. I rinse my hand with a little bit of water and pull my shirt back down. I lie on my side and stare at the flames of the fire, letting them fight off the cold that’s pressing in against me.

  The crackling of the fire echoes around the cave, and strange noises press in on the darkening solace surrounding me. It sounds like some animal or insect’s song and makes me think of the way crickets chirp at night back home. I’m once again reminded of my stranger status in this completely foreign land, and loneliness bubbles up inside of me.

  My gran’s face rises to the surface of my thoughts, but I bat it away. I’m not past the lies and subterfuge enough to embrace any fond memories and longing that accompanies stray thoughts of her. I try and fail to look through the cracks of our history, to read between the lines of our relationship to discover why she kept all of this from me, but I come up with nothing. My mind wanders to my mom and dad, their smiles, the sound of their laughter, and I let the loneliness I often try to ignore take up temporary residence in my chest for a while.

  I’m not sure how long I lie there, staring at the fire, trying to sift through my past, but the sound of Zeph stomping back into the cave pulls me away from my thoughts. He freezes just as he comes into view, and I sit up concerned. His nostrils flare, and his gaze moves from me as he scans the cave. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, and I turn, confused, and look around the cave too.

  “What happened in here?” he asks, and I watch as his nostrils flare again. His pupils look like they dilate, but that could just be from the now dark cave and the dim light the fire is providing.

  “What do you mean?” I ask, breathing in deeply myself, in an effort to identify whatever it is that he’s smelling. It suddenly dawns on me what he must be scenting. I feel my chee
ks heat, and I shrug, hoping it looks nonchalant.

  “Uh…I was just...um...entertaining myself.” My statement sounds more like a question, and my gaze darts away from Zeph’s for a second and then darts back. Don’t look at his crotch, Falon! Keep those eyes above the waist! Zeph looks pained for a beat, and then his stare fills up with familiar frustration. He stomps past me, chucking something large and turquoise in my direction. I catch it with both hands and focus on it, ignoring Zeph as he huffs and puffs while settling himself on his own fur.

  I rotate the football shape in my hands and suddenly recognize it as the yummy fruit Tysa got for me the morning of the alarms. I look up just in time to see Zeph crack his fruit over his knee and slurp a huge bite out of one half. My stomach rumbles, and I mimic his actions. I hold the bumpy fruit up high and bring it down hard on my knee.

  “Motherfucker!” I shout as the only thing that feels like it breaks is my damn knee cap. I drop the fruit and grab onto my knee, rocking back and forth as I grunt in pain.

  “What the rut did you do now?” Zeph accuses as he rushes to my side. He tries to move my hands, and I slap his big asshole-ish mitts away.

  “Fuck off, I can take care of myself,” I snap at him, and he narrows his eyes at me.

  “Clearly,” he snarks, matching me glare for glare as he trundles back over to his side of the fire.

  I look around the cave for a rock and spot the perfect one. I hobble to my feet and grab the fruit. I limp over to the rock and smash the turquoise football fruit on its edge. I release a battle cry of triumph as my fruit splits open, and do a victory dance back to my fur. I catch Zeph watching me, and I shoot him an I told you so with my eyes as I bite into the inside of my fruit. The same delicious pineapple and strawberry taste fills my mouth, and I have to slurp up the juice to keep it from making a mess of my face.

  “What is this called?” I ask before I slurp and bite into it again.