“I’m sure she’ll wake up any min—”
We both flinch when Ana’s body jerks upright in my arms, her breath coming out of her in hard gasps. Her eyelids flicker for a moment before her dark eyes open to peer at us in confusion. Just like that, our bond snaps back into place, filling me with her presence.
“Arawl, Jinx, why are you hovering over me?” she rasps.
I laugh with relief and hug her tightly to me. Jinx relaxes and lets out a muttered oath.
“Fuck, Ana. You nearly just took a few years off my life. Next time you wear yourself out like that, do you mind not popping up like a zombie?” he grumbles good-naturedly.
“Fuck you, Jinx,” she returns with a tired smile.
I rumble and shove my muzzle against her cheek as I sniff at her jaw and neck, assuring myself that she is, indeed, okay. Her scent confirms that, while still exhausted, she is okay. It is warm and pleasantly sweet. I pull back to look her in the eye sternly.
“You worried me, mate.”
“Yeah, I think I was a bit worried about myself there,” she croaks with a dry laugh. “That isn’t high on my list for repeat experiences.”
“I don’t know,” Jinx says thoughtfully. “It’s handy to be able to draw energy from another. It wouldn’t hurt for you to try it intentionally before you get so low that the influx of power shocks your body into recovery mode.”
She considers his words and I growl at the male. I don’t want him putting ideas into my mate’s head of doing something potentially dangerous. Ana laughs and grabs my muzzle with both hands to drag it down to her. She places a kiss to the side of it and scratches a sensitive spot at its base that has me sighing and melting into her.
“I won’t do anything without someone watching out for me, I promise. And I will take every precaution with any experiments of the sort. Jinx has just volunteered himself, after all,” she says sweetly.
“Sure, I volunteer.” Jinx laughs from where he’s rejoined his mates. Rashi strokes a hand down his back casually while Fahuri is smearing some sort of paste on his cheek.
“What the hell happened to your face anyway?” Ana asks, tilting her head. It is only then that I noticed what appears to be scorch marks grazing the sides of his cheeks.
“A sad case of magic backfire,” he says nonchalantly, though he grimaces when Fahuri rubs it harder than necessary for good measure as she gives him a stern look.
“If you would take care more instead of being so reckless, I wouldn’t be coating you with salve,” she snarls.
“I admit I didn’t anticipate that whatever was blocking the way would have some sort of reflection shielding. In the end, it didn’t do it any good and I still flambéed the creature. A bite of pain is worth the result,” he rejoins pleasantly. “Although I have to admit it’s better when the pain is coming from you rather than a firebolt backlash. Ouch! What a hard female,” he teases when Fahuri smacks on some more cream.
“She’d need to be with that one,” Ana whispers and I bite back a grin. She cranes her neck to ask, “What creature was it, Jinx?”
“I don’t know. Nothing I’ve ever heard of before. It kind of looked like a mix between a goblin and a sasquatch, though despite its thick torso it had wiry, long limbs. Strange but strong... and definitely a predator. Huge jaws loaded with fangs that I got a bit of a closer look at than I liked a couple of times.”
“More than I liked too,” Fahuri mutters, a shiver running through her coat. “If Jinx hadn’t repelled it as much as he did, I am not sure I would have been able to avoid it.”
“My lance didn’t even seem to touch it,” Tas agreed soberly. “Either it has hard, resistant flesh, or it has natural protection from anything but the strongest blasts of magic.”
“I am not sure what was tailing us. I couldn’t see it, but whatever we were dealing with was hunting us fast. Maybe it’s the same species with the ability to become invisible... or a cooperative symbiotic relationship between two predators.”
“That’s disturbing. I elect we don’t return that way,” Jinx offers. I can’t say that I disagree. That was far too close.
“This could just be the beginning of what awaits us.” Vrox curses. “Damn Gorn’s stubborn hide for insisting on splitting up. Mentep knows some useful spells with his arrows that could have helped us.” He throws several plump hares to the ground. “At least we will have fresh meat while everyone recuperates. It is not much, but better than rations. The meat will do us all good.”
The rabbits are spitted, and we sit uneasily around the large fire Tas built. Vrox sits on a rock off to one side, on guard at all times. His eyes never rest in one place too long as he sharpens his blade. We are all on edge, though. My fur has been in an almost constant raised state, my skin prickling. Although I allow Ana to move off my lap, I keep one hand on her, stroking her small body comfortingly—for both of us—as she rests her head on my leg and dozes in and out. I do manage to wake her enough to eat some of the rabbit.
We do not move for the rest of the day. Instead, we make camp, with each of us taking shifts to guard those who sleep. Everyone except the humans, that is. They are not happy about it, which I can tell from my mate’s scowl, but they cannot argue with the fact that they need to rest and recover. If we end up having to depend on magic, we need our witches rested and prepared for anything that will come.
Later in the evening, I rouse Ana with my mind just on that.
She yawns and smiles up at me as she stretches. “What’s up, handsome?”
I lay my ears back knowing that I am going to sound ridiculous considering how opposed I was to the idea earlier. “I think you and Jinx should take this opportunity to practice the power drawing you were speaking of earlier.”
Her eyebrows arch in surprise. “I thought you were dead-set against it. What brought this on?”
I shift a bit to look her in the eye. “We need to be prepared. I am concerned that if the things living in that northernmost part of the wood weren’t harmed by our weapons, they may not be the only ones. I will not have you harming yourself again in such a way by reacting to extreme circumstances. I would rather you be prepared to do what it takes as safely as possible.”
Ana nods in agreement and scrambles off my lap. Though I know it is the right thing to do, I am still reluctant when I let her slip out of my arms. She gives me an understanding smile and presses a kiss to the side of my muzzle before striding away.
“Jinx, let’s do this!” she shouts.
From the other side of the fire, Jinx sits up quickly, bits of dead grass stuck in his hair. Yawning widely, he scratches his side as he stumbles free from his dozing mates, waking them in the process.
“What are we doing now?” he queries as he crosses the grass to her.
“We’re going to practice the power drawing. Arawl and I both agree that we don’t want to leave anything to chance with what happened in the woods,” she replies casually. Jinks perks up at the idea and grins.
“Mock witch war! This’ll be fun,” he crows as he strides several paces away from her.
“Only you would think being blasted with magic is the highest form of entertainment,” she calls back.
Jinx scuffs his feet on the ground as he plants his stance and smirks. “Let’s see what you got, then. But you can’t use your own power. You have to draw it from someone else. Your power has an energy signature to it, as you know... so I’ll know if you cheat,” he says.
Ana laughs outright at the challenge.
I feel the moment she draws from me, the same sexual arousal and tension from before floods my system. As the power is tugged and drawn from me, it literally feels like she is tugging directly on my cock. I growl with lust but don’t fight it. If I look close, I can see the amber threads of energy drawing into her to coil within her. Ana lifts her hand, power stirring around her with the action. As her words slice through the air, I can feel the increase static energy making my fur prickle and stand on end. My skin shivers as I fi
ght my mounting sexual needs.
This is not sex. This is not mating. This is power only, I remind myself, though I know my body doesn’t discern the difference.
Several arcs of lightning crack in random spots around Jinx, the grass turning black under each one as the male crows with absurd delight.
“That was awesome!” he shouts. “Now try drawing from someone else!”
Oh, hell no!
“She will not be drawing from anyone else,” I snarl as I fly to my feet, surprising everyone around me with my outburst.
“Uh, why not?” Jinx is looking at me as if I am the one being entirely unreasonable. Perhaps I am. There is a good chance that he doesn’t know what it does to me. I swallow, hating to reveal such an intimate detail.
“It feels sexual when I draw from Arawl,” Ana supplies.
Jinx’s face lights up with interest. “Really? I wonder if that’s because you are drawing on your mate specifically. We really need to test this. What if you’re injured, Arawl, and she needs to draw from someone? It’s practical to get a full understanding before we end up in a bad situation.”
I hate to admit that he is right—but he is.
“Very well,” I grumble with displeasure.
“Excellent,” he says as he rubs his hands together. “Who volunteers?”
He looks around at my tribes-mates, but each one of them looks at me in turn. No one is eager to offer themselves after how I reacted. I sigh impatiently.
“Can someone volunteer so we can get this over with?” I grouse.
Rashi stands and clears his throat. He glances to Fahuri, who nods supportively, before he speaks. “I am willing to try.” He winces slightly as the last word leaves his mouth.
Ana nods and turns to Jinx. “Ready?”
Jinx nods and plants his feet again. This time, I am watching close enough that I see him sketch what I can only assume to be sigils for his protection spell.
Ana nods and raises her hands. I turn my attention from her and watch Rashi closely. A shiver runs over the male’s skin but as far as I can tell there is no sexual reaction. His face wrinkles as if uncomfortable just before a breeze blasts Jinx strong enough that it almost blows him off his feet. He thrusts his fist into the air and whoops.
“Babe, I think you got it!” he crows.
I look back over at Rashi and find him bent in half and panting, Fahuri fussing at this side. I stride over and touch his arm.
“Is all well, Rashi?”
“Yes,” he groans. “I don’t know why you were worried about sexual pleasure. I was all braced to feel unwanted pleasure and instead it felt like someone had dug their claws into my chest and was trying to rip my heart out. Fuck, that hurt.”
I glance over at Ana. “How did it feel to you?”
My mate gets a distinctly uncomfortable look and shudders. “Like a huge power high. Like I was invincible. Definitely not something I want to experience again if I can avoid it. It’s too seductive and more than a little disconcerting. I’m sorry, Rashi,” she whispers.
The beta smiles at her and straightens again as he rubs his chest. “No real harm done, Ana. What we gained was worth the pain.”
She smiles back at him with relief, but I can tell that she is still far too weary. I leave my friend’s side to go up to Ana and bump her with my muzzle. “Come, mate. Let’s rest now,” I whisper.
She gives me a grateful smile and presses herself against me as we walk back to our place by the fire. The sky is already starting to darken, and though I can see Tas and Vrox’s gleaming eyes in the low light, confirming their watchful presence, part of me is still afraid to sleep so near the woods. My imagination also has an impressive supply of horrors for what could be waiting for us as we cover the last several miles to the ogre’s caves. It plagues me by throwing one image up after the other when I try to close my eyes. When sleep finally does claim me, it is not a restful one.
Chapter 24
Ana
Walking across the open landscape makes me miss the forest... well, everything up to the most northern part of it that is. Except the dryads. But everything else had been pleasant to hike through in comparison. The land here is grassy and rocky... and sometimes the grass hides the damn rocks and you don’t know you’re about to walk into them until you stub your toe or trip over them. If that isn’t bad enough, the cold wind chaps my cheeks and lips, and making me shiver despite the warmth of my fur-lined cloak. Every hour takes us closer to the dark, craggy mountains ahead of us.
I lick my stinging lips and glance over at Jinx, his fair complexion looks almost deathly except where crimson blooms over his cheeks, nose, and chin. Even though I’m a lot darker, I’m not faring much better. We’re both the picture of misery. Not even the werewolves look happy with their ears flattened against the icy gusts and the wind stirring their fur.
I wish we could stop and build a fire. I flex my aching fingers within the thick mittens that Arawl packed for me. I am thankful now for his foresight. I can’t believe how cold it is, and it’s only just approaching midday.
“I’m really starting to hate this place,” I mutter to my mate. I obviously didn’t say it quiet enough to keep my complaint to myself because Vrox grins, the wind ruffling his dark gray coat.
“Believe it or not, this is prized territory during the summer,” he says. With one claw, he points to several hardy purple flowers that bend with the breeze. “Things bloom plentifully here, even this late in the season. In the summer, it is blessedly warm, and all manner of flowers fill the landscape.”
I glance up at Arawl and wrinkle my nose at him. “You picked a bad time of the year to mate me, babe.”
“Very inconsiderate of me,” he agrees. “I should have had the forethought to return and mate you in the summer when trekking for ogres would be more pleasant.”
I peer up at him, scrunching up my nose. “That almost sounded like sarcasm.”
“It was.”
I grin and playfully grab at his tail. “Well done.”
He slants me a smile, his green eyes shining with humor. “Thank you. I am glad you think so.”
The landscape gets rockier as we skirt the base of the mountain, our path taking us higher into the rocks and away from the grasslands. As the late afternoon approaches, the sun dips low enough to sink behind the mountain, throwing us all into deep shadows.
“Can we stop soon and make a fire? I don’t think I can feel my feet anymore,” I point out.
“Soon,” Arawl agrees. “I want to get a little more distance before we make camp. It is still early yet.”
“Okay... I’m just so damn cold!” I complain as we enter a narrow crevice in the hillside. “I’m also at the point where I would welcome being barbequed by a dragon. It’s that freaking cold—just point it out since you probably can’t tell under all the deliciously warm fur you’ve got. I swear, if I could just crawl up inside of you, I coul—holy crap!”
I stare in awe. The crevice had opened up directly in front of the king of all shrubbery. Arawl is frozen at my side and everyone else stares at it with a similar sense of confusion and astonishment.
“Well, this is something,” Jinx observes with a low whistle. “That’s a pretty impressive shrubbery.” His face crinkles into a smile. “I wonder if the Knights who say Ni are lurking somewhere nearby.” I stare at him and he sighs. “I am totally unappreciated at times.”
Fahuri takes a few steps forward, her head craning as she looks at the wall of greenery, her expression perplexed. “This is not right,” she murmurs. “I can smell the ogre caverns clearly, but it is muted. We should be nearing the cave entrance. This does not belong here.”
“Maybe we can backtrack and go around it,” Rashi suggests.
“Or I can try to burn my way through,” Jinx offers impishly. Rashi gives his mate an exasperated smile, but everyone looks to Arawl, waiting for his answer.
Arawl frowns at the barrier in front of us.
“I wouldn’t try tha
t if I were you,” a voice interjects. From an opening no one apparently saw, a centaur clops out. I had seen one sitting at the tavern but never one standing. He’s enormous. The part of him that resembles a horse is a dappled gray color that fades into the light gray hue of his h skin. His muscled humanoid torso is thick with muscle with a neck that terminates in a broad face with a wide mouth, a dark beard that matches the long mane of hair running down his back, and large hawk-like nose. He’s an impressive sight and makes my inner monster-lover squeal with glee. Not that I’m not crazy in love with the monster I’m mated to—but I’m not dead and may have been slightly corrupted from a little too much animated porn featuring centaurs. Heh.
As I stare at him, he pulls a massive set of hedge trimmers from a secondary belt along his flanks. The primary belt holding most of his tools seems to be the one around his humanoid waist. He turns and starts to clip the hedge like we are not even there. Arawl drags me close to his chest and eyes the stranger.
“Why?” Arawl asks crossly.
The male turns and lifts a quizzical eyebrow. “Hmm?”
“Why shouldn’t we try either idea?” He growls, his impatience spiking as he attempts to rub some warmth into my arms. I lean into his touch, appreciating the effort.
“Oh, that. Well, it is quite simple, really. The labyrinth is not just a normal shrub. It is a living source of magic and has its own defenses. I’ve never seen anyone try to do anything to it, but I suspect a direct attack with a spell will probably blast you right off the mountain.”
“So, we go around,” Vrox grumbles. Arawl nods reluctantly and every one of us turns to backtrack. I’m not sad, although I don’t look forward to losing ground and drawing out the hours of cold I have to deal with before we make camp. All the same, the labyrinth makes my skin crawl. I don’t want to be stuck in Jim Henson’s head, thank you very much, although Jinx would probably be entertained.
“Ah, I wouldn’t do that either,” the centaur calls cheerfully.
The Accidental Werewolf's Mate: A Monsterly Yours Romance (Monstery Yours Book 3) Page 17
