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The sounds of their screams had echoed to the heavens.
Aidan had taken her in, brought her to pack lands where he’d clothed, fed, and sheltered her. Driven by unfulfilled rage against the Raeths who’d wronged her, Ava had become Aidan’s most devout trainee, sparring with pack members who ranged the gamut in terms of strength and skill. When Aidan had told her of their supernatural nature, she had simply taken it in stride.
The alpha and his pack searched for the Raeths that’d killed her parents, but they’d never been found. It was as though they’d simply disappeared, vanishing into thin air along with Ciru. Embittered, Ava had leapt at the chance to become a werewolf like the people who welcomed her as one of their own from the first day she arrived in their camp. When she came of age, Aidan’s bite had turned her immortal.
Since then, she’d never been comfortable with any Raeth—except Remmus.
Remmus had shattered the barriers she’d erected in self-defense eight centuries ago. He’d stormed through them as though they hadn’t existed, giving her that dimpled smile that melted her into a thousand pieces.
But she’d seen—and felt—that he wasn’t all grins and giggles. There was darkness in his past, and he’d readily admitted he had baggage. What would happen if those sins were more than Ava could bear?
She submitted to sleep that’d undoubtedly be tarnished with nightmares. She curled up on her bed, tugging her black fleece jacket tighter around her. Though pillows dotted the bed, not a single blanket could be found in her sanctuary. Ever since the moment her mother had covered her in blankets, she’d never been able to stomach the entrapment again.
Sleep took her, but restfulness did not.
***
Ava rose to consciousness languidly. Typically, she woke in wolf form, curled on her pillow with her nose under her tail. This time she had kept her human form, content and wholly ensconced in masculine heat.
She knew it was Remmus before she opened her eyes. Snuggled as she was into his embrace, every breath she took was perfumed with his minty scent.
His forearm was nestled around her waist, and he had deliberately tugged her into the hollow curve of his body. Ava hadn’t felt so protected and cared for in centuries. Here, swathed in his embrace, she felt safe.
The steady breath that tickled over her shoulder told her that her mate was fast asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him. Though he hadn’t been in her bed when she’d gone to sleep, her nightmares would’ve alerted him of her fear. She was certain those dark emotions had brought him to her side during the night, just as she knew that he held her close in an attempt to soothe her.
It was sweet.
Ava’s attention turned to the forearm that coiled around her. A forest banked against a raging river, boulders peppering the waterfall landscape painted over the living canvas. Undeniably artistic, she wondered where the scene had come from. Something was familiar about that river, as if she’d seen it somewhere before, during one of her travels. Rubbing her thumb over a pine tree, she frowned and rolled his arm to see the underside. Was this a memory of his, a scene from his childhood, or was it merely a depiction of a nameless forest?
There’d been no change in the steadiness of his breathing when she’d manipulated his arm. Heavy sleeper, no doubt. Though she longed to remain in his carefully crafted bubble of protection, a shower was her first priority. Delicately, she extracted herself out from his embrace and padded quietly to her bathroom.
Twisting up her hair into a knot when she was done, she threw on a sweater and skinny jeans before slinking out to check on Remmus. He hadn’t even moved.
Frowning, she tiptoed over to where he lay and grasped his shoulder before giving it a subtle shake. “Wake up, Remmus.”
When he still didn’t respond, a thread of fear rooted in her gut. Pursing her lips, she shoved at his shoulder, not taking no for an answer. Digging her finger into the hardened muscle of his deltoid, she barked his name again and gave him a hearty shake.
He blinked groggily in response. “Huh?”
“Are you a really heavy sleeper?” She questioned as he stretched on her sheets. “I had to literally jump on your shoulder to get you to wake up.”
A grunting laugh. “No, not usually.”
His expression, full of remorse, made Ava regret waking him, and his slightly narrowed eyes were the only precursor to the drop of blood that trickled from his nose. Remmus pressed his hand to it.
“Why is your nose bleeding again? Shouldn’t the silver be out of your system by now?”
“Guess it’s grown attached.”
“You need to see a healer, Remmus.”
“Next time I’m on clan lands, I promise I’ll hunt down Kaien.”
Satisfied, Ava tugged on his wrist and hauled him out of bed and toward the kitchen. As she dabbed at his nose, he remained silent and still, that half-smile succeeding in brightening her day.
***
Twenty minutes later, they received Aidan’s text that the next wolf den was ready to receive them. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she’d nearly forgotten about their mission with the HVAC recoding.
