Page 102 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

Thankfully, she leans back, her golden eyes darting over my face as her brows wrinkle in…whatever emotion she’s feeling right now. “Aren?”

Swallowing down my own whirlwind of emotions, I somehow manage to nod. I instinctually also mutter the phrase to reactivate our glamour, praying that I get the features right in my current…state.

She smiles softly, amusement dancing in her golden eyes. “Are you alright? You look a bit flushed.”

“If you two are done making out, we really need to get out of here now,” her friend Stephan calls out, the amusement in his tone evident as well.

Mariane lifts a brow, trapping me in her gaze as she quietly asks, “Are we?”

I attempt to nod again, I truly do. But I feel my head slowly shake instead.

Her smile widens, then her lips are crashing back against mine.

I’m so caught off guard by the force of it that I nearly stumble. Our kiss is just as brief as the one she’d shared with Rayne. And yet… I shall cherish it for the rest of our existence all the same.

Forcing myself to pull away, I step back, tucking a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear as I whisper, “Apologies for my terrible timing, but I feel as though I must tell you that I’ve fallen for you as well, Mariane.”

“Good,” she breathes, taking my free hand in hers. “Because I’m fairly certain I’ve fallen for you too, Aren.”

Stephan grunts in annoyance. “Alright, seriously you guys.” He mutters something I can’t quite understand, then, “We need to go. Now.”

Shaking her head, Mariane drags me behind her as she jogs back to the horses. “Do we ride? Or do we shadow?”

Noticing we now have a fifth person to transport, I don’t wait for him to respond before reaching out to Vannaria. *Take us to the lake. It’s the only place familiar enough to get us all there safely.*

*I hate that you’re right.*

Right as Mariane lets go of my hand to mount Adaman, I return control to Vannaria.

Seems today has turned out to be quite eventful after all.

Chapter Forty-Three

Vannaria

Shaking my head to clear away as much of my current mental fog as possible, I grab hold of the saddle horn and swing up behind Mariane on Adaman’s back. “Are we sure this is the right man?” I ask, letting my gaze fall to the shadows cast by the two beasts.

“We can find out later,” Kali snaps, the fear evident in her tone. “Can you get us out of here or not?”

It’s only now that I’m able to hear the several sets of footsteps quickly approaching the other end of the alley. Clearly Rayne and Aren had been too distracted to notice them earlier.

Sucking in a deep breath, I draw the shadows up and over our group. “Brace yourselves!”

Focusing on our memories of the lake where we’d nearly lost our life, I close my eyes and imagine stepping out of the shadows of the large shade tree next to it. Obsidian’s startled whinny fills the air as I whisk us away to what I pray is safety.

Once I regain the ability to do so, I crack one eye open, checking to make sure we’re in the right location. Upon indeed seeing the place from our nightmares, I unexpectedly sag in relief. Mariane sucks in a breath, likely realizing the significance as well. Part of me wishes I’d never told her, but alas…

Opening my eyes fully, I sweep my gaze over our group. “Is everyone alright?”

Stephan and Kali merely grunt in agreement, quite possibly still annoyed at the situation Aren got us into. Or for the fact that my mental companions had apparently decided that kissing my partner took priority over ensuring her safety. While I hardly fault them for it, I’m honestly a bit annoyed myself.

Time and place and all that.

Shifting my gaze towards the devilkin whose beating had started the entire debacle, I can’t help but marvel at the way he appears completely unfazed. While his fancy looking clothes are quite disheveled, his purple skin and jewel encrusted horns seem to be intact. Although I suppose with his skin color it would be hard to tell if he was covered in bruises or not.

“Never better!” the stranger loudly proclaims, his accent so thick I can hardly understand him at first. “Your partner’s magic is marvelous!”

Chuckling at his enthusiasm, I slide down off Adaman’s back. “That it is.” Resisting the urge to offer to help Mariane down, I ask, “Pardon my rudeness, but who exactly are you?”