Page 12 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

Her golden eyes soften a bit as she nods. “I do.”

“To answer your question…” I slowly shake my head, gripping the reins so tightly the leather creaks in protest. “No, I don’t remember. Neither do the others. Merely bits and pieces we’ve been able to gather through hearsay and whatever brief glimpses our mind allows us.”

“Well, perhaps we can help each other then.” Mariane’s gaze briefly darts to the horse behind me. “You help me avoid your fellow bounty hunters and I’ll help you get the information you’re looking for.” Her lips slowly curl into a wicked grin. “After all, I’m fairly good at getting men to do or tell me whatever it is I ask of them.”

Barking out a laugh, I hold my hand out to her. “Alright, you have yourself a deal, Amara.”

With a scowl quickly replacing her grin, she grasps my offered hand so tightly I have to hold back a wince. “Stop calling me that.”

“Oh?” I tilt my head, giving her a look of complete innocence. “Do you not like the new alias I’ve bestowed upon you? Considering your last one is now compromised, I’d assumed you’d appreciate it.”

Exhaling a heavy sigh, Mariane mutters, “Fine, I suppose I’ll allow it. For now.”

“If you’d like I can loan you our false surname as well.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then.” With a teasing smirk, I pat the horse’s neck and ask, “Would you like to ride in front of me, or behind?”

Snatching the reins out of my hands, she forgoes answering to gracefully swing up into her previous position behind his withers. Chuckling softly, I bounce twice on my heels before leaping up behind her.

Careful to avoid the swords still crossing back, I lean around Mariane and point to the right. “That way will lead us to Cyrel.” Lazily drifting my hand to the left, I whisper, “And that way, will take you home. To Farwen Forest.”

When our mount’s steady steps begin to slow from sheer exhaustion, Mariane finally pulls him to a stop. Breaking the comfortable silence we’ve been in for the last hour or so, she whispers, “It’s been some time since I’ve been in a forest. Can you…” She trails off, yet I have a feeling I might know what she’d been about to ask.

Careful not to touch her anywhere inappropriate, I dismount so that I can better survey the area around in an attempt to gather my bearings. Once I’m fairly certain I know where we are, I smile up at her and say, “Don’t worry, I’ll find us a decent place to make camp for the night.”

She nods, her downcast eyes already beginning to drift closed. “I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Gently pulling the reins free of the iron tight grip she’d had on them, I begin leading the horse towards where I remember there should be a small clearing. He follows without complaint, his own large brown eyes half-lidded as well. I silently curse myself for abandoning the cart.

Even if it would’ve been nearly impossible to maneuver through the trees, I’d stolen that specific one because of the hay it was hauling. Only part of the reason had been to cushion our fall if we’d leapt from the window, which we had. The other part was to ensure that the stolen horse would have food on the journey.

After several more moments of silence, I tentatively ask, “Are you still in pain?” Mariene hums, dismissively. “If that’s your way of saying ‘yes’, I might have some herbs that could help. Or I could give your muscles a quick massage before you pass out?”

She scoffs loud enough to startle a flock of birds out of the nearby trees. “As if I’d give you the excuse to put your hands on me. I’ve had enough of that for one day, thank you. As I’ve already said. Numerous times.”

Halting my steps, I playfully point an accusatory finger up at her. “Actually, you said that about my flirting, not about touching you.” Breaking our momentary eye contact, I continue leading the horse. “But I apologize all the same. I assure you, my intentions were pure. The herbs are less effective, but I’ll gladly brew them into a tea for you as soon as we make camp.”

There’s a brief pause, then she whispers, “Thank you, Vannaria. I would appreciate that.”

Keeping my gaze on the trees ahead of us, I nod.

Thankfully, it only takes a few more minutes before we come upon the clearing I’d been aiming for. As I stop the horse in the center of it, Mariane’s sigh of relief is audible. This time when I offer her a hand, she doesn’t hesitate to slip her bare foot into it to use it as a makeshift stirrup of sorts.

Once she’s safely on the ground, I pull her boots out of the bag at my hip. “Here, Aren should’ve given you these back earlier. I'm not sure why they didn’t.”

It's a lie. I know good and well why they'd been so distracted. And unlike me, it hadn't been because we'd just seen this gorgeous woman’s tits. But Mariane doesn’t need to know that.

“Might’ve had something to do with the fact I was growling at them.” She takes the boots with a shrug. “Not my fault though, for a moment I'd thought yet another strange man had somehow crept up on me.”

I wince at my own stupidity. “Ah, my sincerest apologies for that. I should’ve informed you of my intentions, but there wasn’t time. And to be fair…” I raise my brows at her. “You were the one to unexpectedly shift into another form first.”

She pauses with one boot halfway on to send me a glare. “Yes, I did. Which would’ve been the perfect opportunity for you to inform me that you could do the same.”

Now I’m the one to shrug. “Ah, perhaps. Forgive me for being a bit distracted, considering I had just seen you naked and all. But I also hadn’t originally intended for us to switch places either. The woman had already broken through the trees before Aren reminded me that she might recognize my face as well and all but shoved me out of control.”

“Right. I suppose that does make sense.” Mariene nods, eyes still narrowed as she tugs on her other boot. “How is it you have the ability to change your appearance? That wasn’t in the stories.”