Page 94 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

She clears her throat, interrupting my momentary gawking as she holds out the new bow and daggers her mother had given me. Us. “Here. I assumed you’d intended to bring these as well.”

“Ah, yes, we did,” I mutter, offering her a sheepish smile and taking the weapons from her. “Rayne had forgotten to grab them before she’d fled to your room earlier.”

“I noticed.” She nods over her shoulder. “We should probably shadow to the stables, if we want to avoid any more distractions.”

“Good idea.” I shove the daggers into our bag, sling the bow over my shoulder, then reach out for my partner’s hand. “I love you, Mariane.”

“I love you too, Vannaria.”

With one last glance around the cozy home, I shadow us both to the stables. As promised, Stephan and Kali are already there waiting for us, both horses saddled and ready to go. Adaman lets out an excited whinny, but all three of the other creatures jump in surprise at our sudden appearance.

Obsidian snorts loudly as Stephan exclaims, “Holy fuckin’ shit, you two. A little warning next time.”

Kali barks out a laugh at his outburst and even Mariane begins to chuckle as she takes Adaman’s reins from Kali’s hand.

Barely holding back my own laughter, I shrug. “Well, that’s a bit hard to do, considering we were all the way across the village.”

Based on the travel bags already strapped to Obsidian’s back, it’s fairly clear that the other couple intend to ride the larger horse. I’m sure Mariane will have something to say about it at some point, but as of right now she simply mounts the grey gelding without complaint.

Pulling my quiver of arrows from our bag, I secure it to my belt before swinging up onto the horse behind her. Based on what the old woman had said, I have a feeling we might be finding ourselves in some sort of fight soon.

When Stephan turns to mount Obsidian, I notice he has a large sword strapped to his back as well, and a quick glance towards Kali reveals she has what looks like a whip hanging off her hip. I raise a brow but choose not to comment on her particular choice of weapon at the moment.

*Oh, I bet she has all kinds of fun with that,* Rayne purrs, making her presence known. And not needing to show the same restraint I just did. *Wonder if Mariane’s vines can–*

*Please don’t finish that thought, Rayne,* Aren pleads, interrupting a question I suddenly would like the answer to myself. *Not all of us like pain as much as you do.*

Rayne scoffs. *Not all of us, meaning just you. Right, Vann?*

I don’t bother responding, she already knows the answer.

Once Kali has swung up behind him, Stephan says, “We won’t make it out of the forest tonight, but it won’t be safe to make camp either. We’ll take shifts, whoever isn’t steering the horses will need to rest as much as they’re able to.” He leans down and pats the horse’s muscular neck, his hand glowing a faint red. “We’ll only stop long enough to feed and water the horses. And I’ll be using my magic to keep them fresh, so they won’t need sleep either.”

“Understood.” Mariane nods, determination in her voice as she asks, “I assume you know which route we need to take?”

He nods back, and without another word he urges Obsidian forward, heading towards the nearby trees. Adaman immediately follows and I spare a brief glance over my shoulder at the stables, wishing Kora was here so I could tell her thank you for caring for our horses. For her kindness.

Those thoughts are quickly forgotten, however, when Mariane whispers, “You know, I never even bothered to ask what roles Stephan and Kali were supposed to play in all this.”

I wrap my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder. “Well, maybe you should ask them. I’m sure Old Greyva told them plenty while we were…busy.”

With a snort of laughter, she reaches back to squeeze my thigh. “Hush you. But, perhaps I will. Later. As of right now…” Her shoulders slump as she lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m all talked out. At least in regard to this.”

“In that case.” I remove one hand from around her waist so I can take the reins from her. “I’ll steer. That way you can relax. For a while at least.”

She leans back into me, her head lolling onto my shoulder. “Thank you, My Love. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“I’ve asked myself that same thing about you every single day.”

A shiver runs down my spine right as I let an arrow loose, causing it to sail harmlessly past its intended target. Cursing our body’s instinctual fear, I nock another, gritting my teeth as I aim toward the leader of the group.

“Not much further!” Stephan calls out, his breath ragged. “It’ll be safe to stop once we reach the clearing!”

Well. At least we survived the entire night without being ambushed. Unfortunately, it’s now about an hour after dawn and we’re galloping through the trees, four snarling wolves hot on our heels.

Taking as deep a breath as I’m able at the moment, I channel a bit of my shadow magic into the bow before releasing the arrow. The wolf attempts to dodge out of the way of this one as well, but I notice just in time to adjust the arrow’s course so that it sinks deep into their right shoulder. With a yelp of pain, they stumble, falling to a heap on the ground.

The other wolves don’t bother to stop for them, not even as the fur recedes, giving way to flesh. Another wolf shifter that took part in the destruction of our kingdom killed by our hands.