Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
So mote it be.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryker
I didn’t doubt that Idalis was my mate. It’s not the kind of knowledge that can be doubted. Not the kind of feeling that can be second-guessed for long. It’s far above the level of thought.
But if I had doubted, all of those doubts would have disappeared as she came for me, over and over again, and with me, staring into my eyes as if she had never seen anything more intriguing or precious.
When I finally come inside her one final time and find myself dragged down to the depths of a peaceful sleep, I have the feeling the night will last forever. It’s as if the moon has stopped time for us, and I don’t need to worry about the sunrise, or the following days, or my place in the army waiting for me even now.
I don’t have to worry about anything.
I’m no longer cursed, and I’m no longer alone. For the first time, I close my eyes in a perfect world. Idalis lies next to me, her heart beating fast but settling slowly as sleep takes her under as well.
I would linger in this night forever if fate would let us.
Instead I sleep, deep and dreamless, somehow aware of her next to me. My wolf reaching out for her every so often to be sure my mate is safe and sound.
She is. She will always be safe beside me. Time has made me a great warrior and perhaps that’s what I needed to be so I could live up to be fated to the powerful witch.
I’ve a few shallow dreams that are mostly fragments. Sounds and scents. Memories of Idalis in the candlelight above me and under me, the tiny flames reflecting in her gorgeous eyes.
The world has not been stopped by the moon after all. The night moves slowly through its remaining hours. I don’t care about the world outside the cottage, but my wolf has an understanding that is rooted deeper into the ground, and he keeps watch, as he always has.
I wake slowly wishing a new day would hold off. The gods could not stop the new day from coming, but it is waking up slowly as well. The sunlight that caresses Idalis’s windows is gentle. It is early yet.
Idalis sleeps deeply in my arms, her breathing slow and steady. There is no worry in her. No tensions. She’s let all her weight fall onto me in the night.
For a while, I simply lie there, savoring the moment. My mate. My beautiful and powerful mate. How have I gotten so lucky?
Many men have trusted me with their lives during my time in the army. I’ve taken that trust as the sacred bond that it was. I didn’t think I would experience a bond more sacred. I would have sworn there would never be one.
Yet, here we are and here it is.
I watch the light grow bit by bit. No one comes to drag me from the bed. There are no sounds of the army preparing for the day around me. Nothing compels me to ease Idalis out of my arms and leave her behind.
Not yet.
I savor that, too. There were no shouts to rouse me from my sleep. There were no war horns or drums. Idalis asleep in my arms is the greatest peace I have ever known.
No more prophecy. No more curse. They are both broken, both dissolving into the past like they never existed. From this day forward, I am free of that sorrow. Although now another persists. I must leave her. After the royal wedding, we return to the battlefield. War does not wait for love.
I don’t allow myself to think that another sorrow will come to replace it. For now, there’s no such thing.
Eventually, a soft sound gets my attention. At first it is like the chirping of an insect outside the cottage, but the more I listen for it, the more familiar it becomes.
One of my crystals.
Idalis doesn’t stir from the sound. Carefully, I move her gently to the pillows and cover her with the blankets. She turns over with a sigh and continues sleeping, nestled into the warmth of the bed.
I find a pair of pants and a shirt, then go to my pack and draw out the crystals. The morning sun is brighter when I leave the cottage and find Idalis’s small outdoor table.
I’m sure it is Jorge who is trying to summon me. Adrenaline rushes in my blood at the thought. My mouth goes dry with nervousness.
When the call connects, I’m proven right.
“Ryker,” my commander says. “Can you hear me? It seems the storm has passed.”
There’s a note of optimism in his voice that makes my heart ache. Jorge is the person who is most like my brothers. I’d protect him as if he were a member of my pack, and he would protect me just the same. We’ve seen horrors together. Survived together and conquered together.