Chapter 31
+85%
Why are we going to stay here for that long?” I ask him, gemingly curious.
“You need the mountain at as much as you need the spring’s wider, Ethan says, gazing out at the ranges of mountains. “It will heal you”
“You could have told me, and not just sprung it on me like this, butt, folding my arms across my chest.
“side’ think you would have agreed, Ethan shrugs “And you need to get out of bed so your body can learn to work again.”
1 understand his reasoning and logic, but I purse my lips, thinking before answering
You assumed that I wouldn’t understand.” I point out. “Maybe you can stop doing that? And maybe trust that I won’t just refuse every single idea just because it comes from you?”
Ethan turns his gare to me then.
“I don’t have the best examples to work with,” Ethan says, his voice low. “So far, you have rejected every idea I’ve had.”
1 bite my lip. All right, I can’t argue with that.
“Maybe it’s something we can both work on, then, I offer.
My stomach starts rumbling then, and I cover it with my hand, a blush rising on my cheeks.
“There is food” Ethan muses, looking at the basket. “But maybe something fresher and wilder would be better.”
Ethan gets up and glances around.
There are wild rabbits here,” he says. “Let me see y what I can hunt for dinner.”
Without any warning. Ethan strips down completely naked, and then transforms into his wolf form Everything happens so fast that I didn’t have enough time to look away-quite honestly, not that I would even if I did.
My face burns. He has a nice body, all right?
Ethan darts off into the bush, his wolf form moving gracefully across the ground. He moves with purpose, and then leaps when the creature is close enough to catch. The rabbit is fast, but it’s no match for something with the body and power of a wolf and Ethan has a couple caught by the time he’s done.
Could I have managed that? To move in such a manner? To hung and to kill with such precision?
I can’t remember, but I know that I miss it.
Ethan skins and cleans the rabbits quickly. He makes a small fire and gets the meat set up over the ti
dua
*I don’t remember if I could do any of those things.” I tell him as we watch the fire roast and smoke the meat.
You could,”
Eilandays firmly “And you will again”
I sign and my gaze drops to the book again. Reading about having a wolf and how to reclaim a lost one isn’t the same as having her, but it makes me feel closer to her. It feels like I’m doing everything I can to get to her.
1/3
Chapter 31
The fire crackles and Ethan just quietly accompanies me as 1 real. Not sure how long it has been, all of a sudden Erhan pull: the book mat of my hands
“Hey””Fobject
“Food is ready,” he says his voice pulling me back to the presenti
The rich, savory aroma of barbecue wants towards me. He hands me a skewer of meat that is roasted to a vibrant golden color. My mouth waters uncontrollably.
I take it from him and sink my teeth into it. Crispy on the outside and juicy inside. I can’t hold back a satisfactory moan.
“This is so good,” I say as I take another bite “I’m always amazed at your cooking. Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“My father and used to come camping up here,” Ethan says after a moment. “He taught me to hunt, to cook, to survive with nothing but my claws and fangs. He would tell me ‘Alphas and kings can fall, so I need to know what to do when stripped of all luxury:*
“Sounds like he wanted you to be ready for the world”
“It was tough when I was young, but I grew to appreciate it.” Ethan looked at his hands that still had traces of blood on them “I am able to fend for myself and others because of him.”
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to hunt.” I tell him softly, pulling my legs up under me and resting my chin on my knees. “Back when I lived with Marcus, I used to sneak out of his house and try to hunt. But it never worked, I didn’t have a wolf. I was just a little human trying to be wild.”
“That nature is still in you.” Ethan says. “It will drive you to fulfill that nature, and to find the wolf. My father always told me and Cassy that people consider the wolf and the man as two different things, but they’re actually just two parts of one.”
“Your father was a wise man.”
“He was. I just wish I had appreciated him when he was alive as much as I do now. Although Cassy was his adopted daughter, she had a closer bond with him than I ever did.”
I turn to look at him. He had lost his parents, too. Other than Cassandra, he has no family left. Perhaps Cassandra is special to him, just like my brothers are special to me.
“Cassandra.” I say, “Tell me the truth about her.”
“What about?”
“Your relationship with her.” I say firmly, “The way she acts around you and her comment about being your fiancee makes me believe there is something more. And if you were serious about asking for my hand, I need to know where I stand, if anywhere at all.”
“I suppose I owe you that.” He adds another piece of wood in the fire, making it crackle. “I don’t have any memories of my birth mother. Father never told me about her, but slowly I figured out that she died during childbirth. She died because of
My breath catches at my throat.
He continues. “When I was fifteen years old, an assassination attempt was made on my streets. A woman jumped in the way of the blade, saving his life. Her name was Clara”
my father while he was walking the
“Cassandra’s mother?”
Ethan nods. “My father took her into the palace and saw to her recovery. She was a good woman. Through her, I came to understand what it means to have a mother. A few months later Father asked her to marry him, she moved into the palace
Chapter 31
with her ten-year-old daughter, Cassandra..
“However, Clara had a rare sickness and did not live long after they were wed. On her deathbed, she made my father promise to keep Cassandra close, protect her, and make sure she remained as a part of our family. My father and I both
her our words.
Kave
“But Cassandra misunderstood,” Ethan goes on, “When she was older, she thought her mother’s request meant that she and I were betrothed. She became infatuated with me, jealous whenever there was a prospect of another woman in my life.”
I asked. “And you never thought about it? You never considered that it could be an option for you to marry her? There is no blood between you two.”
I watch him closely to see his reaction, but he remains unchanged.
To me she is only a younger stepsister, a child that must be protected. But to her it is more and it has become a nuisance. I’ve tried for years to dispel this notion from her head but she remains firm on it.”
“You could have told me all of this, about you father and stepmother…about Cassandra,” I say, “I would have understood. And it would have made those first few encounters with her a lot easier.”
“I could have but I’m not really one for long explanations.”
“I noticed,” a smile creeps to my lips. “You prefer to give orders and expect results.”
“I am a king, I need to be efficient and get what I want.” Ethan hands me another piece of rabbit meat from the fire, “I kill, 1 eat. I don’t have to explain to the rabbit why it needs to be a meal.”
“But you do have to explain to the woman you took from her home about where she fits in your grand plan.”
“Am I not doing that now?”
“You know,” I say, “It would make things so much easier if you would simply communicate.”
I reach over and touch his hand. He pauses and looks at me inquisitively
“Thank you, I say.
“For what?”
I don’t answer. I simply smile and continue eating. I don’t want to ruin the moment and explain that I meant that I w thankful that he was opening up. But he continues to stare at me as he waits for an explanation.
was
A cold breeze blows through the campsite, taking away the heat from the fire. It chills me to my core and I wrap my arms around myself for warmth. My teeth start to chatter. I look over at Ethan, he is unaffected by the cold.
“How are you not freezing?” I ask in amazement
Ethan glances at me and then without warning, sheds his clothing and transforms again. His beautiful wolf sits down, curling his form around mine
SE
16:40 Tue, Jul 23