69

Aurora
At my request, and to Millie’s utter dismay, I dragged her along with us. “Millie, at some point, if you ever want this to end, you will have to be the one to offer the olive branch. Evander and I won’t allow him near you without your approval. I know I don’t know everything and he doesn’t deserve it, but your heart wants to forgive him, so why keep torturing yourself?” Millie eyed me and Evander seemed to ponder my words remaining silent. “Just expect effort from him and hold your ground. If he fails you or attempts to push his aura on you, I’ll end it for you. You have as much time as you want, but now he knows someone will follow through until he is loyal to you. I won’t accept his loyalty to me.” I glanced at Evander, who was eyeing me out of the corner of his eye. ‘That could be problematic,’ His voice flitted into my mind. ‘I’m aware,’ I answered. ‘But this needs fixing. While he wallows in his own misery, he is creating hers.’ He just nodded in acceptance.

We came across Dominic cursing, a lead in his hands, arms flailing as he failed miserably at the task. My Spitfire was trotting around snorting and pawing at the earth with her hooves. Evander’s expression was bemused, while Millie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. It was evident he knew she was with us immediately. His eyes instinctively locked onto hers. The shock was unmistakable as his jaw slackened. Guaranteed he was not expecting this. Millie’s breath hitched beside me as I hooked her arm in mine for support.

I moved over to Elijah and Evan, who were not keeping their amusement quiet. I delivered her to where they were brushing out old Thomas, the mule’s coat snickering. Millie’s questioning eyes met mine as we parted. I winked at her before turning to the barrel of apples. “Little Alpha,” I called, as I spun around to face him tossing the apple up and down in my hand. His gaze refocused on mine standing his ground. “A word of advice, that horse is like most women. The more you push, the more her heels will dig in. If you are not getting anywhere. You need to try something different.” I chucked the apple underhanded like a softball not lacking in force right at him. He caught it easily, the impact to his hand making a ‘thunk.’ “Oh, and Dominic, she loves apples. It’s important to remember the things she likes in order to give her something better to think about, other than your most recent actions towards her.” I advised. His cold eyes stared into mine before a flickering of understanding crossed his features. I was talking about more than just the horse. His eyes found Millie, who stood leaning against one of the poles, Thomas was tethered too. Her mousy-colored waves wafting in a breeze.

He looked back at me, and I could almost see the faintest ounce of gratitude there before he turned back to the horse. I will give it to him. It took him 30 minutes before frustration took hold. He breathed in and out trying to quell the agitation. Millie strode forward and stopped next to me at the fence. Arms crossed across her chest as she appraised him. He paused at attention as Millie stewed for an achingly long moment. “Saddle that filly and we will ‘talk’,” The word ‘talk’ was emphasized, her tone stern and clipped. He gave her a nod before he turned back to the horse with a new determination.

Two hours and several apples later, the filly was saddled. Dominic leaned on the fence satisfied. “That horse is more trouble than she’s worth.” He said dryly. “I beg to differ, things most valuable in life require effort.” I responded as I verified the girth was tightened appropriately.

Evander found his way to my side beaming with pride. “My wife is very wise,” he said to me as our eyes met. I gave him a small smile. “Now it’s up to them. This was the easy part.” I replied before heading to where Evander had set our things. We would be leaving them alone to travel into the wilderness for a few days, sleeping under the stars and trotting through the forest to Hunt. While I never relished taking life, something in me sparked with a primal excitement I wasn’t used to. The dreams of hunting with the pack flitted into my mind. Skin tearing, muscle ripping, the metallic taste, a phantom on my senses. I went up to Spitfire and scratched behind her ears. She snorted and pawed at the earth. I hooked my bow and pack, along with Evander’s bag of clothes, onto the saddle.

As I mounted, Evander’s gray wolf trotted up. ‘Make sure they watch him, give them privacy but keep close,’ I told his mind. His head swung, eyes meeting those behind him, silent orders crossing the distance to Evan and Elijah. I saw them nod. Feeling slightly better. I shifted in my saddle, my head spinning to Millie. “Hey Mills,” I hollered. “Yes Luna,” she asked. “Give him hell.” I instructed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dominic pale. Good. Millie smirked. Even better. My heels urged the filly forward and Evander bounded ahead of us to show the way.

We kept up a good pace. The horse was glad to be stretching her long agile legs beyond the confines of the paddock. I breathed in the unfamiliar scents, the wolf that stirred within me, my brain cataloging the smells and analyzing them for me, even as she slept, aided my senses, her instincts becoming my own. The connection amplified, which, in turn, heightened the connection I had with the surrounding nature. My link was a web of information, as it connected to all the creatures and plants. The dream still haunted me, ate at me, and my senses dulled into the background as I sifted through the images in my mind. All of it together overwhelmed me, as one thing after another came to me through my senses, interrupting my brain’s attempt to focus, trying to focus on any other detail of the vision.

After several hours of traveling, Evander's voice broke the silence. ‘We will find a place to camp and then plan where to scout for the game,’ Evander let me know, I nodded. ‘Love, you are abnormally quiet,’ he added. I sighed. ‘Just feeling out how all the newness feels out here, I have a lot on my mind’ I answered. His canine navy eyes stared at me, curiosity lingered there. ‘Things are progressing?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ I breathed out in my mind. I didn’t bother using my physical voice anymore. Why disturb the peace of the woods? I should soak in it, immersing myself in the pleasure of all the things I could feel, hear, see, and smell. My entire being vibrated with energy, with purpose, yet it infuriated me that the weight of the senses overshadowed the vision, as if I was expected to do nothing with it. I felt the last few weeks catching up with me. So much change, and too little time to come to terms with it all.

I watched my husband change before my eyes, my brain now quick enough to track the changes that occurred in the time of a breath. My eyes landed on his tanned skin in the planes and gorges of sinew and corded muscle that called to me, noting yet another distraction. ‘Easy love,’ he cautioned. I eyed him like a dart finding its mark. ‘There's no easy about this Evander!’ I pushed back. Two weeks ago, having a singular focus was all I could do. Being invisible helped. Focusing on the things I could control helped, even the things I couldn’t. I wasn’t living life then, I was barely surviving. His beautiful naked body backed up a few steps, hands up in either acceptance or weariness? I chucked him his pack, and catching it he raised a brow at me. Through the bond, I could feel him tentatively leaning into it like sticking his toes in to test the temperature of the water. “Be less distracting,” I murmured as he chuckled in response shaking his head, fishing out his pants and that was all the man put on in the chill air. My eyes rolled to the goddess for strength. His eyes turned back to me as if he were surprised by whatever the bond told him. It had to be a confusing mess to sort through my end of it.