Chapter Forty-Two

KEYARA

Ash handed her a small key. “Go get the package from your mother from the top drawer of my desk,” he instructed her.

“Leave the letter out on the table. I’ll have Emily deliver it to the village to be taken to the castle, if you’d still like her to.”

“Yes, please,” she replied, and headed toward the office, holding the key between her fingers. She unlocked the drawer and took out the package, slipping it into the deep pocket of her dress.

She opened the letter and scanned the words briefly, still satisfied with what she had written, folding it back and setting it on the table before locking the drawer once more.

She returned to the main room, and the men seemed to be almost finished making their preparations. Some were down to only their breeches, packing away their other clothes. Others stood idle, waiting for departure.

Ash walked up to her, handing her the cotton sleeping shift he had retrieved from their room for her. She folded it tightly and packed it into the pouch he had given her earlier.

“You and I will go first,” he told her quietly. “That way, you don’t have to undress in front of the men. They’ll catch up after we shift.”

She nodded, following him outside. He began to take off his clothes and she copied him, chewing nervously on her lip as she pulled her dress down over her hips.

He packed his clothes away in his own pouch, strapping it intricately across his chest. She folded her dress, checking the pocket for the portrait, before placing it inside and snapping it closed.

Ash reached out his hand for her belongings, and she gave the leather pouch to him. He placed it carefully on the ground before turning to her.

“I’ll put it on you once you’ve shifted,” he explained to her. “I don’t want it to distract you.”

She nodded, wrapping her hands tightly over her bare chest, still chewing on her lip. He pressed his thumb gently to her mouth, stopping her nervous action.

He placed his hands over her arms, lowering them down to her sides, looking her in the eyes.

“Just close your eyes and picture yourself in your wolf form, Keyara,” he told her carefully.

“Bring it to the front of your mind—what you looked like, what it felt like—and push through until you feel the change begin in your body.”

“Will it hurt again?” she whispered.

He caressed her check gently. “Some,” he answered honestly. “But not as much as the first time.”

She nodded, closing her eyes and following his instructions. She pictured her blue eyes in the wolf’s face from the lake, imagining how it felt as her paws thundered through the trees, kicking up dirt behind her.

Suddenly her mind seemed very full, like there wasn’t enough space for everything she was thinking. She understood what he meant by pushing it through her body. It was almost instinctual to do so.

Suddenly she felt her body changing, and though she could hear her bones cracking like before, the pain wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been, and it was all over much faster.

She looked down her fur-covered snout at Ash standing in front of her, still in his bare human body.

“Good job, Key,” he said proudly, smiling at her in admiration.

Her tail swished unconsciously at his words of praise. He laughed, picking up her leather pouch, and his hands ran over her fur, fastening it into place efficiently.

He gently rubbed one of her ears between his fingers as he finished, and she whined in pleasure at his soft, affectionate touch.

He smiled at her again and turned away before shifting into his own white wolf. He walked quickly into the woods, and she followed behind him automatically.

She could hear the men file out as soon as they departed, and the sounds of them strapping their own packs into place. Ash picked up the pace and she stayed on his heels.

Suddenly Luca overtook her, joining Ash’s side in front of her, keeping pace with him at the front of the pack.

The sound of many paws thundering against the ground was all around her, and they ran together toward the mountains.

ASH

They covered the ground toward home quickly, the trees flying past his vision in a blur. They were very fast in their wolf forms. It would have taken them at least a full day on horseback, if not longer.

But after just a few hours of running, they had reached the base of the mountains they called home. The terrain became rocky, snow lingering in the shade at the base of the rocks around them.

Ash slowed to a walk, falling back to Key’s side and letting Luca take the lead.

~“We will follow this path up and around the mountain,”~ he told her. “~It is narrow and can be icy. Watch where you step.”~

He heard her huff of acknowledgment, and he trotted back in front of her as Luca started leading them up the mountain path. It was slow going from here, and it would take another few hours before they reached the castle.

~“When we get home, summon the full council,”~ he ordered Luca grimly. “~There’s no sense in delaying it once we arrive. I do not wish to appear as if I am attempting to hide it.”~

~“Yes, Alpha,” ~Luca replied, his tone just as serious. ~“It will take them at least a week to convene. I will speak to as many as I can, convince them of the necessity of what happened.”~

~“Be very discreet, my friend,” ~Ash warned him~. “This is a dangerous game, and I’ll need you to remain in their good graces if they go against me. The pack will need you.”~

~“I know,” ~came Luca’s reply, before they continued their journey in silence.