Chapter Sixty-One

ASH

They ran for hours, until they were panting with exertion. They walked to the creek, downwind from the horse, and lapped at the cool water with their long tongues, drinking their fill.

Keyara sprawled out by the creek, the side of her head resting on the cool grass and her legs sticking out straight.

He lay perpendicular to her on his stomach, between her legs, placing his chin on her furry chest, listening to the beating of her heart underneath him.

After a few minutes he rose, nudging her gently to follow. They walked slowly back to their camp, shifting once they were inside the natural stone barrier.

They pulled on their clothes, and he went to light the fire she had set up earlier. It was well past midday, and he knew she must be as hungry as he was from their run.

She picked up on his intention, digging the cooking pot out from their pile of supplies. Next she pulled out the rice and the rest of the muffins Emily had sent with them.

She handed Ash a muffin before scooping some rice into the pot. He bit eagerly into the muffin, barely registering the taste of berries and butter in his haste to ease his hunger.

He let the muffin hang from his mouth midbite as he struck the flint to light the fire. Soon it was lit and spreading to the logs Key had skillfully arranged.

Keyara passed him the pot of rice, and he added the right amount of water from the bucket he had boiled earlier before setting it on top of the wood to cook.

He sat next to the flames, finishing his muffin, the single pastry doing little to ease his hunger. Key sat beside him, handing him one more, biting into her own second muffin as he took it from her hand.

“That’s the last of them,” she said mournfully. “It’s rice and beans from here on out.”

“I’ll set up some snares later,” he assured her, knowing the forest was full of rabbits and quail he could easily trap. “If all else fails, I can venture out ways to hunt.”

She nodded, staring at the fire, her arms clasped around her knees.

“Did you enjoy the run?” he asked her.

She seemed to be much more confident in her wolf form now.

She turned to him and smiled. “I did. The more time I spend as a wolf, the more I find myself enjoying it,” she told him eagerly.

“We’ll keep practicing your tracking skills,” he assured her, knowing she was anxious to become proficient at it.

They sat silently until the rice was ready, then filled their empty bellies with the steaming food. It was bland but satisfied their hunger. He took the empty bowl from her hand and placed it in the empty pot with his own.

“Relax for a bit,” he told her, stroking her hair. “I’ll wash up.”

She nodded, grabbing a folded blanket off the rock and placing it behind her head as a pillow as she reclined in the grass.

He made his way to the creek and rinsed out the bowls and pot, scooping a little water into the pot when he was finished to soak the beans for cooking later.

Back at their camp, Key was dozing in the grass. He set the pot of water next to the supplies and scooped in a few handfuls of beans to soak before lying next to her.

KEYARA

The next two days passed in much the same way. They spent the morning testing her tracking skills, which were improving quickly, and running together as wolves.

In the afternoons, they relaxed and spoke of their plans, along with other meaningless conversations that were never dull. She was very pleased to be spending idle time with Ash.

Their courtship and brief stint as alpha and luna had been filled with troubles and distractions, and she finally felt like it was just the two of them enjoying each other’s company.

The morning of the third day, just as they had risen from sleep, she picked up a scent on the wind. She gave Ash a look, and he raised his chin and sniffed the air before breaking out in a grin.

“It’s Mateo,” he told her.

They ventured down to the base of the hill, and after several minutes of waiting, they spotted his wolf between the trees in the distance.

He quickly closed the distance between them, beginning to shift into his human form as soon as he stood before them. Key turned her back respectfully to give him privacy while he dressed.

“Mateo, glad to see you,” she heard Ash say.

“Good to see you too, Alpha, Luna,” came the reply.

She turned around at his address, giving him a welcoming smile.

“Not anymore,” she told him with humor. “Now you can call me Keyara after all.”

Mateo laughed softly at her reminder of his hesitation to address her by anything other than her title before. “Fair enough, Keyara,” he replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

He picked up the pack he had discarded as he changed and dressed, and they led him up the hill toward their camp.

She quickly made him a bowl of rice along with a leg of rabbit they had dined on the evening before.

“Sorry it’s cold,” she told him apologetically, handing him the food as he took a seat on the flat boulder they had been using as their seating.

He took it from her hands with a grateful smile, eating quickly.

Ash sat beside him on the boulder, waiting until he had finished his food before addressing the mood back at Kodia.

Mateo told them that the council members had lingered for two days, discussing ways to possibly still punish Ash for his actions, but in the end it was clear they were now outside of the jurisdiction of the council.

They had finally left, discouraged but resigned to the outcome, and Mateo had left to join them as soon as the council members were out of Kodia’s boundaries.

The others joining them would depart over the next few days, not wanting to draw attention to themselves by traveling in a large group.

Keyara pulled out the maps she had been studying that showed the land around the castle in Levia.

She pointed out to Ash and Mateo the areas of the castle that were not occupied, as well as the ways to approach that would give them the most cover.

The days of their rest were over, and now it was time to take action.