Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
I followed his directional gesture toward the horses, their leads tethered around poles that had clearly been set up recently. When we neared, I turned to him angrily, embarrassed that I had to spell this out. Usually people were relieved when I let them off the hook like this.
“I know I make people uncomfortable,” I said. “You won’t lose your animal because I don’t have one, but I get the concern. I can walk, it’s fine.”
Understanding spread across his face. He barked out a laugh before planting his hand on my upper arm, refusing to allow me to pull away this time. “My darling, I don’t give two shits about your animal situation. There are things much worse than not feeling the stubborn basket of cocks you have lodged in your person, let me tell you. In fact, here, get on this horse and Uncle Haddy will tell you some stories about when my animal was suppressed and what it was like in the demon sex castle. Those stories are sure to curl your cunt hairs.”
I choked on my spit at the verbiage and spooked the horse with my coughing.
“Also,” I said through wheezing, “I’ve never ridden a horse. I don’t know how.”
“That’s easy. I’ll teach you. I just have to remove the saddle and get things ready for two riders. The dumb as rocks stable boy surely won’t be able to do it. He’d probably try to fit two saddles and wonder why it didn’t work.”
He didn’t just prepare the horse we’d ride, though. He ended up helping the flustered stable boy get all the horses untethered, organized, and ready to go. It was clear he knew what he was doing, much more so than the boy.
I waited off to the side in the trees, watching the riders take to their horses. Not all the people in camp would be riding, it seemed. Some would walk beside horses and donkeys laden with saddle bags or pulling carts. Others seemed like they’d be carrying a pack themselves, walking in a group. Still others shifted into their wolf forms, taking to the trees, their movements lithe and graceful in a way I had never seen. Hunters, all. The only thing that came close was Granny’s patrol and sentries, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the beauty of movement I saw before me.
My insides curdled as I remembered Granny. Thinking about the patrol and everyone who’d perished. It wasn’t right, marveling at the people who’d been responsible.
I turned my back on them, wandering away a little. I hadn’t been lying to Hadriel—I wasn’t so stupid as to assume I could make a run for it. They’d follow me easily. They’d then surely punish me, and any injuries I received would hinder me from other, easier escape opportunities.
I scanned the area, looking for landmarks I might know. Sadly, everything here was entirely foreign. It had to be outside of our territory, or close to the perimeter.
A small thread of guilt and worry wound within me. I couldn’t shake the innate feeling that I was doing something wrong. I’d lived with Granny’s rules for so long, afraid of what would happen if I strayed outside of her protections. It felt like a freefall to be this far out. It felt like I’d have a punishment to look forward to, regardless of whether it was my fault or not.
But she was gone. She wasn’t in control anymore. I’d better get used to my new normal.
My meandering carried me a little further still, though I made sure I could hear the chatter and shouts of the pack so I wouldn’t get turned around and lose my way. I looked through the plant life below me, hunting for the reclusive Moonfire Lily and thinking about my creations. I needed something to occupy my mind beyond what that man had said about there being worse things than a suppressed animal. I’d never heard anyone say something like that. People might feign indifference, but no one laughed off my affliction. No one stayed in my presence so easily, tried to touch me so often, and looked me straight in the eye as though he was fascinated by what he saw. It was . . . perplexing.
Warmth blossomed in my chest and then started seeping down my middle. My nerve endings sizzled, like fire washing over my skin. I recognized that feeling . . .
I turned around slowly, butterflies filling my stomach.
What I saw stole my breath.
A massive wolf stood twenty paces away, larger than any I had ever seen. His slate gray eyes matched his pelt, trained on me with intense focus. He stepped forward slowly, his head lowered a little.
Unsure, I took a step back.
His lips pulled away from large canines and he growled deeply.
I froze, my flight instincts going active but the magma now gushing in my middle, wrestling my control.