Chapter 36

In the morning, we awoke before Liam-Dax. Quietly, not wishing to disturb them, we left in search of water. We soon found a good sized lake and took a long drink before shifting back to human. I shrugged out of the rucksack and pulled out the map to see if I could determine how far we’d come along the route to Twisted Pines, figuring that the lake was large enough that it should be indicated on the map.

I was right and to my surprise, we’d run so far in the night that we were actually only a few hours away if we maintained the same pace. Excited, I put the map away before shifting back to wolf.

We spent the next little while in the shallows of the lake catching trout and bass while waiting for Liam-Dax. After catching four fish, I morphed back to human and set about building a fire, cleaning the fish and then getting them spitted and cooking. As the fish roasted, I returned to the trees where I’d passed by a boysenberry bush earlier and picked as many as would fit in my jacket pockets.

When I returned to the lake, I sat by the fire and looked out at the water, admiring the pure beauty before me.

A rustling sound behind me caused me to look over my shoulder and there was Liam-Dax, still in wolf form, padding toward me. They came to stand beside me and lowered their giant head, butting it gently against my shoulder. Smiling, I raised my arms and gave them a sort of half hug since I couldn’t reach all the way around their neck. They chuffed agreeably and then went to drink from the lake.

As they lapped at the water, I told them what I’d found on the map and that we could make it to Twisted Pines before morning’s end.

Liam changed back to human form and seated himself next to me by the fire. “I knew we’d traveled a fair distance, but I hadn’t realized we came that far.”

Removing two of the fish from the fire, I handed one stick to him and kept the other for myself. “It was the same for me. I don’t know if I’m just rusty or if I was too distracted by the run, but I didn’t notice how many miles we made.”

He shrugged and smiled at me. “No matter. It was a good night.”

I returned his smile. “Yes, it was.”

“Dax enjoyed those turkey eggs. You may have created a monster.”

I grinned, pleased that Liam’s wolf had also enjoyed the experience.

Gingerly, I picked at the fish, tearing off a chunk and blowing on it before popping it into my mouth. Liam, on the other hand, decided to just bite into the fish, burning the blue blazes out of himself.

In a half shout, he proclaimed, “Hot hot hot!” Though with the fish in his mouth, it came out more like “Haw haw haw!”

Laughing so hard that I nearly choked on the bite I’d taken, I asked him, “Why in the world did you do that, foolish beast?”

Blowing big blasts of air out of his mouth to try and get rid of some of the heat, it took Liam a moment to answer me. When he was finally able to chew and swallow the fish, he looked at me with watery eyes. “You were eating so I thought it was all right.”

I gave him an exasperated, but amused look. “Liam, I pinched off a small piece and blew on it. You took a huge bite out of something that I’d just handed to you straight out of the fire.”

He looked a little abashed. “I’m ravenous and it smelled so good.”

Shaking my head ruefully, I told him. “Let it cool down for a couple of minutes or eat it like I do so that you don’t keep burning yourself.”

He nodded, chastened. Following my example, he started carefully pinching off chunks of meat and blowing on each before devouring them.

Licking fish oil from his fingers, he said with a note of surprise in his voice, “It’s not Kaira’s cooking, but it’s surprisingly tasty.”

Speaking around a bit of fish, I explained, “It’s partly because it’s so fresh.” I swallowed the fish before continuing. “The other part is that you ran about fifty miles last night and that made your appetite flare up. My mother used to say that hunger is the best seasoning.”

He smiled at that. “I’ve never heard that before, but it makes sense.”

He tossed the fish skeleton into the fire and then grabbed another stick. Instead of rushing, he just held the stick in his hands for a bit, letting it cool down. “I thought we would hunt again this morning.”

“We will, but I wanted to let you sleep. Besides, look around you, my love.” I gestured at the lake before us and the forest all around. “We’re sitting here, surrounded by Selene’s bounty, eating off the land. This is the human side of appreciating nature.”

He nodded in understanding and pinched off a chunk of fish, blew on it and popped it into his mouth. “This one is good too, but the first one was tastier.”

I nodded in agreement. “Trout tend to be fattier than bass. ‘Fat is flavor,’ is something my mother also used to say.”

Liam opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead shoved another piece of bass into his mouth.

I nudged him with an elbow. “What is it? What were you going to say?”

He looked embarrassed. “I am a thoughtless ass. I was going to say that I wish I could meet your mother.”

“Oh.” I sighed. “It’s all right. I wish she could have met you. I think she would have liked you.” I snorted lightly. “Or at least more than she liked Emik.”

“She didn’t like him?”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly.” I paused, thinking of how to put it into words. “She didn’t dislike him, but she didn't think he was good enough for me, or good enough for the future leader of the Wind Song tribe. He was… Emik wasn’t a particularly good hunter or a powerful fighter. He wasn’t good at healing or curing hides or cooking. He always worked hard, but he just wasn’t terribly talented at anything.

“But he was good and kind and gentle and I think that’s what drew me to him. After years of training with my aunt, I think I needed something in my life that was soft and peaceful and, well, easy, if that makes sense.”

Liam gave me a kind smile. “It does.”

We ate in silence for a little while until I remembered the boysenberries in my pockets. Handing a handful to Liam, I asked him if he was rested enough to continue in wolf form or whether he would prefer to walk for a bit.

He thought about it as he tossed berries into his mouth. “I could go wolf, but I think I’d like to walk with you and just take in this beautiful morning.”

My lips curved up into a happy smile. “That sounds delightful.”

After Liam finished the last of the fish and the boysenberries, I showed him how to suffocate the fire with dirt since we didn’t have anything to carry water in. Once we were sure that it was thoroughly out and there was no danger of fire spreading, we spent a few minutes at the lake’s edge, splashing water on our faces and cleaning our teeth.

Once we were ready to go, I picked up the rucksack, intending to put it back on my shoulders.

Instead, Liam took the bag from me and hoisted it onto one shoulder. “You carried it all of last night. Let me take it for a bit.”

I gave him an appreciative smile, took his hand and led him in the direction of Twisted Pines.

The summer heat hadn’t yet ramped up for the day so it was pleasant as we walked through the forest. Birds chirped and insects flitted about, a slight breeze blew and rustled the leaves of the canopy over us. We came upon a small glade fairly exploding with a profusion of cornflowers the exact color of Emmi’s eyes, the reminder making me miss my friend with a dull ache in my chest.

Liam bent and picked one of the cornflowers and tucked it behind my ear. I picked one too, going up on tiptoe to tuck it behind his ear, making him laugh. It seemed even more vibrant somehow next to the shaven side of his head.

Packmate, one scents hare. I'ikki licked her chops and I could sense that she wasn’t hungry exactly, but desired the hunt.

I told Liam, “I'ikki wishes to hunt hare. Let’s see if we can catch a few.”

He gave me an agreeable nod of his head and slid the rucksack off his shoulder and laid it at his feet. Then a naughty smile turned the corners of his mouth upward and he said, “Whoever catches the least pleasures the other in whatever way they desire.”

Without waiting for my response, he began to shift to wolf. I smirked. He was sorely mistaken if he thought that he had an advantage. I may be rusty, but I was far more skilled at the hunt than he, having done it almost daily from the time I’d come into my wolf. Six years of slavery hadn’t erased that knowledge. I shifted and we set about the hunt.

It took less time than we’d expected but more than we’d hoped, but in a reasonable amount of time, we sat at the edge of the glade with three hares at our feet, watching Liam-Dax chase after yet another hare. They had yet to catch one, their large size hindering their agility and the swift hare easily outmaneuvering them with sharp turns and zigzag moves.

I'ikki’s tone was critical as she observed, They fail to anticipate which way it will go.

Yes, but they will improve in time, little sister, and imagine how much more easily we will take down a deer with their help.

Grudgingly, she acknowledged my point with a simple, Aye.

Watching Liam-Dax again, I told her, Eat, little sister. They don’t look ready to give up yet.

Making a happy chuffing sound, she set to it and the gamey taste of the hare’s meat and blood filled our mouth. I didn’t exactly enjoy that, but I didn’t mind since it gave I'ikki so much pleasure.

Since we’d breakfasted not too long ago, I'ikki was satisfied with just one hare. We sat up and saw that Liam-Dax was still chasing after the hare, but seemed to be a bit slower than before.

I shifted to human and rummaged through the rucksack until I found the toiletries and the flask of water. I cleaned my teeth as I waited for Liam-Dax, glad to get the taste of raw game out of my mouth. Just as I finished, Liam-Dax came trotting up to me, morphed into human form and flung himself onto the ground with a groan, breathing hard as sweat trickled down his face.

Squatting next to him, I asked, “Are you done?”

He looked up at me with a rueful expression. “I should have known that you’d best me. I’ve never hunted hare before. They’re fast little buggers.”

I nodded in agreement. “You need to pay more attention to how their muscles are twitching so that you can anticipate which direction they’re about to go. It’s not easy, but with some practice, you’ll see that it’s much easier if you can gauge their movements.”

I gestured at the two remaining hares. “I’m sure Dax will enjoy those.”

Still panting from his chase around the glade, Liam said, “Give me a moment. That was a lot more energetic than sparring with Major Antelz.”

I laughed softly as I put the toiletries and flask back into the rucksack. Then I teased him, “If I’m not mistaken, that’s three for me,” I held up three fingers on my left hand as if to illustrate and then held up my right hand in a fist, “and zero for you.”

Liam gave me a sour look, but it quickly passed as he remembered what he’d said before the hunt. He pushed himself up on his elbows and his expression turned playful. “A deal is a deal, Xia Wind Song.”

I began to move away, not wishing to claim my winnings next to the two dead hares and the carcass of a third, undoing the buttons of my jacket as I walked. I heard Liam get up and follow after me. When I’d gone several hundred yards, I turned around to face him and I stripped as he watched me, his eyes darkening with desire as he took in my nakedness. I stretched out my arms and he came into my embrace, bending his head down to give me a long kiss.

When we came up for air, I tugged at the tie holding his robe closed, unloosening the knot. “Off, please. I want to feel your skin against mine.” I helped Liam out of his clothes and we spread everything down on the ground as a makeshift blanket.

He wrapped one arm around my waist and with his free hand, he ran his fingers down my breast. Looking into my eyes, he murmured, “So beautiful.” I reached up and pulled him down into another kiss, his lips so warm against mine.

When he broke the kiss, he had a ghost of a smile as he asked me, “So, what prize does the winner fancy?”

Heat bloomed in my cheeks. I wasn’t used to vocalizing such things but I’d already thought about this while watching him run about the glade and I wanted to embrace my moxie, as he called it.

I chewed at my lip for a second and then told him, “I’d like you to do that thing with your tongue.”

He laughed, a low and wicked sound that always seemed to make me shiver in anticipation. “You’ll have to be more specific than that, Xia Wind Song. I’ve done a lot of things to you with my tongue.”

I could feel the flush on my face deepen. I stammered, “Well, when you were, mm, between my thighs.”

That wicked laugh rumbled out of his chest again. He slid a hand between my legs and caressed my center, making my breath catch in my throat. “Do you mean when I licked you here?”

“Y-y-yes.” My voice trembled as he worked his hand back and forth.

Cupping one hand behind my head, he kissed me hungrily, thrusting his tongue into my mouth as he did delightful things to me with his hand. After a moment, he scooped me up into his arms and laid me gently down on our makeshift blanket. Bracing himself on one elbow, he hovered over me and resumed caressing my center with his fingers while he began to kiss and nibble at my neck, making his way down to my breasts, sucking gently at first one and then the other, making a little moan escape my mouth. He kissed his way down my belly before pushing at my thighs, spreading them with his hands until he could lay down betwixt them.

Wrapping his hands around the backs of my thighs, he licked and nuzzled at the tender skin of my inner thighs, coming dangerously close to where I wanted him to be, but never quite getting there. He did this for some minutes, teasing me until I was writhing with need and then finally, there was his tongue, hot and wet, pressed against my nub and sending spirals of pleasure through me.

As he swirled his tongue around in small, gentle circles, I could feel my muscles trembling from excitement. As my hips began to gyrate, Liam held onto my thighs even tighter, keeping his mouth on me as the orgasm crashed through me, working his tongue against the nub until my back arched and I was clawing at the makeshift blanket beneath me. I cried out as one final wave of ecstasy tore through me, the sound reverberating through the glade.

I collapsed back down to the ground, my breath rasping in my throat and my pulse thundering in my ears as aftershocks quivered through me. Liam moved up my body, nibbling and caressing his way up my torso and neck until he was once again at my mouth, kissing me with the taste of my pleasure on his tongue.

I reached between us and circled my fingers around the hard length of him. It may have been my imagination, but he seemed larger than usual as I stroked him with a firm grip. He groaned into my mouth as I guided him into me. He pushed forward slowly, bit by bit, until he was buried deep within me and then he stopped.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him, seeing my love and desire for him reflected back at me from his moonlit eyes. So slowly as to be almost agonizing, he began to move rhythmically as we stared into each other’s eyes. His breathing quickened, but he maintained the same pace, driving me mad so that I clutched at his back and whispered his name, my voice raw with need.

He ignored me and after a few more thrusts, I panted out between breaths, “I.. won… give me… my prize.”

He grinned fiercely and sped up just a little, sending me closer to the edge. After a few minutes, I said in a pleading voice, “Faster.”

Liam growled so deeply that I could feel the vibration where my hands touched his skin and he battered at me forcefully.

Just as I could feel him throbbing within me with his climax, his hands now clenched tightly in my hair, my own rolled through me like thunder across a stormy sky and I cried out his name.

Breathing hard, sweat coursing down his face, still quivering inside of me, he kissed me softly over and over as he murmured my name.

Finally, he rolled to the side and I scooted over so that we were facing each other with our limbs tangled together. I wiped the sweat from his brow as I remarked, “Best prize ever.”

His eyes crinkled with amusement and I caressed a hand down his side. When he winced slightly, I sat up and looked at the area I’d run my hand over. I gasped as I saw that there were red scratches along his ribcage. “Oh, my love, I’m so sorry. I had no idea I’d hurt you.”

Liam craned his neck and looked at the wounds and then gave me a lopsided grin. “Those will be gone within the hour and they were well worth it, wife. In fact,” he pulled me closer to him, “I like them.”

I gave him an incredulous look. “What? Why?”

“If I can make you do that without even realizing it, I’ve done things properly.”

All I could say as comprehension came to me was a protracted, “Ohhh.”

He chuckled and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “What say you to finishing our journey? I could really use a bath and a change of fresh clothes.”

I grimaced as I realized how sticky my thighs felt and that my entire body was covered in sweat.

“Yes, let’s. The site the Major indicated on the map looks like it’s right by the river and I’m desperate for a wash.” I jerked a thumb back over my shoulder. “But you’d better let Dax eat those hares before we go. I’m sure all that running around gave him an appetite.”

Liam gave me a sour look and looked as if he wanted to object, but just then, his stomach gave a loud grumble. His expression changed to one of ruefulness and he agreed that they needed to eat before we set out.

We both scrambled onto our feet and I cringed as I slid my clothes onto my dirty body.

Once we dressed, we both shifted to wolf and we waited patiently for the few minutes it took Liam-Dax to consume the hares. We left the scraps for the scavengers and took off at an easy pace for the last leg of our journey.