Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
The pixie lands on my shoulder. “There. There.”
I carefully push back a branch and take in the sight in front of me. Strange green men stand around a big, black cooking pot. The water appears to be just beginning to boil. There are two of the creatures, both with squat bodies covered in corded muscle. Very little hair covers their heads. What they have is black and wiry, and these men do not smell at all good.
One stands by the fire. “Almost ready now.”
The second grins, showing sharp teeth. “Yes, I can tell that it is. These pretties will make an excellent soup. Sorry we didn’t catch the mum. She was a nice, fat one.”
I feel a tiny foot stamp on my shoulder. Apparently fat is not a good thing to be. For a wolf, it is nice. It tends to mean a wolf can survive the harsh winters, but the pixie definitely takes offense.
“All right, then,” the First says. “We’ve waited longer than we promised. It ain’t our fault they aren’t out here. If those buggers have a lick of sense, they found another plane to hide on.”
I am not sure which bugs the being are talking about, but I feel a need to save these. The mother is upset, and no wonder. I can see the small pixies with their gossamer wings being held in the cage. Her babies. The mother cannot allow her babies to be turned into some form of food for smelly male creatures.
I turn my head, careful not to dislodge the pixie. I put my finger to my mouth to let my new friend know not to shout out. The pixie nods and her wings move as she leaves her perch.
In a blink, I change, my world moving from two-legged to four. I must be in my strongest form, and I hope the pixie is not afraid. The pixie lands on my snout, looking seriously into my eyes. If the pixie is frightened, she does not show it.
“Please.” The pixie repeats her refrain.
I nod, and the pixie takes off, her wings flapping.
On soft feet, I burst through the bushes and attack the first green thing.
“Get the wolf!” a man’s voice shouts, and I can feel what I should have sensed all along. I am surrounded. They masked their scents or stayed downwind. The soldiers from the marketplace are all around, and more green beings leap from their hiding places.
Too late. I realize the trap was laid and baited and I walked in.
“Don’t you dare hurt her,” the leader says. He is the tall vampire who was kind to me and fed me treats. He seems to only have a real problem with Dante.
Dante. He is going to be so angry with me. He is going to punish me, and maybe not in a nice way this time. Dante does not like it when I risk my life. I turn and seek a way out. The pixie is trying so hard to get the cage open and let her babies free. It appears the pixie didn’t betray me.
There is nowhere to run, but I can do what I set out to do. I leap and pull down the cage. It clatters to the ground, and the door flies open. Pixie wings flutter as they all get away.
“Saved them, did you, pet?”
I look up at the man who caught us before.
“I rather thought you would,” he says, not unkindly. He turns to his men. “I know it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but this wolf is a consort. She is to be taken care of and protected. I’m sorry, consort. It will only hurt for a moment.”
He holds the magic box in his hand. Light flows from it and into me.
I feel fire in my veins, and I fall.
Chapter Twenty
Dante
I feel her fall. It’s like some invisible connection that’s always there in the back of my mind is cut off abruptly. As though Kaja is there in my brain, a low, soothing hum, and now it’s silent.
“Something’s wrong with Kaja,” I say, getting to my feet.
My heart is racing, panic threatening to overtake me. Maybe I fed too much. Gods, if I hurt her, I’ll die myself. Please, please. I send out silent pleas. Let her be all right. Let it be a mistake.
But I know it isn’t true. Something is wrong. The connection between us was cut. Kaja wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t even know how to. I push through the brush and into the small copse where I left her sleeping.
Why did I leave her at all? I know how much danger we’re in. I’m an asshole who can’t even take care of my wife. I left her here alone and vulnerable because I can’t deal with how she makes me feel. I am as irresponsible as everyone makes me out to be.