Red's Wolves

Chapter Eight

"You're leaving?"

Alera was unable to take the surprise out of her tone. Not when she needed Jere now more than anything. He was going to leave her alone to endure this by herself?

She saw him startle, so he hadn't heard her approach. Perhaps for the best, when he turned around and stared at her. Only then did she remember what she was wearing and how ridiculous her hair must have looked. But he didn't seem to notice any of that—his gaze was solely on hers.

"Alera."

And there was something in that stare that threatened to take her breath away. She even forgot what she was wearing—all of her attention was on Jere.

"You weren't even going to say goodbye." Not a question. She inspected the horse—the same horse she had worked with yesterday. She saw the saddle bags tied to the saddle—this was not just a short trip through the forest he was planning. Jere was planning on leaving. On leaving her...

She watched him, waited for him to say something, anything, but he just stared at her as if he wasn't prepared for her to be there, or stop him, and that made her feel even worse.

She felt the tears threaten to fall, but she had held it together so much already that day. What was one more disappointment? She just wasn't expecting it to be Jere. She shrugged her stiff shoulders, barely certain he would have been able to see it beneath the conglomeration of her dress, and she clenched her jaw. "Well, I don't blame you. I'd leave if I could too. I just... wish you all the best."

She could barely get the words out, but clenched her fists at her sides to maintain her composure as she turned on her heel and steadied herself to walk back towards the castle, the fate, the rest of her life—

Until she was stopped. By a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist and she felt breath on the back of her bare neck.

"I could never leave you, Alera," Jere breathed against her skin "Even if my own life depended on it, I would remain by your side until the end of days, and even then the gods or whoever is watching over us would need to rip my soul away from this realm to keep me away from you."

"I would never ask that of you," she breathed as she turned around to face him. He still had his arms wrapped around her. She braced her hands against his strong chest because she didn't know where else to put them while she focused on what he was saying to her.

"And you don't have to. You don't have to ask anything of me, Alera. Ever. Everything I do, I do willingly, with all of my heart and soul. All for you."

"But... why?" Her heart thudded in her chest. A part of her knew the answer—has always known. But she needed to hear it from him. As if hearing the words made it real and there would be no coming back from it.

He cupped her face with his hands as if that was reason enough, but his gaze was intense as it met her eyes.

"Because I love you, Alera. I have for so long and I was so scared of telling, but now I have to. I have to let you know that it's now or never for us. I am ready to take you away from here—something I should have done so long ago. But I'm prepared to fight for you. To save you from the cruel fate your father and this kingdom have thrown at you. Because I love you. I love you..."

"Jere..." Alera was beyond words. She was numb, but not because of anything he had said affecting her in any negative way. She was elated that he felt the same way she had after all this time. That he said it first... she just didn't know how to respond. But she could no longer deny her heart. She had to tell him how she felt—that she felt the same way he did toward her. But the words were not coming. How could she put into words how much he meant to her?