𝓜𝔂 𝓥𝓮𝓻𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓷

10. We Were Once Wild

I had gotten Pere's message from Gregory the day King Raven was to announce my punishment. He had done so in front of all the royals from all of the realms. I could not even be mad at him in the least, the sorry bastard thought that lashes and words could keep me away from Pere. He was sadly mistaken if he thought that was all it would take to deter me. 

Her message had ignited a fiery determination in me that made every lash of the whip tolerable. King Raven had delivered each one himself not saying a single word until the very end. After that very last lash he had gripped my hair tightly and told me I would never see Pere or be able to lay a hand on her ever again.

I roll my shoulders back, stretching my body out since I had just came out of a shift. There was still a subtle pain in my back even after two weeks. The king had laid into me good. That pain was a reminder of why I am here though. It was worth every single lash knowing he would be the one to never see her again. He just had not known it yet.

I hear a rustling of feathers off in the distance and cock my head to the side to listen. I can just make out the distinctive sound of her flapping wings as they come nearer. No more than a few moments later does Pere land in front of me gracefully. She is in her human form now, looking a little bit winded and out of breath.

"You look like you flew hard." She breathes deeply in and out trying to catch her breath. "You have never been so out of breath from flying. Are you okay?" She blows out another breath making my brow furrow with worry.

"Yes, I just had to fly so fast and stealthily. There were guards all over the roof top and some even flying around the grounds. I had to fly low and you know how much I hate that."

I cannot help but smirk because, even though I was not there, King Raven still perceived me as a threat. All of the extra security told me that. "Well, you can relax now. You are with me and we are in neither the Sky Realm nor the Land Realm. No one will find us here. No one knows our secret spot. We shall spend the night in the cave above the dunes, the one right off the shore. Do you remember it?"

"Yes, the one we used to play in as kids?" Her breathing is finally back to normal making her speech fully legible. "Did you okay it with someone from the Sea Realm since this is their territory?"

"The dunes border three realms so I do not have to ask anyone since it is on the line of the Land and Mountain Realms." She nods in understanding. "I have brought supplies and stored them in the cave. "Tomorrow night we can travel to the Mountain Realm. I have secured us passage to get to a small inn with nearly nothing around it from Sir Rocco. No one will know we are there. We will be far off the beaten path of most creatures, even the nomad creatures in the mountains."

"Wait, you have involved a royal from the Mountain Realm?" Her voice sounds petrified. "Timber, if King Raven or your father finds out then Sir Rocco will be punished severely."

"They will not find out." I grab ahold of her and wrap her in my arms. I hug her close to me, taking a giant whiff of her. A low growl escapes my throat, not being able to stand that she is, yet again, covered in King Raven's claiming scent. "Come, let us go to the cave and get some rest. Dawn is almost upon us."

I take her hand in mine as we walk on the edge of the shore, carefully trying not to fall into the ocean as we do. Once we have scaled some rocks we are at the mouth of the cave which is hidden by wild sea grass. I push it out of the way as she heads inside. Furs are thrown on the floor as a makeshift bed for the two of us and I had already started a fire in preparation for her.

She looks around the space and even though I had tried to set it up the best I can I feel like she is disappointed. "I am sorry we must spend the first day here. I know it is not much but it will be the safest option until nightfall. If anyone scouts for us they will not think to look here."

She turns to give me a small smile saying, "it is perfect, Timber. I know it is the safest option and as long as I am with you then I know everything will be okay."

I grab ahold of her beautiful body and pull it into mine before sealing my lips on hers. I push my tongue into her mouth, savoring her flavor. Not seeing this woman for two weeks has me nearly starved for her. To think King Raven never wanted me to step foot inside of the Sky Realm while she was in it makes a feral anger boil up in me.

Mine. My inner-wolf is restless at the thought of anyone trying to keep her away from me.

I kiss her even more fiercely, devouring her. I let my hands run all over her body. I undo the cloak around her neck and push it off her shoulders onto the cave floor. My hands fist in her hair as I slowly walk her backward to where the furs lie on the floor. Her palms place firmly on my chest pushing me back slightly before I can push her down on top of them.

"Timber," her voice is breathless as I pull away from her shaking form, "by all of the realms." She looks beautiful and I can smell her want for me. It makes me want to throw her down of the bed and take her right here and now in the wild; like the creatures of the past used to.

"You know our kinds never used to live in castles. We used to be more of our primal animal selves than what we are now. We were wild and we made love in the open wilderness, much like this." Her eyes fill with a mixture of lust and nervousness. "We claimed and mated in the wild because that is what we are. We are meant to be free, Pere, not tamed and bound to a set of laws." I caress the side of her face. "We are not meant to be forced to be with and mate with people we do not love or want in that way."

"I love you, Timber." Her eyes sparkle and gleam after she had said the words. "I only want to be with you, mate with you."

"I feel the same, Pere. I will always love you. No matter what." I stare into those honey-colored eyes. "No matter what happens from this day forward I belong to you. I always have. There is no other creature for me. There never will be." I watch as her eyes water slightly making me cock my head to the side in worry. "Pere—" I reach out to her but she pulls away from me slightly. "My love, what is the matter?"

"It is just," her hand falls to her stomach and then looks back up at me, "I will not be able to—" her breath catches and I know exactly what she was about to say. She cannot bare me any heirs.

"Shh, none of that." I pull her back into my embrace to comfort her in a much less intimate way than I had just previously. "We both knew that was one of consequences of being together. But you must realize that I do not require that of you. Your ability to give me children is not the reason I love you. You and I were not made that way. That is why we are here with each other."

"I do not understand why we feel this way when it should feel unnatural." She shakes her head, not understanding. "I had thought when we were claimed by our intended things were supposed to change, instinct was supposed to take over but..."

"But it did not." I kiss the top of her head. "Maybe we were made to be with each other, did you ever think of that? Maybe our fate is that we are not meant to be with our same kind." I rub my hands down her back tenderly. "Because being with anyone other than you does not feel right. This right here," I squeeze her tightly into me, "this is what feels right to me. This is what feels natural. It has always felt that way with you, Pere. Now come, let us get some rest. We have a long couple of days ahead of us." She gives me a sleepy nod of the head.

I place one more kiss in her hair before letting her go. I shrug out of my own cloak and bring it down with me as I sit on the furs. She follows suit, grabbing her cloak and joining me on our bed. Without another word said to one another we both lie down. I pull her body into mine tightly and burrow my face in her dark waves, waiting for sleep to be the only thing taking us away from one another.

A/N:
This chapter is the start of my NaNo challenge! Hopefully I'll be able to pump these words/ chapters out for you all quickly!