Page 108 of Shadow Kissed

“Because she called for me in my mind,” I tell him, watching as my words hit home. His eyes flash wide.

“Gods, she is your true blessed mate,” he exclaims, the colour draining from his face. “Raegal, you realise what this means?”

“Of course I do!” I snarl. “That my every instinct is to protect her from everything whilst she is the one thing that could finally redeem me in my parents’ eyes.” I glance around us to make sure none of my men are listening. “She’s in danger. I must go to her.”

“Go. I’ll take charge here,” Jas says, ushering me away with his hand. “Do what you need to do.”

I waste no more time. My shadows whip around me at lightning speed and I tell my magic to take us to where she is. When my shadows disperse, I search my immediate surroundings. There is no sign of her, but I know she is here. The minute my feet touch the ground, I feel her. I left her in my bed, so how is she out here in the forest between the valley and Hestwalde?

My shadows guide me deeper into the forest and every step I take I know I’m getting closer. I can feel her. Gods, she is my true blessed mate. To be gifted one was a rare and wonderful thing and mine happens to be a possible night blood. The irony.

Mutts. I sense mutts.

I see movement from the corner of my eyes and move in that direction. When I come through the trees into the clearing, I freeze in my tracks, greeted with a pack of mutts. Standing in a circle looking outwards, protecting two slumped female bodies.

Panic races through me when I see her unmoving form. Please be alive. The thought that she is harmed or worse, dead shreds my heart.

Ours. My shadows scream, urging me to get to her as quickly as possible.

The mutts show their teeth and growl at me in warning. They are protecting them. The realisation of what this means doesn’t go amiss.

“I’m not here to hurt them,” I say softly, holding my hands up to show I have no weapon to hand. “You can smell my scent on her. She is my true blessed mate. I would give up my life rather than see her hurt. Let me through and I can heal her.”

The mutts warning growls quieten as they listen to me. I can only hope they understand that I’m no threat to the girls.

“I just want to heal her. I swear, I mean no harm,” I say to them, cautiously taking a step forward. When they don’t attack, I take another slow step and then another and the larger mutt that seems to be the pack leader lowers his head and sniffs my way. The beasts’ nostrils flare as he scents her on my person. “Please let me through to her. I don’t want to use force, but I will.”

The mutt releases a slow rumble and then, to my surprise, it moves backwards, keeping its eyes on me but allowing me to take a step inside their protective circle. It never takes its eyes off me as I drop to my knees beside Eretreya.

“Eretreya, it’s me. I’m here,” I whisper as I lift her body from where she lays slumped across Saveya. What in Asen are they both doing out in these woods in the dead of the night? I pull her body onto my lap and search for any injuries. The alpha mutt stalks around the other side of Saveya’s body and it nudges her side with its nose and releases a slight whimper.

“Did she get bitten?” I ask, noticing an open wound on her torso.

The mutt lets out a grumble that I take to mean I am correct.

I scan Saveya’s body and breathe a sigh of relief when I see her chest and rise and fall. She is alive. I search her body for signs of the venom in her veins, but I can’t see any trace of it. The mutt comes round to where I’m holding Eretreya on the ground and it nudges at her hand. I grasp her hand and turn it palm upwards, terrified I’ll find a bite wound, but her palm is clear.

“I don’t understand,” I tell the alpha. “She was bitten, but she lives.”

The mutt releases a rumble as if getting inpatient with me and he nudges at Eretreya’s hand again, placing his nose against her palm it inhales deeply and whimpers. I take her hand and inspect it again, and this time I hold it to my nose.

“Venom,” I say, and the mutt’s eyes meet mine and it lowers its head in what I take to be confirmation.

I look from Eretreya’s palm to Saveya’s wound and my eyes widen.

“She healed her. She removed the venom!” My mouth hangs open at the realisation.

The mutt lowers its head again and backs away slightly, never taking its eyes off me. It looks to Eretreya and whimpers.

“I’ll take care of her, I promise,” I tell the creature. “She is safe with me.”

Satisfied with my words, the mutt sits down beside me and looks at me as if to say, well, come on, get on with it.

I gaze down at the face of my mate, and I’m hit with so many emotions. She is mine. Meant for me. True blessed mates were chosen before birth by the gods. It is a rare and precious gift. Blessed mates can speak to each other in their minds, and they sense when the other is nearby. It explains why my shadows were so obsessed with her from the moment we met. Arawn is testing me, giving me the one woman who could offer me the chance to make things right with my family and making her my mate.

“She’s wiped herself out. She needs rest,” I say, placing my hand over Reya’s heart and feeling it beat in a tired rhythm. “I know what she needs.” I stroke her pale cheeks. I want her to open her eyes and offer me some snide remark, but she remains silent. I lift her into my arms and my shadows reach out to raise Saveya from the cold earth.

The mutt walks to my side and rubs against my leg and grumbles.

---