Page 38 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

So why did she leave?

As we race after River, heading straight out of the gates of the castle and down the dirt track that leads into town and the surrounding area, something else occurs to me. River may not want to get his hopes up, but we are all almost one hundred percent certain that Neith is his mate, and because of that, there is a strong possibility that it’s not a scent trail that River is following, but rather his mate bond to Neith. He said so himself that it wasn’t like a normal scent trail.

We’re nearly to the edge of the town, the lights getting brighter, when River suddenly stops.

“Is everything okay, man?” I ask.

River nods, but doesn’t reply as he tilts his head to the side like he’s listening to something that we can’t hear. He then turns to look into the dense forest that runs alongside this road.

“She’s in here,” River explains, as he glances back at us, looking slightly unsure.

Doc nods, “Alright, man, after you. We’ll follow.”

River nods and then takes off at a run again through the trees. It’s a good job that we have had lots of practice running through densely packed forests like this, because there is absolutely no pathway in sight, and River is moving through the trees and leaving barely any sign of his presence in his wake. The more I watch him, the more certain I am that he is following his mate bond to Neith, and possibly a scent trail now that we are closer to her. My fingers are practically itching to get into my library and do some research into Kitsune mate bonds and just mate bonds in general.

We have actually spoken about the mate bond before, so I know how he feels about it, but we haven’t spoken about it since Neith has been around. We haven’t had the opportunity to talk about it, not without everyone else around, and I know that he’s going to have a hard time with the conversation, that’s if he even sticks around to listen to what I have to say.

It's because of those reasons, and because I know how much the mate bond means to him, that I want to do as much research as I possibly can into the subject. I want to be able to provide him with set-in-stone evidence, concrete proof that he can have a mate and that it is Neith.

That kind of evidence means that I need to dive far back into the archives and possibly need to look into accessing some more well-equipped libraries than the one that I have, because there isn’t any recent documentation of a kitsune with nine tails, let alone one that has been mated to a supernatural that isn’t another kitsune. I know that the bond is possible because I can see it forming between River and Neith, but I know that he isn’t going to believe it until the evidence is laid out in front of him, and that includes proof that something similar has happened before.

I will find it for him though.

River’s pace suddenly picks up, “She’s bleeding.”

Shit.

Immediately, I check the tether, and let out a small sigh of relief when it comes back, that she’s still alive.

“She’s not in mortal danger,” I tell the others, trying to reassure them, but unable to hide the worry in my voice.

We all pick up our pace so that we’re now running even faster, and we weren’t going slow in the first place. Knowing that Neith is bleeding though allows us to tap into even more of our magic, and I find myself glad that we aren’t being filmed right now because Evander and Ransom definitelyshouldn’t be able to keep up with the rest of us, and yet they are easily keeping pace.

Everyone would know that there is a lot more to us than there seems to be.

“She’s close,” River says, and suddenly increases his speed to the point where the rest of us can’t keep up.

Fucking hell he’s fast.

“How is he doing that?” Van yells, not expecting an answer, as we race to catch up with him.

Neith

Arms suddenly wrap around me.

Luckily for River, his scent reaches me moments before I start to kick his ass thinking that it’s someone else attacking me. I mean that really was fucking close and I could have seriously hurt him. I would scold him, but my body has gone like jelly, completely relaxing into him.

The effect that his presence has on me should scare me, but it’s River, and he brings a level of comfort and safety that means that I don’t have to be on guard anymore.

His nose is buried in my neck, and he inhales deeply, “Thank fuck.”

I don’t know what that means, but the relief in his voice is obvious.

“Are you okay?” I ask him as I hold onto him tightly.

His reaction has made me worry that something has happened while I’ve been on this task, and there’s yet another thing that’s going to turn things upside down and cause us problems.

His head pulls back from my neck. “You’re bleeding.”

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