Page 80 of The Witch's Shifter
But just as the wagon starts to pull away, Faolan jerks his head to the side, blue eyes narrowing.
“What is it?” I ask him.
He continues staring into the distance for a moment, and then the expression on his face softens. It almost looks like he wants to laugh. “It’s the cat.”
The cat?
I look in that direction, but I can’t see or hear anything. A few seconds pass, and then a white shape flashes into view.
Harrison.
My heart swells.
He’s running as hard and fast as he can. His paws strike the earth and crunch the dried aspen leaves, and his silky hair blows back from the speed of his movement.
“Wait!” I tell the man driving the wagon.
At my outburst, Selene jerks her head up from where she was gazing down at Fletcher. When she sees Harrison, her lips pull into a smile, and she asks Wyland to take Fletcher so that she may climb down from the wagon.
Almost as soon as her boots touch the ground, Harrison is there, launching himself up and into her arms. She catches him with a little breath of surprise, then holds him close to her chest as her long cloak drifts on the chill breeze.
“I’m going to miss you too,” she says to him, eyes closed, cuddling him tight.
Harrison doesn’t say anything—not that Selene would understand him if he did. But he doesn’t need to; they communicate just fine as is, without the need for words.
“I love you.” Selene presses a kiss to his head. “And when I visit for the baby’s birth, I’ll bring you all the wispfish I can fit into my luggage. Does that sound good?”
In response, Harrison presses his head into Selene’s face, nuzzling her chin and cheeks. He’s purring so loud I can hear the rumble from way over here.
Selene laughs. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Walking over to me, she gently places Harrison in my arms. “You two take care of each other. Love you both.”
As she steps away and climbs back into the wagon, Harrison curls against me.
“I’m going to miss her,” he whispers as the wheels start to turn and the wagon begins down Wysteria Way and toward the bridge crossing the river.
“Me too,” I say softly, scratching behind his ear. “Me too.”
Chapter 42
Aurora
ACCORDING TO FAOLAN, IT’S GOING to snow today. I trust his instincts and senses enough not to question it despite how beautiful and blue the autumn sky is; if he says it’s going to snow, it’s going to snow. So, with a basket in one hand and the crook of Faolan’s arm in the other, I head into the forest.
We walk through the trees slowly. Harrison is trailing along with us, though he walks on my other side and gives Faolan the side-eye whenever possible. At least they’re not hissing and growling at each other anymore.
The men have been working on Brookside all day. With four of us in the house (and Harrison, though he takes up very little space) and a baby on the way, the cottage just isn’t big enough anymore. And with Auntie’s approval, I felt ready to give Alden the okay. He drew up a few blueprints, and after mulling it over and discussing it with the others, I decided on one extra bedroom and a washroom, both on the main floor right off the parlor. Alden and Faolan have been working day in and day out, trying to beat the winter weather, and Rowan helps wheneverhe’s not patrolling Faunwood or helping the villagers with mischievous faerie creatures.
If only Brookside had a mischievous faerie of its own. How lovely that would be.
I want to make the men something hearty for dinner, and with autumn slowly giving way to winter, I know my foraging will soon come to an end. So, what better way to feed the ones I love than by harvesting out of the forest before it yields to the cold?
“What are we looking for?” Faolan asks as we walk. We’re both barefoot despite the chill of the earth; he seems to dislike footwear just as much as I do.
“Mushrooms.” I explain the different types I need, along with their colors so he can identify them. But as it turns out, he doesn’t need to.
“I can smell those,” he says.
One of my brows arches. “You can smell the mushrooms? Really?”
