Page 40 of Mushy Stuff
Nanni rushes toward the female. “Faylen! I’m so glad that you are safe. Are you leaving?”
Faylen gives her a shy look and blushes a slightly deeper orange. Then she says, “Yes, I’m leaving with Allium.”
She turns to look over her shoulder. There I see the cat-like Guardian cook watching us. He is holding thereigns of a horse and has a large pack on his back. His scent is all over the small female.
Nanni gives her a knowing smile and says, “I’m glad that you two finally got together.”
Faylen smiles back at Nanni. “Me too. We are going to the nearest town to look for work. We even mentioned opening an inn for travelers.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. I’m so glad I got to say goodbye to you. Good luck on your new adventure.” Nanni gives Faylen a tight hug, and I can see the tears starting to slide down her cheeks.
Faylen then comes over to Lydia. All my muscles tighten at the thought of a threat to Lydia, but she just looks at Lydia and says, “I’m so sorry for everything that happened. It was never any of my idea. I think we could have been great friends if we’d met under different circumstances. Thank you for helping to free us from…him.”
Lydia gives her a hug and says, “I understand completely. Maybe one day Wold and I can come visit you.”
After their embrace, Faylen walks back to the cook. He helps her up onto the horse, then climbs on behind her. He nods to me as they ride away.
***
Once we are inside the stable, I am relieved to find that there are still two carts and several horses left.
Nanni says, “Pampa and I will hitch one of the horses up to the cart.” They head toward a white mare. The horse doesn’t seem nervous around them, so I assume that Lord Varik made them do this a lot. Lydia wanders over to them and pets the horse, then watches as they hitch her to the cart.
Once they are done, we walk the horse out of the stable. Nanni and Pampa ride up front to guide the horse, while Lydia and I lay down in the back.
Pampa turns around and excitedly says, “Nanni says she will show me how to drive the horse! Don’t worry, Wold and Lydia, I will drive us to our new home!”
Nanni laughs and shakes her head. “Pampa, turn around and pay attention. They have had a long night; let them rest.”
As soon as we get moving, Lydia curls up against me with her head on my chest. She whispers, “Thank you for saving me, Wold.”
As I curl up with her, I whisper back, “I will always come for you, my little sprite.” Before I know it, we have both fallen asleep.
Chapter 32
Iendupsleepingin the back of the cart for most of the night with my head on Wold’s chest while he holds me. When I wake up, the sun is starting to rise. I notice someone else curled up next to me, and I look to see that it’s Pampa. She must have gotten tired in the night and curled up in the back to sleep. I pet her hair, but don’t wake her. Just seeing her there brings a smile to my face.
I look up at Wold and see the glow of his eyes, he is already awake. He smiles at me and strokes my hair.
I whisper, “How long do we have before we are back on your territory?”
“Not that long. We are almost to the town where the market is held. We are going to sell the horse and cart there,and we will have to walk the rest of the way like we did when we went to the market.”
“That’s good. I can’t wait to be back.” Then I hesitantly say, “Wold, when do I have to go back to my world?”
Wold cups my cheek with his palm and with a smile says, “Never.”
I gasp, then remember that Pampa is still sleeping, so I excitedly whisper, “Never?! I can stay? But what about safety?”
“When Guardians take a mate, they give their mate a mating bite. I only knew a little about it, but I knew enough that I knew I couldn’t give you my bite if I wanted you to be able to go home. So I was careful not to bite you. When I found Nanni at Lord Varik’s estate, she explained that the mating bite would have kept you safe, and no one would have tried to kidnap you. If I had only known…” Wold trails off at that and looks devastated.
I reach up and kiss him, “Hey, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know that about mating bites, you didn’t have anyone to teach you about that. You got me back, and I’m fine. You also found Nanni and Pampa! Don’t blame yourself for me getting kidnapped.”
He smiles at me and hugs me closer. “When we get back to my territory, I can give you my mating bite and we will be bound together…if that is still what you want.”
I can’t help myself. I squeal. I clap my hand over my mouth when I remember that I am supposed to be quiet because Pampa is asleep. She stirs a little, and rolls to her other side, but fortunately she doesn’t wake up.
“Of course I still want to stay with you, silly!” I whisper. “I want to spend all of my days with you.” Then I slide on top of him so I can give him a kiss. He kisses me back fiercely, and I can feel his fear and uncertainty melting away with that kiss. He slips his long tongue into my mouth, tangling it with mine, and I lose myself in that kiss.
