Not All Heroes Are Guiltless

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Stretching my hands out to feel the sun on my face with the air crisp and circling around me is exhilarating. The top of the mountain is steep, and it has been treacherous travelling, having to avoid the large pits of deposits of snow. The forest underneath is pure white and glistening with the sun. No clouds in sight, only light blue sky.

“Can we camp up here tonight? I’d love to see the stars from here.” I ask even though normal humans wouldn’t hear it. I know my mate heard it.

“No.” My mate grumbles as he starts to descend down the other side of the mountain.

I whimper to show my disappointment, ‘He must not like the cold.’ I huff in frustration and follow my mate down, keeping to his path to avoid jumping into another hidden ravine. I love it up here, but I’m not sure I want to come back by myself.

When we left the cabin, I really hadn’t much idea what to expect. Belva had been so sweet and kind to me after our sparring session. She had prepared a feast and wanted to know everything about me. She reminded me a lot of Lana about how she would fuss over my appearance and health. This is a complete contrast to how she reacted to my mate.

While my mate was helping with a few more tasks she commanded him to do. After a quick chastising on how he has obviously been treating me. I smiled at the fact that this strong and powerful man seemed to bend at her very order. Even after witnessing it, he still has an upper hand in a fight with a powerful foe. He obviously respects the blind bear, almost with a compassionate action of a long-lost son. I sort of wish I knew the story of how they met for my mate to treat her so differently.

I learned she was once a priestess for a temple not far from the cabin. She was in a terrible war centuries ago when she lost her eyesight. Now, she lives a quiet life in one place in hopes for her four sons to eventually return. However, she didn’t tell me the war she was in, and she didn’t discuss anything about how she comes to call my mate, dark one.

My wolf was able to differentia her feral grow and spiced smell like a bear. It was an honor to meet another creature much like lupines. However, that was more of a dilemma for me. I knew of the lupines, and the nation of Turmac is ruled by cat shifters. I had never heard of any other shifters before, but here’s a bear who is centuries old, and she fought in a war I know nothing about. She recognizes my mate as a dark one just like the wolf god called him a dark child. Her treatment of him is bizarre also. She seems to be suspicious of his motives but almost disappointed he isn’t doing something she thinks matters more.

We are traveling along a ridge when the sun sets down on the horizon. It’s almost serene and calming to my turmoil mind. When the sun has left the sky to its starlit darkness. A color explosion ripples across the heavens. The colors shift in waves, sparkling every beautiful intricate work of rainbow. I’m awe-stricken watching the twilight disappear but leaving so many colors in its wake, a giant rippling ribbon of light. My mate wraps his arms around me. “We can camp here for the night.”

I chuckled at him. “So, you going to hold me and let me watch the color show with the stars backdrop in your arms? It's a bit romantic, isn’t it?”

His only response to my question is kissing my jaw and neck. I lean back into him, and he takes that of acceptance and moves to kiss me tenderly. My wolf purrs in delight as he moves me to sit on his lap. The evidence of his desire pushing into my thigh. I giggle in his touch and look up into the colorful lively night sky.

It’s been well over a year since Hou Ndour invaded Redland. Over a full year since that first shift and that night in the cabin. He’s never been the one to instigate that desire. He’s always allowed me with a gentlemen courtesy to not push me when I’m not willing. It’s usually me who asks for his attention to have s*x and he follows through almost in hidden gleefulness. I can almost forgive him for his short response on the top of the mountain if this was his final objective.