ELRETH

She was concerned that Aaryn might be denying his true fear about his mother, that it might bother him to leave the City. But he didn't seem hesitant as they walked. They reached their bags quickly and Aaryn swung both up onto his shoulder.

Elreth grinned at him. "Does this mean that when I race you, you'll complain that it's uneven?"

Aaryn snorted. "This means when I race you, you might actually have a chance to win."

"Oh ho! Is that a challenge?"

He gave her a sly look from the side. "Do you want it to be?"

She was about to dart off down the path, but he hooked her waist with his free arm and swung her around in front of him and kissed her soundly.

She was taken by surprise, but quickly responded, her stomach trilling at his kiss so that she kissed him back with enthusiasm. So much enthusiasm, he dropped the bags so he could hold her properly.

She wasn't disappointed.

A minute later, he groaned and dropped his head back. "You can't do this to me, or it's going to take us forever to get there where I can love you properly."

She slid her hands up his back and grinned. "I like the sound of that."

Aaryn growled, but took her mouth again until they were both panting.

Then it was Elreth's turn to groan. "I see what you mean. How far do we have to go?"

"A couple hours," he croaked.

"A couple hours of walking, or… running?"

Aaryn raised one brow. "I do love the way you think, Elreth. You wicked, wicked female."

She snorted. "I am about the furthest thing from wicked. I am super-practical though. What do you say we run a mile, walk a mile? That should get us there a little faster." She hoisted her back onto her shoulder and turned up the trail, grinning at him over her shoulder.

Aaryn scrambled to pick up his bag, then followed her, slapping her ass as he trotted past her. "I vote for running first," he said, then lengthened his stride.

Elreth groaned, but started after him. It would be worth it, she reminded herself. He was always going to be worth it.

*****

When they stepped off the trail a little over an hour later, Elreth's heartrate picked up. Aaryn had pushed aside a thick branch, then looked over his shoulder at her, heat in his eyes, and her entire body jolted as the mate bond throbbed.

They'd gotten quieter in the last mile or so, hands entwined as they walked, both of them lost in thought.

Elreth wondered where they were going this far out west. But was excited to see what Aaryn had planned.

When they finally pushed out of the undergrowth and trees into a simple little clearing, Aaryn seemed to breathe a little easier, and Elreth's heart flipped.

There were fewer Great Trees out this far, but they yawned up over the canopy behind them, while this clearing, hugged so tightly by the undergrowth and smaller pines and leatherleaves, seemed like a mirage.

Sunlight cut over the lush grass still sparkling with the overnight dew, which meant the sun had only just reached the area. The grassy carpet was broken only by the tracks of small animals that made the trek to the river that flowed to Elreth's right.

There was a large, flat rock that lay half-in and half-out of the water, surrounded by other boulders and rocks that would make the perfect spot to fish. Then the mountain began its climb steeply from the opposite bank, giving the entire place a sense of being closed in and unseen.

To her left, a cave mouth beckoned—a natural cave, but someone had taken the time to install a door. Elreth wasn't sure why that made her feel better. All the way out here the chances of them being interrupted were very slim, but knowing they had a door to close made her feel like she could relax.

Elreth stopped dead on the grass and just looked around.

She suddenly felt like she could breathe. Like she hadn't been able to for weeks, but now… "Aaryn, this is beautiful."

"It's going to be really simple, El," he said softly. She could feel his eyes on her. "But we can be alone and just enjoy ourselves."

She nodded. "It's perfect. You said this belongs to my dad?"

"Yeah, I guess he and Behryn and the brotherhood have been coming out here for years—since they were our age. But they haven't used it in a while, and he said he'd make sure none of them were thinking about it. No one else knows about it."

She just gaped, following the line of the mountain up, up, to catch sight of a circling hawk high above them, near the snowline where the trees ended and the mountain became mostly rock and ice.

Turning, she saw nothing but a wall of trees and shrubs, broken only by the river, glittering, running slowly here where the bed dropped away to allow deep water.

By the time she'd come full circle, Aaryn was standing there, smiling at her. She met his loving gaze and shook her head. "You did good, my mate," she said.

"Do you want to see the cave?"

"Yeah, lets put our bags inside then… then I think I'm really sweaty from all that running and maybe we should swim?" She grinned at him cheekily and Aaryn's eyes lit up.

"I like that idea," he growled. "I like that idea a lot."

"Then I'll race you," she quipped and shot past him, running for the mouth of the cave that was less than one hundred feet away.

She thought he'd run too, but instead when she reached the door and turned, laughing, she found him, stalking towards her, his chin low and eyes fixed on hers—not a hint of a smile on his face.

But there was more than a hint of heat, and passion, and promise.

A lot more.

Elreth shivered and pushed the door open, thanking the Creator for her mate.