Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' (10 page)

I smiled. “Hey, Buddy. Are you
alright?” I gave him a hug.

He nodded.

I walked around him and he spread his
wings so I could see. Jasper walked with me, his hand in mine,
neither one of us wanting to stop touching.

“Wow. Those are amazing! Have you tried
flying yet?”

I have. It is unbelievable.
I can’t wait to take you up there
.

“Awesome!” I turned to look for Brice.
He was leaning against a tree, trying to get his nose to stop
bleeding. “Did you have to do that?” I asked Jasper.

He shrugged. “It’s less than what I
really wanted to do to him.”

The three of us made our way over to
him. I let go of Jasper’s hand and made Brice kneel so I could heal
him.

When I was done he stayed where he was,
looking at the ground.

I gave Jasper’s hand a squeeze and he
sighed. “Stand up, Brice.”

Brice’s eyes were wide as he did as he
was told. Jasper moved toward him and he flinched.

“Relax, Brice. I’m not going to kill
you.”

“I would understand if you
did.”

Jasper shook his head. “You’re like a
brother to me. If I can forgive one brother for taking her, I can’t
very well kill the other one for it.”

I started to laugh and everyone looked
at me.

“What’s so funny about that,
Shlova?”

“I was just thinking what a messed up
family we are.” I grinned at him. “You’re a Namael, Luke is a Maj,
I’m half human, half Wedelve, and Brice is a full
human.”

The look on Jasper’s face was
priceless. “But…”

“We’ll explain on the way. I tend to
agree with Dodge. Let’s head home. Do you know where we are,
Brice?”

He looked carefully at our surroundings
then nodded. “The Wedelven River is about three hours from here. If
we can get across the river, we should be safe; from humans,
anyway.”

Jasper gave me a boost onto Dodge. I
rubbed a hand over his wings. “You look like a bay Pegasus.” His
laughter echoed in my head.

We started off at a trot, Jasper and
Brice staying human so they could talk. Jasper explained how the
Mother had given Faren permission to fly him closer to the human
border. Brice told our story from the beginning. By the time we
were done exchanging stories we could faintly hear the
river.

Jasper looked up at me. “Do you think
Braw’s plan would have worked?”

I shuddered and nodded.

There was a thudding noise not far from
my head and I looked up to see an arrow sticking in a tree. I
flattened myself against Dodge.

Jasper growled at the sight of at least
twenty men coming through the woods toward us. Brice went to stand
beside him.

I reached into my pocket and came up
empty. “I lost it! I must have dropped the stone when I grabbed my
swords!”

I saw Brice take a deep breath. He put
his hand on Jasper’s arm. “Get her out of here. Get her across the
river.”

Jasper glance quickly at him then back
to the men. “You can’t take them all on by yourself.”

“She needs to be safe and she needs you
with her. Go. They won’t know what hit them.” He grinned at
Jasper.

“What makes you think you’ll be able to
stall them?”

“I had the best teacher.” He gave
Jasper’s arm a squeeze. He turned and put a hand on my knee. “Stay
safe, Hayden.”

“Come with us.” The tears were
flowing.

He shook his head. “I have to give you
enough time to find the bridge so Jasper can cross.” He reached up
and kissed me softly. “Good bye, Hayden.”

He gave Dodge a pat on the neck then
shifted and ran toward the oncoming men.

Jasper watched him for a fraction of a
second. “Go, Dodge!” He shifted and we raced toward the sound of
the river. It didn’t take long to break out of the trees and into a
meadow.

I leaned forward. “Fly! We have to find
that bridge!”

Dodge spread his wings and lifted into
the air. Jasper looked up and followed from the ground. I looked
both ways along the river. “There!” The Wedelve half of me spotted
the invisible bridge.

Dodge flew back down and hit the ground
running beside Jasper. I guided them over the bridge. Jasper
shifted back. “Burn it, Hayden.”

“But Brice…”

Jasper shook his head.

My throat tightened and I swallowed
hard. I threw a red wave at the bridge and closed my eyes. Dodge
moved away from the fire and I shivered.

“Bloody hell,” I mumbled. I had
forgotten it was winter on this side of the river.

Jasper handed me my jacket and pulled
on his extra tunic. “Let’s go, Shlova.”

I gave Dodge a pat on the neck, gave
the other side of the river one last look and we trotted off into
the snow, getting as far from the border as we could.

Chapter Three

He heard her whimper in her sleep and
felt the fear and pain. She’d had the same dream every night since
she had come back.

“No.” The word came out as a
moan.

She curled into the fetal position and
started to shake. Braw was going to pay for what he had made her
do. He’d felt it when it had happened; had felt the pain ripping
through her head, the energy coursing through her body. He had
dropped to the ground midstride with the force of it. He hadn’t
told her and didn’t plan on it. She felt horrible enough as it
was.

Jasper waited for the sobs to come.
These were quickly followed by a feeling of loss so great it tore
him apart.

Had he been right to let Brice stand
alone? He’d thought so at the time. But every night at this time,
he questioned himself. He shook his head. Hayden was what was
important. He knew that. Brice had known that. He finished the
glass of water he had gotten up to get before returning to
bed.

He would have to remember to thank
Kantong for the use of his cabin the next time they ran into each
other.

After two weeks of traveling through
the snow, he had lit a fire at the abandoned cabin and felt
Hayden’s internal sigh at the warmth. It had taken her a matter of
seconds to fall asleep and he had hoped that the added comfort
would have kept the nightmare away.

Hayden moved and the blanket slipped
off of her. She was wearing one of his shirts as a
nightgown.

Jasper’s heart jumped in his chest. He
was sure he would never get used to how beautiful she was. He still
couldn’t get over how she thought herself plain. Her long dark
brown hair was highlighted with the firelight. Her bare legs were
glowing with it.

The dream ended and her whole body
relaxed. She reached back in her sleep to where he had been laying
behind her.

He felt her confusion turn to full
panic. He was at her side before she sat up looking for
him.

“It’s alright, Shlova. I’m right here.”
He pulled her to his chest and rubbed her back. “I got up for a
drink.”

She took a few deep breaths then looked
up at him. Her soft green eyes narrowed. “You haven’t slept
yet.”

He shrugged. He wasn’t about to tell
her he could never fall asleep until after she finished her
nightmare. He gazed into her eyes and gave her his most innocent
look. “I wasn’t tired.” Truth was, he was exhausted, but he knew
there would be little sleep for him until they were safe in their
own cabin.

She brought her hand up to his face.
“You shaved.” Her thumb traced the lines of his cheekbone, along
his jaw, and back up again.

Jasper closed his eyes. How long had it
been, he wondered and tried to think back. How long since he had
last felt her delicate body beneath his hands and had felt her body
quiver under his.

Hayden had let her shield down and with
a groan he found he was the one quivering.

“That’s not fair,” he whispered
hoarsely.

She smiled and toned it down a bit. She
pulled his shirt over her head, let it drop to the ground then did
the same to the one he was wearing. Her tongue ran over his nipple
and he sucked in a breath. Her lips brushed lightly over his
skin.

His head was spinning.

She stood and pulled him up before
untying the laces on his pants. He stepped out of them and picked
her up.

Hayden bit his neck playfully and he
groaned. Any ideas he’d had about taking his time were quickly
flying out the window. But first, two could play at this game. She
could use her mind to knock him flat with need. He had his own
tricks to do the same to her.

He set her down on the counter and bent
his head to her chest. Perfect, he thought to himself. He ran his
tongue lightly over each nipple.

Her moan made his breath come faster.
She wasn’t playing fair. With each touch and kiss she was
projecting her need for him with more force.

He picked her up again, this time
pushing her up against the wall. He let her slide down until he
could feel her wetness on the tip of his shaft. She wiggled between
him and the wall, wanting him to take her. She was shaking. But
then again, so was he.

He let her down some more and the two
of them let out identical moans. God, she was tight. He pushed up
slowly and let gravity do its part.

Hayden gave a surprised cry and threw
her head back. He felt her whole body convulse against his. He had
to shake his head and think of snow so he wouldn’t be taken over by
her pleasure.

She melted against him and moaned with
satisfaction.

Jasper thrust up into her. His head
reeled. He pulled back and thrust again.

“Oh, god, Jasper.”

By the moons, he loved when she moaned
his name. He could feel her tightening around him once more. He
pushed harder and let her drop a little lower so he could get
deeper. His head spun.

Her moan started low in her throat and
was muffled when she bit his shoulder. She clenched around him and
he gave a cry of his own as he spilled himself into her. He found
her mouth with his and kissed her tenderly.

He stayed there with her pinned against
the wall, enjoying the feel of her against him. His breathing
slowed back to normal and he set her down gently.

After getting back to their blankets he
took a deep breath, and let it out. He kissed the back of her neck
and pulled her against him. “A shlova yan,” he whispered
softly.

“A shlova yan jer.”

He chuckled. “How do you figure you
love me more?”

She shrugged. “I just do.”

He kissed her again. “Bunna soit,
Shlova.”

“Good night, Jasper.”

And for the first time in over two
months, he actually slept.

*****

I pulled my coat on, looked out the
window, and shivered.

Jasper grinned at me. “We’re not even
outside yet, Shlova.”

“I know. But I know that the instant I
go out there I’ll be cold.”

He kissed the bridge of my nose before
helping me adjust the swords on my back. “Just think. We’re almost
there. If the weather holds, we’ll be home in less than two
weeks.”

I grunted.

Are you coming?

I opened the door and glared at
Dodge.

His head came up in surprise. Never
mind.

I mumbled an apology to both of them
and swung onto my horse. He folded his wings over my
legs.

Better?

I patted his neck. “Thank
you.”

Jasper shifted and we started off at a
trot.

Day one of fourteen, I thought to
myself bitterly.

We had been travelling for seven of
those fourteen days when we heard the growl. Dodge stopped short in
his tracks and we stood still, listening.

That’s when we heard the excited yips
of dogs.

Jasper growled low in his throat and we
slowly made our way toward the commotion. We came upon a lion being
circled by two wolves and a coyote.

We’ll go
right
.

Jasper nodded and headed to the
left.

I pulled my swords out and got ready.
With the lion being stuck in the middle of it all, it was too risky
to use my color waves. We charged out of the cover of the willows.
All three dogs paused their circling and looked up. Jasper picked
that moment to spring at them from the other side. The lion took
full advantage of their distraction to jump on one of the
wolves.

The coyote was the first to jump at me.
Dodge kept his wings tight against my legs to keep them out of the
way. I swung my sword down and heard a yelp as it sliced into the
coyote’s shoulder.

I heard another yelp and looked up in
time to see Jasper grab the second wolf by the throat.

I looked down at the coyote growling at
me. “Please don’t. Just leave.”