Red

Thirty-Three.

"Thank you." I murmured and Court smiled before he let go of me and took the reins and we walked forward.

We broke through the trees revealing a frozen lake in front of us.

"I did promise I would take you here. Now we are here." Court mused with a smile as he offered his hand to me as we went down closer to the lake.

"It's beautiful." I told him.

Court smiled at me. "Glad I've gotten your approval on it; we can go closer if you want." Court offered with a bit of a smile on his face. I took his hand as we walked up to the frozen lake.

"Is it safe to be on?" I asked as we stopped right in front of it.

"It is, but it does do little cracks when you step on it. But right now, we are in a frost that lets the river hold weight. Now I wouldn't put Celeste on it, but we are safe to go on it if you want to. But it can be slippery, and I don't want you to fall." Court told me.

"I think admiring it from here is good for me." I told him and Court smiled.

"We can always walk around, I just have to grab Celeste, stay here Ruby." Court smiled as he let go of my hand and went up and retrieved Celeste. He put Celeste on his left side, and I walked on his right side as we began walking around the river.

"So, your parents are surprising you with something tomorrow?" I asked.

"From the looks of it. Not sure what they have in mind, but I know my birthday is coming up, so they'll want to start planning and my mom always insists on asking me about it." Court revealed.

"Will you be there for your birthday?" I asked.

"I will. I do leave at night though to visit my brothers. One of those days where balancing being a prince and a wolf is complicated, but I make it work." Court smiled as Celeste shook his mane as we walked along.

"Does that mean I'll have to find something to gift you with?" I asked.

Court let out a small laugh before smiling at me. "You don't have to worry about getting me anything. My mom spoils me enough on that day and your presence is more than enough to satisfy me." Court responded and I smiled at him.

"You flatter me." I murmured and Court smiled.

"It's true. You are delightful to be around, much more so than any of brothers or anyone from the village. And easy on the eyes." Court bit his lip as his amber eyes glanced over me.

Things had been a mix of tense and awkward since that night. It became clear we both wanted each other, but Court hadn't made a move and I was too chicken to. I'm not even sure how I went from sitting in a bed terrified of him to wanting to have sex with him in the same bed.

Something about Court was simply different.

He is a sweet person. He never pressured me into anything and let me exist in the cabin, but never really clarified why. Pity maybe. But now here I am.

With feelings having developed for a wolf shifter and finding out I am also the granddaughter of one. Things in my life had gone from being some simple sheltered village girl to this. Living in the forest discovering and doing things I never thought possible.

All I can do now is withstand what is to come. I had some confidence though. Finally.

Confidence had never been my strong suit. I would run away from the roosters who would attempt to spur me and just throw food in them. I hated confronting people and would shut down in a situation I couldn't get out of.

But here I had been forced to develop some form of confidence. No matter how weak it looked in comparison to someone like Lotus or even Lucia.

Court and I walked around a bit more and even sat down to admire the shining lake before the sun began to sink beneath the sky. Once the sun began to sink Court called it a day and we began to ride back to the cabin.

"Thank you for taking me out today." I told him resting against him.

Court smiled at me as he took my hand from around his waist and pressed a kiss to it. The feeling of his smooth lips brought this warm feeling inside me with a mix of comfort and safety.

"Of course. I'm glad you enjoyed it. We can do it again after the full moon. Now remember I'll be gone tomorrow but will be back the next day." Court reminded me and I nodded with a smile as I sank against him happy to go home.

"I know, I'll be waiting for you when you get back." I told him and Court smiled.

"Don't tempt me to rush back." Court told me and I smiled at him as we trotted on.

His tone is playful as is mine, but neither of knew him telling me this would be the one saving grace we'd have for what is coming.

1501. And chapter thirty-three is now out! We are nearing the end of the book which means I'll have to start prepping book two as this is now a duology. We have some intense things happening in the next chapters from now on out. Can't wait to show them! ***