The wielders are coming, and they're ready for violence.
With a cub in her arms, Arietta James, a dedicated vet technician in training, flees for her life and the life of the little shifter she's ready to die to protect. Her escape lands her right i...
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"I am not kicking you out," Gavriel said, his back still turned. "We are simply moving you and Naya into the inner home."
The inner home?
Her mind stuttered to a stop. "You—?" Arietta's frown deepened. "You trust me to know where your people live?"
At her question, Gavriel did finally turn around. "I do." He leveled a look at her over his shoulder. "Do not make me regret it."
The sun was overhead by the time they started their walk over to the inner home. Only a few wispy clouds dotted the sky, but the tree coverage was thick. It kept them in the shade as they made their way to what Arietta thought might be west.
The air was crisp, but not too cold. They would keep warm enough with their walk, though she might've considered wrapping Naya up in a blanket if the cubling didn't already have a blanket of fur. The air itself was so clean. As if every breath was new. It wasn't a mix of smog or dust or chemicals like that of the city.
She tried to take deep even breaths, loving the clarity with each inhale, despite the twinge that'd burrowed itself under her ribs since she'd woken this morning.
They made their way through the territory on foot. And as the minutes passed in relative silence, Arietta's ears rang. She tasted iron in the back of her throat. But she'd die on her feet before she stopped.
Gavriel was giving her a treasure. Was trusting her to see the place where Naya would live. Where her new family would welcome and keep her. She wouldn't miss it, nor would she ignore such a gift.
She wasn't sure just how long they walked. She only knew time passed by the way the sun drifted low in the sky and how the sweat between her shoulder blades had her shirt sticking to her back. Her lungs felt too tight, but she kept on.
Naya, ever the mischievous cub, followed Gavriel's feet, even playfully pouncing on the back of his heels. It didn't miss Arietta's notice how the big bad leader of the shifter territory slowed his steps and playfully "tripped" when Naya landed a hit.
Oh Naya, you'll be happy here.
Arietta's feet dragged underneath her as she stepped up an incline lined with low-level brush and small chunks of tree bark that'd been unable to hold on amidst all the rain, wind, and gravity. "Does this area get a lot of snow?" she asked Gavriel through heavy breaths. Keep going, Ari, you've got this.
"Occasionally," Gavriel responded, gracefully sidestepping Naya's next pounce. How the two of them had so much energy was beyond her. Maybe it was another shifter trait. "Most of the snow in this territory hits south. This side holds a steady temperature."
Interesting. Were they close to the inner home? A part of her hoped so. She didn't know how much longer she could push her body. "Is the inner home in a spot that makes the most sense for most of the species of shifters within this territory?"
