The Song Of The Wolf (Unedited)

Chapter Thirty

Staying low, Maebh hurried from one clump of greenery to the next and crouched behind a bushy snowberry, her breathing ragged and uneven as she strained her ears: the ever-present whistling of warblers, their song short and sweet, the distant sound of passing traffic and then... a faint rustling behind her.

Like the crack of a whip, Maebh craned her neck, only to find the culprit to be a woodpecker, picking ants off the ground. The bird tilted its own head up, alerted by something and swiftly flew off. Maebh peered through the shrubbery and at the indication of movement; she slipped from behind her precarious cover.

"Caught you!"

The copper creature jumped with fright and once he had regained his composure, started yapping at the woman in displeasure. However, the attack was not over quite yet and the crescendo of his yaps increased to a high pitched squeak as a grey fog zipped past and promptly jabbed two rows of teeth into his hind leg.

Laughing heartily, Maebh dusted off her hands and skipped back to her picnic blanket, where she had been absorbing the wild aromas of the forest whilst trying to read a novel. Keyword being trying.

"What did I do to earn that warm reception?" Benjamin stepped from behind a tree, now dressed and rubbing one of his calves with a wry face.

Maebh laid belly-down on the checkered quilt and shrugged. "Just wanted to remind you that I know you're here."

The fur ball that was Logan plopped down beside her, rolling onto his back, wiggling and frolicking in the grass.

"With respect, Maebh. I'm getting paid to be."

"That I understand, but you don't have to be so..." she pointed at him in a circular motion and scratched the pup's pink tummy, "...sneaky about it."

The red-haired man chuckled and was about to join their tea party when his phone rang. Picking up, he mumbled into the receiver and hung up shortly after.

"That was Fillin, he's back."

Maebh nodded and gathered her belongings, stuffing them inside the picnic basket. She paused as she went to hoist the handle into the crook of her elbow, confounded by her own willingness to run home to the prince.

Benjamin gestured for her to hand over the basket and she held it out of his reach, dazed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Peachy."

He grunted his disapproval for the rebuff of chivalry but trudged after her without further demur. "I'm walking you home."

"My house is across the field, I think I'll survive the gruelling journey."

"Don't be naïve, you know I can't risk anything happening to you."

As they neared the fork in the path, Logan yowled his goodbye and Maebh blew him a kiss. "Stay away from the road, Lo!" she yelled after him and sent his aunt a quick text to notify her the boy would be home in a jiffy.

She averted her attention back to Benjamin. "How are Zahra and Ghaleb?"

The ginger man perked up at the mention of his Soulbond and son and excitedly began chatting about how much the baby had grown, how they were handling parenthood, the sleepless nights and constant feeds.

"Rumours have been circulating about your engagement." He grinned at her with such dazzling mischief that she could vividly picture what a toddler version of him would have looked like.

Maebh scoffed feebly and scoured ahead so he wouldn't see her blush. "My engagement? What a load of blarney."

"Do tell what that rock is doing on your finger?"