Chapter 51
The next morning after breakfast, King Harvey glances at me from above the notepad he is still studying.
“I certainly would enjoy it if we had access to some items used to make practice shields, Elena. Yet, if we return to the kingdom now, it would be a mess. Rumors would fly that we cut our honeymoon short, as if we are not blissfully wed. Are we?”
I laugh at his question. “I love you, King Harvey.”
“Are you happy to be with me, Elena?” King Harvey asks gravely. “I must know.”
“Do you believe I am not happy to be with you, King Harvey?”
“As much as I love you, Elena, I cannot read your mind.” King Harvey replies sternly, yet the gentleness in his eyes proves he is worried under the surface.
“You are being vulnerable with me, King Harvey.”
“Are you?” King Harvey presses.
“Yes, I am.”
King Harvey breathes a deep sigh of relief, his chest concaving with the force of his breath. “Thank you, Elena. I did not believe so because of all the training.”
“What are you talking about? It is fun!!”
“Our honeymoon is rather luna centric right now, Elena, so I worried.”
“Well, do not worry, we are having fun together. All that matters is that we are together.”
“I am glad for you, Elena. I was going to ask if you would like to explore the forest, the deeper parts.”
“Sure, King Harvey. This will help us think of more shield plans.”
King Harvey looks at me thoughtfully. “Do you not enjoy the shield I drew you, Elena? Do you not feel safe?”
“It is beautiful, King Harvey, but perhaps we can adjust something, you never know.”
“Ah.” King Harvey nods. “Yes, of course, an adjustment.”
We both stand at the same time, and he offers me his arm at the front door. In a comfortable silence, King Harvey and I walk through the forest. The first two miles are not new territory, but once we walk through the third mile of this forest, the colors of the trees change from a light green to a rich emerald green. They swallow the sky and stretch out higher than any tree I have ever seen. The sun melts through the gaps between the trees and the air smells sweet. It is addictive.
“King Harvey, why does the air smell differently?”
“This forest is under my control, Elena. I have the air smell differently here to help with healing properties of all the living creatures around us. In return, this is an excellent haven in case of emergency, the creatures help protect the land.”
“So, does it heal humans as well?”
“I believe so.” King Harvey stops walking and leaps upwards suddenly to collect a handful of leaves. He shows me his palm and the leaves in his hands are shining in his grasp. The veins of the leaves are a light blue glow. “These leaves help cycle the air faster and that is why it smells sweeter. It also gives them healing properties with a bit of my power.”
“Does it exhaust you?”
“No, Elena. It helped me learn to heal faster.”
After looking up at my husband for a minute, I run my hand down his face. “King Harvey, I have a question, why didn’t you heal my back?”
“I wanted to, Elena.” King Harvey’s voice drops to a smothered whisper. “It would have raised many suspicions had I healed you automatically that I just desired you as a mate and would have put you in danger. Unfortunately, that meant we both had to wait to be together. I always felt I was prolonging your agony, and I am sorry.”
“You saved my life, King Harvey. Don’t worry, thank you.”
Getting on my tiptoes, I raise up and kiss his cheek. King Harvey’s arm slips around my waist and slings me to stand in front of him, as he shifts so our lips touch. The next kiss is nothing short of an explosion of heat between the two of us.
When we pull away, I find my hands on his broad shoulders to steady myself. King Harvey smirks as I pant in his face, and I wish I could stop. My mating mark pulses against my will. I want to be with him, desperately. The thought of being away from him is a certain death.
“Is this how you thank me, Elena?” King Harvey breathes as he leans down to kiss me again.
“Wait, I have a question, we will share our powers, will I have a heat like you and go insane?”
“You have no werewolf blood, Elena. I find it highly unlikely. You may be more sensitive to me… but it will be for our advantage.” King Harvey completes our kiss I just interrupted but we can’t go any further.
A soft whimper stops our kiss.
King Harvey wields his sword and automatically moves to step in front of me. With small, quick steps he moves forward, and I follow behind him. Another soft whining whimper comes from the pocket of darkness that awaits us.
I know we are not at the end of the forest, but the next section is so filled with trees that it almost entirely blocks out the sun.
“King Harvey?”
“Take my hand.” King Harvey demands as he offers his left hand behind his back for me. Taking it and holding tight, in two blurs of green, we are in another section of the forest, with a clear blue sky above us.
We are standing in a light green clearing.
The whimper gets louder as King Harvey continues to move through the clearing. We walk step in step getting closer to the center until the whimper becomes a soft squeaky whine.
There is a small white wolf pup lying on a perfectly circular stone, four inches thick. The wolf pup slowly lifts its artic white head and the sunlight filters through its light pink filled ears from behind.
“Aww!” Bending over, I tap the ground in front of me and watch the pup stumble on its wobbly legs and manage to get to me, whining all the way.
King Harvey intercepts the pup with one scoop of his massive hand and howls at it.
The wolf pup’s ears go back as he listens, then he howls back to the best his little voice box allows. It is only two little pathetic faltering howls, but he smiles at King Harvey when he is done.
“He is an orphan, Elena.” King Harvey informs me as he handles the wolf pup by the scruff of his neck. The wolf pup is too busy smiling to care.
“He is?” I snatch the wolf pup from his hands and feel how soft his fur is, the small rapid beating of his heart and the warmth of his body are a welcome comfort. When he yawns at me, I rock him in my arms, and in two blinks, he is out cold.
The wolf pup rests in my arms, snoring.
“You would make an excellent mother, Elena.” King Harvey states from in front of me, his eyes beaming with gentle pride.
I blush. “Thank you, King Harvey.”
King Harvey bends over and heaves the perfectly smooth oval stone with one hand. “Elena, do you believe this would work as a good reference for your shield?”
I nod at him as he holds the stone out in front of me and it covers most of my upper half.
“Is it heavy?”
“A few pounds, Elena. I believe it will be good for you to practice holding it once we return to the cottage.”
“Wait, can we keep the pup?”
“Yes. I refuse to abandon my people. He is just a wolf, Elena, there should be no transforming with him.”
“You are in charge of wolves as well?”
“All are our people, Elena. We have wolves as runners if needed to get points across to other kingdoms and treaties, we trade wolves sometimes if needed for protection.”
“This wolf pup will be good training then.”
King Harvey nods as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and walks us back home.
