Jeren let go, trusting in fate, destiny and her goddess. The one thing she knew for sure was Shan had come back for her. And maybe the future they had seen wouldn’t happen. Maybe he looked too different, or maybe the Otherling marks upon him would fade in time. But it didn’t matter, not now. Not anymore.
“We can make our own future, Shan. Make it what we want.”
His eyes snapped wide open to fill themselves with her face, with the moment where he pushed her over the edge and his body stiffened, lost in her. She kept her gaze fixed on his, her body convulsing with pleasure, with fulfilment and love.
Sated, they slid to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Shan nuzzled into her neck, murmuring soft words in his own tongue. She listened to the lyric tones, the music in his voice until it trailed to silence and deep, even breaths.
For a moment, she didn’t move, couldn’t move. To move might break the spell, steal him from her again. And she couldn’t have that. Not this time.
She pressed her lips to his throat and smiled as she kissed him.
Shan lifted his head and took in a breath, about to say something. But he didn’t. With another deep-throated groan, he moved away from her, lifting his body as if to leave.
Jeren caught his wrist in a grip of iron. “Where are you going?”
He stilled, opening his eyes to look at her again. “Nowhere without you.” She could see it in his eyes, the truth of it. And the need to apologise. Words she neither needed nor wanted to hear. “Jeren, I—”
She covered his mouth with her hand and felt him smile against her palm. Memory stirred, the most precious memory of all. Long ago, when they had first fled River Holt, they had lain in each others arms, body to body for warmth.
“If you bite me,” she scowled at him, mimicking his sternness from long ago, “you know we’ll end up fighting.”
Slowly she lifted her hand. He kissed her again, slowly, taking his time and savouring each sensation. “You and I fight?” He smiled. “That’ll never happen.”
Jeren laughed. “I think it did. But we survived. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You really believe that, Jeren? That we can make our own future?”
She curled in against him, burying herself in his scent, his body. “I’m willing to find out, my love. With you.”
Their own future, a new destiny they could forge for themselves. It stretched out before them, winding onwards into the distance. And there would be a woman and a man, two lovers with a wolf at their side, walking the ways of the Holtlands, wandering wherever their hearts took them.
About the Author
R. F. Long writes fantasy and paranormal romance, often about scary fairies. Originally published with Samhain Publishing, she is now revising and reissuing these books. Soul Fire and The Scroll Thief are already available. Look out for the forthcoming titles: The Tales of the Holtlands series (The Wolf’s Sister, The Wolf’s Mate and The Wolf’s Destiny.)
As Ruth Frances Long, she also writes dark young adult fantasy, such as The Treachery of Beautiful Things (Dial, Penguin (USA)), and the Dubh Linn trilogy, A Crack in Everything, A Hollow in the Hills and A Darkness at the End. (O’Brien Press).
As Jessica Thorne she writes fantasy romance and Space Opera, such as The Queen’s Wing and The Stone’s Heart (Bookouture).
She lives in County Wicklow, Ireland and works in a specialized library of rare, unusual & occasionally crazy books. But they don’t talk to her that often.
In 2015 she won the European Science Fiction Society Spirit of Dedication Award for Best Author of Children’s Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Find out more on http://www.rflong.com/, @RFLong and @JessThorneBooks on Twitter, R. F. Long on Facebook, RFLong on Tumblr, RuthFrancesLong on Instagram
Copyright
Originally published 2011
Copyright © 2011 and 2019 by R. F. Long.
All rights reserved.
The moral right of the author has been asserted. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published by R. F. Long 2019
Cover image by Comfreak from Pixabay.
Wolf image from Pixabay