My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 39: Into The Wild

Violet

I stood at the edge of the estate grounds, leaning against a heavy pack, and an even smaller one containing what I would need. I wasn’t sure what he had put in the larger one, but I presumed likely a tent.

We were going to be alone...

Without any disturbance...

He had never told me the duration, and even though I guessed we would not spend too long out there, I could not suppress the chill that raced through my skin. I rubbed my arms, trying to dispel the disturbing thoughts resurfacing in my mind.

I shuddered, this time from the chilly breeze.

It had been cold for the past few days now. Was a new season coming?

I eyed the building. A week had passed since our meeting in the study. A week spent devouring that Lycan history text. It only had surface level information, but my mind still reeled from what I had read through. Snippets of day to day civilization, their studies of the sun and moon, along with a few other things.

And painfully, he was always there whenever I used his study, always ignoring me while I was fully aware of him.

He had remained distant. Professional. On certain evenings when I had finished reading, he would ask clinical questions about my progress, about what I had learned. Not once did he ever acknowledging what had happened between us.

Just like him, I also maintained my composure, but I hated how much his behaviour bothered me. And I especially did not want to entertain any thoughts as to why he was all of a sudden curious about Omegas.

He emerged from one of the side entrances dressed in the same dark clothes he seemed to enjoy wearing. Loose dark pants and a fitted dark shirt that did nothing to hide the lines of his body. His hair was tied back, and he was accompanied by his sister who stopped at the entrance, apparently engrossed in a brief chatter with him.

My mouth soured at the way he smiled at her, relieved.

’Did you think he would damage a relationship with his sister because of you?’

I averted my gaze, not wanting to keep looking upon the irritating spectacle.

I sighed and bent down to lift my bag. The strain immediately made me pause. It was heavy. He had instructed me to pack supplies; clothing, water, basic provisions.

I had also included a blanket and a few other things just in case I needed them. But we would be walking the whole way, could I really lift these while moving?

I sensed his movements behind me and I snapped upright, my bag in hand as I turned to face him. Those ice-blue eyes swept over me once, assessing, before pausing at the bag.

"I will take that, don’t worry," he said, taking the bag from my grasp, and unable to say a word, I simply let him take it.

To my shock, he also carried the larger one, hoisting them both by their straps onto his shoulders.

"Follow me. This is a more straightforward path towards where we’re heading."

Without another word, he started walking, the heavy bags covering a portion of his frame as I fell into step behind him.

We walked in silence through the sparse forest that surrounded the estate. At some point, there were more trees and even denser vegetation as the estate grounds gave way to a wilder terrain. The clear path we had been walking on transformed into a natural forest floor, soft earth covered with fallen leaves, twisted roots and underbrush that snagged at my clothing from time to time.

"Watch your step," he called out in front of me.

"Yes..."

I paid even more attention to where I walked. The paths we took were more jagged, the terrain even more stubborn, and protruding rocks were beginning to appear. I wasn’t sure when or how I noticed, but at some point, I realized I couldn’t hear his footsteps. I got distracted by his boots at times. Wolves were mostly deft on their bare feet, but for him to be this silent even while wearing foot covering was more disturbing than astonishing.

He moved lightly as if the load he carried barely weighed a thing.

Skilled predators moved like that.

Faint sunlight soon started to filter through the canopy above, creating makeshift patterns of golden flecks and shadows across the forest floor.

I momentarily got distracted by our surroundings. The trees were old. Thick masses of moss and other plants I had never seen before clung to their wide frames.

It was beautiful.

"A lot of young wolves are taken through these parts to familiarize themselves fully within nature," he suddenly broke the silence.

"Oh..." was all I could manage.

Along with a slow realization that I was getting tired. My legs burned and my arms ached from using nearby trees and branches as support while I walked. Sweat trickled down my spine despite the cool air.

I sensed movement, separate from Kael’s and I stiffened.

"It’s one of the patrol wolves." His voice reached out to me again, soothing.

I didn’t say anything, but I was sure he could hear my laboured breathing. He didn’t slow down either.

I was beginning to strongly believe that we had walked farther than the distance I had taken while trying to leave the inner district before.

I gritted my teeth and kept moving, taking energy from the sun... even though it constantly hid behind the clouds.

I was fine. I could still go on. I would not ask him to slow down.

’I can’t show any weakness.’

The ground sloped upward, requiring more effort to climb. And after another agonizing period of difficult steps, he finally stopped.

I nearly sighed with relief. We had reached a clearing.

A small river cut through one side, its water clear as it flowed over smooth stones. The sun appeared again from behind a set of clouds, basking the clearing in more light. I sighed and collapsed to the ground on all fours, panting.

"This is fine." Kael dropped the bags with practiced ease and looked around. "We will camp here."