Chapter 106

Lucas’s POV

Making sure Harper and her wolf are safe is my number one priority. Keeping her safe is the only thing Levi and I can think about, other than the steadily growing mate bond.

Just sense we left the car, something has changed. The bond was steady and buzzing, but now, it’s kicked up and hums between us with a lighter rhythm than before. Harper hasn’t commented on it, even though I know she feels the bond.

Again, as I help her avoid a branch, I wonder just how strong the bond feels to her. Without her wolf, is it dulled? I want to ask, but the last time I brought up our bond, it ended with tension and silence.

I’d rather not give either of us something to be distracted by in the Deadmoon Forest.

Not that I’m able to forget about it. The questions about our bond have been swirling like a cyclone in my mind, jumbling my thoughts and making it hard to concentrate when I need to. But with her here, I can focus.

When she’s away from me is when it becomes more difficult.

“How much further?” Harper asks while looking around. Her human eyes squint in the darkness, and I realize she’s been stumbling because it’s harder for her to see.

Shit.

“We’re nearly halfway,” I tell her, and a broken sound of protest fills the air. “It’s alright. If we just keep going, we’ll make it there in no time.”

A shuffling sound from ahead makes the pulse in her wrist spike beneath my hand. Slowly, I brush my thumb back and forth over her racing pulse, trying to ease her nerves. Not only have I felt the strange change in our bond, but I’ve also felt her anxiety all day.

From the moment we climbed into the car, she’s been nervous. The air is filled with the scent of her many emotions—stress, anxiety, curiosity, and hope. It’s a torturous cycle that was briefly interrupted by a sweet scent of longing earlier, but now, all I can smell is her nervousness.

Movement off to our right sends the bushes into a rustle, and Harper gasps. She bumps into me, grabs my arm, and stares into the darkness. I catch the scent of a small creature.

“It was a chipmunk,” I whisper, pulling her closer to my side. “Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she mutters, clutching my arm tighter. “You’re not the defenseless one here.”

“I told you that I’ll keep you safe.” I swipe my thumb over her wrist again, threading my fingers between hers to offer even a small amount of comfort.

“I-I know, but it’s difficult to see, and I don’t have any senses that tell me what’s out there,” she says softly, looking around. My men fan out in an arch ahead of us.

“Would you like me to describe everything I hear and sense?” I ask.

She nods. “That would be good, I think. It might make me less worried.”

Anything to ease her mind.

“There’s a deer about ten feet to our left, grazing. I can hear birds high in the trees. Squirrels too. There are a few other animals behind us, but nothing to worry about,” I tell her, pausing when a sound reaches my ears. I smirk. “The chipmunk we just heard has joined another and is… busy with another—”

Harper slaps my chest, an airy laugh falling from her lips.

“I don’t need to know that, but thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

We continue walking until we come to a creek. The water rushes, covering the stones that were probably a path at one point. I stand on the bank with Harper as my men cross, and I move her to stand in front of me.

“Be careful,” Ronan calls. “There’s algae or something slick on the stones.”

“I want you to go across, and I’ll be right behind you. If you need me, just tell me.”

“Don’t let me fall, Lucas. If you do—”

“I won’t,” I swear, placing my hands on her waist. When she nods, I look across to Ronan. “Ronan, when she gets close to you, grab her. I don’t want her falling.”

“Of course, Alpha.”

Without thinking of possible consequences, I lean in and press a soft kiss to Harper’s neck. She sucks in a breath, her entire body going stiff for a moment before it relaxes again.

“Good, now go.” I nudge her forward, watching as she carefully steps onto the first stone. I stay right behind her while also keeping my eyes on Erie who jumps from one side to the other, her wolf agility easily conquering this obstacle.

“Not fair,” Harper mutters as she steps to the next stone. In her moment of distraction, her foot slides, and I grab Harper by the waist again, steadying her. A growl vibrates through my chest with my wolf’s warning, and she squeaks, “Sorry.”

The moment she’s within Ronan’s reach, he lifts her off the stones and pulls her to safety. Then, she’s looking for me. Harper reaches for me, like she wants to help me across, but by the time she does, I’m on the bank in front of her.

Her hand still finds my arm, clutching me like a lifeline, and I’d be stupid not to let her.

“Let’s keep going,” I announce, leading Harper and Erie toward the west. My men fan out around us again, doing their jobs well. Ronan even holds back a low hanging branch, preventing Harper from running into it.

“Look,” Harper says, pointing to some light ahead. “Are we close? Does she live near that light?”

“Not quite,” I tell her, adjusting her path to avoid a hole. “We’re going the right direction, but we’re still a few miles away from—”

A branch snapping echoes through the forest, and everything goes quiet. Harper freezes, her wolf crouching in front of her defensively and growling.

“Wh-what was that?” Harper whispers, her anxiety ramping up again.

The distant sound of heavy steps reaches my ears, and my wolf goes on high alert. My men hear it too, and they tighten the circle around me and Harper.

Another crack sounds, and birds fly out of the trees above. Fleeing.

“Something is coming this way,” I murmur, nudging her behind me. Whatever it is, it’s big and loud. Bigger than anything that should be in this forest naturally. I feel Harper’s hand grasp the back of my shirt, a slight tremble shaking the material.

“Harper, if I tell you to run, you run. Understood?” I growl, my wolf pushing at the surface as the thing approaches. It grows closer, the sounds of it’s steps getting louder.

Our mate is in danger.

From what, we don’t know, but we won’t let it harm her.

“What?” She croaks. Her fingers dig into my arm, yanking at me. “No. What about you? You don’t know what’s out there.”

The sickly sweet smell of her worry hits me like a brick to the head, and I find hope in it. She’s worried about me.

Worried. About. Me.

“I don’t know what it is,” I admit, “But I won’t let you get hurt, Harper. I’ll find you af—”

SNAP.

Every hair on my body stands on end as the sound comes from nearby. I can feel the vibrations of the approaching thing’s steps through the ground, and they’re getting faster. Coming right at us.

“Go now!” I order, pushing Harper in the opposite direction of the danger.

Then, I look at her wolf, “Protect her, protect yourself, and run west. You’ll find the witch’s cottage two miles in.”

The protesting cry from Harper as Erie hauls Harper onto her back sends a piercing ache through my chest, but I must ignore it.

She has to be safe.