A Clan of Novaks
Page 36
Once I was done with my meal and he was done with his much larger one, we headed to the exit, where a large pack of wolves were waiting. I estimated over fifty in total. Surely not all of them were Northstones, though I guessed that they must have all been related to them in one way or another.
Many turned to eye me coldly as they noticed us approach. They had similar looks of suspicion in their eyes as Brucella. I guess they’re all wondering whether I have stolen Bastien’s virtue, too… If the poor guy ever fell in love with a wolf other than Rona, I wondered whether all of these wolves would go after her, along with Brucella. It certainly looked like it, from the way they were glaring at me.
I gripped Bastien’s arm, moving closer to him, as we all began to pile out of the mountain and assemble in the clearing outside.
It being daytime, all of the other wolves were stuck in their human forms. Although Bastien could’ve turned at will into his wolf form, to my surprise, he stayed human.
I climbed onto Bastien’s back as the wolves began bolting into the woods. Once he’d clamped his hands around my legs, checking that I was secure, he raced after them.
“So where exactly are we going first? Which tribe?” I asked Bastien, even as I struggled to breathe against his ear due to the speed he was running at. He had only just started and he was already outpacing all of them, even the werewolves who were taller than him.
“The Bonereaver tribe,” he said with a grimace.
“And do you know them personally?” I asked.
“Some of them,” he replied. “I can’t stand them. The only reason we’re heading there first is because Sergius has some relations with them. Otherwise, they would be the absolute last on my agenda… maybe not even on my agenda at all,” he added beneath his breath.
“Why do you dislike them so much?” I asked, as Bastien ducked down to avoid a low-hanging branch.
“Oh, come now, Bastien!” Brucella’s voice shrilled before he could reply. I cast a look back to see that she was trailing right behind us, not so subtly eavesdropping. “They’re not that bad.”
Bastien rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
“Just because you and Dane quibbled as children doesn’t mean you have to paint them all with the same brush.” She sped up in an attempt to run level with Bastien, but as she increased her pace, so did Bastien.
“It’s not just about Dane,” he muttered. “It’s their whole… vibe. I’ve never been able to see eye to eye with them.”
“You should get to know Dane’s older brother, Regnard,” Brucella persisted, as if she hadn’t heard what Bastien had just said. “I’m sure you would get on well with him.”
Bastien did not bother replying to this. Instead, he surged forward, making it even more impossible for her to catch up to us. Then, without warning, he thrust upward and we went shooting into the tree branches above.
“Bastien?” Brucella’s voice drifted up. “What are you doing?”
God. She behaves like his mother.
“Where are you going, Bastien?” It was Sergius this time.
“Just keep going,” Bastien called down over his shoulder, even as he swung higher with me. “I’ll be traveling alongside you still. Just from up here.”
“We don’t want you getting lost,” Brucella called.
“I know the way,” Bastien growled down, even as he took a giant leap and thrust from one tree to the next. The food in my stomach churned. I was glad that I had not eaten more than I had.
The wind trailed its cool fingers through my hair, leaves brushing against the back of my head, as Bastien swung gracefully amidst branches. As he gained momentum, his limbs were fluid, precise, breathtakingly powerful. It was hardly even bumpy anymore, just one long flow of movement as we flooded through the trees.
I pressed my cheek down hard against the back of his neck, listening to his soft breathing. I slanted a glance at his face. His eyes were alight, shining with adrenaline.
I could barely even hear the stampede of werewolves whizzing through the undergrowth below. Although I was sure I caught Brucella’s voice calling up to Bastien every now and then, it was distant enough to be mistaken for the cawing of a crow.
He scaled the trees higher, until finally we burst out through the canopy of leaves into a world of pure blue sky and dazzling sunshine. He paused for a moment, casting his gaze outward and admiring the view. I was certainly admiring it. An ocean of trees stretched out for miles around us, and bordering our right were more mountains.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly.
I tightened my hold around his neck. “Yes. I’m, uh, actually enjoying this a lot more than the last time you carried me.” A lot more. The night he had swept me up and away from the hunters’ compound had been utterly terrifying. I hadn’t known him then… not that I knew him now, of course. But I’d come to trust him enough in the past couple of days to feel safe in his grasp. To know that he would not let me fall. He was a master of these trees.
My answer seemed to please Bastien. Invigorate him, even. I could practically feel his body pulsing with electricity as he leapt to the next treetop. He was on fire, his spirit wild and free.
I couldn’t help but feel that no matter how much time he spent as a human, he’d always be more beast than man.
Bastien
As I flew through the trees with Victoria, no speed was fast enough. With my aunt’s vexatious voice finally muffled, it felt like we were in a world of our own. A world in which the troubles beneath us did not exist. A world in which I was still happy.
Many turned to eye me coldly as they noticed us approach. They had similar looks of suspicion in their eyes as Brucella. I guess they’re all wondering whether I have stolen Bastien’s virtue, too… If the poor guy ever fell in love with a wolf other than Rona, I wondered whether all of these wolves would go after her, along with Brucella. It certainly looked like it, from the way they were glaring at me.
I gripped Bastien’s arm, moving closer to him, as we all began to pile out of the mountain and assemble in the clearing outside.
It being daytime, all of the other wolves were stuck in their human forms. Although Bastien could’ve turned at will into his wolf form, to my surprise, he stayed human.
I climbed onto Bastien’s back as the wolves began bolting into the woods. Once he’d clamped his hands around my legs, checking that I was secure, he raced after them.
“So where exactly are we going first? Which tribe?” I asked Bastien, even as I struggled to breathe against his ear due to the speed he was running at. He had only just started and he was already outpacing all of them, even the werewolves who were taller than him.
“The Bonereaver tribe,” he said with a grimace.
“And do you know them personally?” I asked.
“Some of them,” he replied. “I can’t stand them. The only reason we’re heading there first is because Sergius has some relations with them. Otherwise, they would be the absolute last on my agenda… maybe not even on my agenda at all,” he added beneath his breath.
“Why do you dislike them so much?” I asked, as Bastien ducked down to avoid a low-hanging branch.
“Oh, come now, Bastien!” Brucella’s voice shrilled before he could reply. I cast a look back to see that she was trailing right behind us, not so subtly eavesdropping. “They’re not that bad.”
Bastien rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
“Just because you and Dane quibbled as children doesn’t mean you have to paint them all with the same brush.” She sped up in an attempt to run level with Bastien, but as she increased her pace, so did Bastien.
“It’s not just about Dane,” he muttered. “It’s their whole… vibe. I’ve never been able to see eye to eye with them.”
“You should get to know Dane’s older brother, Regnard,” Brucella persisted, as if she hadn’t heard what Bastien had just said. “I’m sure you would get on well with him.”
Bastien did not bother replying to this. Instead, he surged forward, making it even more impossible for her to catch up to us. Then, without warning, he thrust upward and we went shooting into the tree branches above.
“Bastien?” Brucella’s voice drifted up. “What are you doing?”
God. She behaves like his mother.
“Where are you going, Bastien?” It was Sergius this time.
“Just keep going,” Bastien called down over his shoulder, even as he swung higher with me. “I’ll be traveling alongside you still. Just from up here.”
“We don’t want you getting lost,” Brucella called.
“I know the way,” Bastien growled down, even as he took a giant leap and thrust from one tree to the next. The food in my stomach churned. I was glad that I had not eaten more than I had.
The wind trailed its cool fingers through my hair, leaves brushing against the back of my head, as Bastien swung gracefully amidst branches. As he gained momentum, his limbs were fluid, precise, breathtakingly powerful. It was hardly even bumpy anymore, just one long flow of movement as we flooded through the trees.
I pressed my cheek down hard against the back of his neck, listening to his soft breathing. I slanted a glance at his face. His eyes were alight, shining with adrenaline.
I could barely even hear the stampede of werewolves whizzing through the undergrowth below. Although I was sure I caught Brucella’s voice calling up to Bastien every now and then, it was distant enough to be mistaken for the cawing of a crow.
He scaled the trees higher, until finally we burst out through the canopy of leaves into a world of pure blue sky and dazzling sunshine. He paused for a moment, casting his gaze outward and admiring the view. I was certainly admiring it. An ocean of trees stretched out for miles around us, and bordering our right were more mountains.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly.
I tightened my hold around his neck. “Yes. I’m, uh, actually enjoying this a lot more than the last time you carried me.” A lot more. The night he had swept me up and away from the hunters’ compound had been utterly terrifying. I hadn’t known him then… not that I knew him now, of course. But I’d come to trust him enough in the past couple of days to feel safe in his grasp. To know that he would not let me fall. He was a master of these trees.
My answer seemed to please Bastien. Invigorate him, even. I could practically feel his body pulsing with electricity as he leapt to the next treetop. He was on fire, his spirit wild and free.
I couldn’t help but feel that no matter how much time he spent as a human, he’d always be more beast than man.
Bastien
As I flew through the trees with Victoria, no speed was fast enough. With my aunt’s vexatious voice finally muffled, it felt like we were in a world of our own. A world in which the troubles beneath us did not exist. A world in which I was still happy.
