Chapter 104: Ride
"It’s so that we don’t have to tear through a set of clothes needlessly," Soren supplied. He calmly explained, "But that also means we’ll have to trouble you and Violet to hold onto our clothes for us."
With that said, I could hear and feel someone walking up behind me. His shadow loomed over me on the grass below, and I could smell Rowan’s minty scent quickly enveloping my surroundings. I gulped, swallowing my saliva as I clenched my hands.
In one quick motion, I spun around, pursing my lips tightly together. I didn’t want him to see that he had this sort of reaction on me. The entire time, I made sure to keep my eyes above his chest level. I had to strain my neck, considering our height differences.
When our eyes met, I could see a slight twinkle of amusement dancing in his golden irises. He handed the stack of folded clothes to me, and I refused to look down. He could’ve handed me a poisonous snake for all I cared.
"Try not to drop it," Rowan said.
I might’ve misheard, but he sounded like he was making a joke rather than giving me a command. I was tempted to chuck his clothes as far away as I could fling them, but then Rowan might take it as me wanting to see him naked, which could not be further from the truth.
Once he turned and walked a significant distance away, Rowan’s body began to shift. Fur sprouted from his back, and within a few seconds, his body broke and reshaped itself into that of an enormous black wolf. He waited a distance away, using his head to gesture to his back, signaling for me to get on.
A short distance away, Cassian had also already shifted. Violet stood right beside him, holding his bundle of clothing. She looked at Rowan, then at me, and she bit down on her lips jealously. However, she was cautious enough not to let her gaze linger for longer than normal before climbing onto Cassian’s back.
I placed my hand on Rowan’s back and was just about to climb on when Soren suddenly came forward. He held out his clothes, and likewise, I forced myself to look up. However, instead of meeting his eyes, I looked away and past his shoulders instead.
From my peripheral vision, I could see him laugh weakly in defeat.
"I’ll have to trouble you with this," he said. Instead of handing me his clothes directly, he had shoved them into a sling bag for me to wear across my body.
Due to my surprise, I hadn’t reacted in time. When Soren realized that I didn’t hold out my hands to receive his clothes, he simply smiled gently and placed the bag strap over my shoulder. I snapped out of it just as he adjusted the strap on me, and I turned right then to meet his eyes. The smile he wore held a bit of sadness in it, and I pursed my lips tightly together.
For some reason, guilt rushed through my chest. I banished it as quickly as it came, refusing to let it dwell for too long.
Soren didn’t say a word more. He turned and shifted into a magnificent black wolf. No matter how many times I looked at his wolf, I still thought he resembled Lucien the most. They may be quadruplets, but Soren and Lucien bore the most resemblance to each other than the other two brothers did to either of them.
I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut. There was no use dwelling on this right now.
When I reopened them, I quickly shoved Rowan’s clothes into Soren’s sling bag before climbing onto Rowan’s back. The memory of the rogues throwing me around in the air was still rather fresh, and I didn’t need Rowan attempting to recreate that stunt. He did witness it from afar, and I couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t resort to it if I used up all of his patience.
Once Rowan was sure that I was on, he must’ve given the others a signal. Several guards came forward from their original hiding spots in the shadows. They still remained a safe distance away, most likely creating a protective circle around us. However, I could spot them much more easily through the trees now.
I gulped, my tongue darting out to wet my bottom lip. It might not be as easy to escape them in the forest as I initially thought.
***
We had been travelling for what must have been an hour before my stomach started to growl. I wanted to ignore it since I was no stranger to hunger pangs, but to my surprise, Rowan stopped, and the entire party halted with him.
"Is something the matter?" Violet asked, her voice sounding concerned. "Is there an intruder?"
Rowan crouched down, gesturing for me to get off. I quickly obliged. My legs were starting to grow cramped after the time spent in the same position, and I was eager to stretch them. The moment I got off, Rowan shifted back. His bones snapped loudly, and within seconds, he had transformed back into his human form.
This time, I hadn’t expected him to shift so quickly and swiftly. My eyes widened as my cheeks turned into the shade of a ripe apple, and I hurriedly turned away.
"We’re stopping for a break," he said.
Completely ignoring the fact that I was trying to avoid looking at him, Rowan walked over and stopped right in front of me. He held out a hand.
It took me a brief second to realize he was asking for his clothes. I hurriedly dug through the bag for his clothing before shoving it into his hands. In the background, I could hear the sounds of Cassian and Soren shifting as well. When Soren came over, I gave him the entire bag, not even bothering to spend time looking for his clothes.
"Why?" Violet asked with a frown. "We’re not going to be able to make it back to Shadowclaw before nightfall if we keep stopping for breaks."
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