Scarlet Rogue (Book One)

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Calm before the Storm

Kaelynn

The floral, fruity scent in the air wafts up my nostrils and I wonder if it's possible to get an apple high. I breath in the air deeply several times as though the air is my cocaine and perhaps it may as well be. My feet carry me deeper into the orchard and I let the scent engulf me.

"Kaelynn?"

Ayden's voice echoes in and within me I know his scent is the sweetest of all. I follow the sound out to the edge of the orchard where he is standing and stand beside him. We look ahead at the new construction site where our new pack home will be constructed.

"Do you see the little separate cottage to the left?" Ayden asks. "That's going to be ours."

My heart warms and my eyes focus in on the cottage. All those years of living in a castle, you'd think I'd hate it but a cottage is perfect and best of all, I get Ayden to myself. My hand slides into his and I rest my head against his shoulders. We continue watching the building site for a while, Mark stage centre and warriors following his commands, even Kurt. I wouldn't have believed that Kurt was capable of following commands until now when I've seen it with my own eyes.

"You know the apples won't be ripe for another few months, don't you?" Ayden says, turning us around to face the orchard.

"We have some in the kitchen?" I ask, wondering where the continuous apples are coming from.

"They are from the stores."

"Oh."

"Come here," Ayden says, pulling my hand along.

He points out the different varieties of apples we are growing; Braeburn, Bramley, Cox, Golden Delicious. I'll be honest, I don't have a clue what the differences are but they all sound scrumptious and I'm sure I could eat every last one of the harvests.

"The ones we planted last week are Tickled Pink apples. Mom got them for you."

At Imelda's mention, my insides hurl. We meet at dinner every night but ever since I used my Alpha command on her, I've felt too guilty to face her otherwise.

"Does she hate me?" I ask, hoping she is on her way to forgive me.

"What are you talking about?" Ayden raises his eyebrow.

"You know, the Alpha command."

Ayden wraps his arm around my shoulder, "Of course she doesn't. Have you thought that this whole time?"

"She doesn't?" I ask, not quite believing it.

"She's fond of you, if anything. When she's feeling up to it, we can bring her up to the orchards with us if you'd like?"

I nod, my shoulders slouching slightly and excitement filling me to share the orchards with more people. Ayden takes my hands and walks out towards the empty fields. The construction site and orchard soon becoming a faint sight. I cherish every second of the day as our battle plans enter the back of my mind, despite Ayden's reassurances, there's still a chance that this could be our last date. It is a date, isn't it?

The silence goes on for a long time but the air doesn't fill with awkwardness, it fills instead with the glow of dozens of fireflies, metaphorically of course. Fireflies in England would be a rare site, sure we have glow worms that lay across the floor but not fireflies.

"Do you want to go for a run?" Ayden asks.

His intentions are clear as day. We can't afford for any errors in my shifting when the time comes for the sake of the kingdom, and for the sake of our lives. I spot the largest tree in sight and rush over to remove my clothes before attempting to shift, using Ayden's method from the previous time. When I open my eyes, the high-resolution surroundings and the paws below me say everything I need to know.

Ayden runs across the empty fields with overgrown grass, his head barely visible above it. My paws edge forward and once they gain momentum, we catch up to him. The sun beats down on my fur and consumes every strand with its fierce, golden rays. The slight wind brushing through my fur every now and then giving me the much-needed relief from the heat. The bristly grass hitting my paws with every movement.

The moment feeling like the first opportunity for true freedom in a long time, how much I missed the elements against my skin or the exaggerated scents of nature cannot be put into words. All I know is that my wolf will never have to wait this long to be let out again.

I freeze for a second when I realise Ayden is nowhere in sight. My ears prick up hoping for the rustling of grass or the heavy panting that would be evident after our running. I don't get to listen for long as paws tackle me to the ground from the left, leaving slobber across my cheeks as the pink tongue of my mate licks me. Now if only I could freeze time and stop us at this moment forever. The perfect moment.

Once Errol has satisfactory left enough slobber all over me, we go back to our trees to change back into our clothes. When I turn from my tree, Ayden is sat behind the tree. He offers me a hand and pulls me down to him. His fingers interlock around mine and he places a kiss on my forehead. He feels the same as me, I can tell, that this could be our final date.

"It's going to be okay, you know," He says, his actions not holding up to the force of his voice.

"Baden will protect you, he's a smart guy," Ayden continues. "And you're a strong girl, I'm worried about our opponents if anything."

Ayden let's out a laugh, the nervous sort and I think it best to play along so I give him my best smile in return. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, the mere thought of the tunnels sending shivers up my spine but with a future with Ayden on the cards, you can bet that victory can only be snatched away from my corpse.