From The Ashes

Chapter Thirty-Eight

It was late into the evening by the time Valen and I had gotten everything set up in our little camp. Thankfully, Von would be bringing his own tent tomorrow so we didn't have to set one up for him.

I sat down on a nearby fallen log and stretched my sore limbs. Who knew carrying all this stuff into the forest would be so exhausting? 

On the plus side, we had a great viewpoint of the border line of Moonlight pack. We were up a little ways on a small hill covered by thick foliage.

We could watch from the ground or the trees and still be able to see everything for miles. What Valen didn't know, though, was that there was a secret meadow not far from here that I intended to take him to later tonight. 

After he'd erected our tent, I'd secretly changed into the lingerie I'd packed before he could see. I felt exposed in it, even though I was still covered in at least three layers of clothing.

Valen emerged from the tent and I jumped. He raised an eyebrow at me. 

"Something wrong?" 

"No, of course not. Just a little tired is all," I lied.

I didn't want to ruin the surprise. He looked like he didn't believe me, but he let it go anyway. 

"Alright then. What should we have for dinner?" 

We had packed a lot of packaged and freeze-dried food because we couldn't risk starting a fire this close to their territory. I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Sandwiches would be fine."

He grinned at me and began digging in our cooler to pull everything out. 

"Um, Valen?" I cringed at how high pitched my voice sounded. 

"Yeah?" he asked me without looking up. 

"I was actually thinking we could have a little picnic tonight."

He finally stopped his rummaging around and looked at me. I lowered my eyes to my hands and twirled my ring on my finger. 

"Snap out of it, or he'll know something is going on," Sienna scolded me. 

I dropped my hands and met his gaze once again. He looked curious, not suspicious. 

"Yeah, did you have somewhere in mind?" 

I nodded my head. "Just pack the stuff in a small bag and we can walk there. It's not far." 

He threw the sandwiches, some protein bars, and a couple of bottles of water into a backpack and slung it over his shoulders. I rose from the log and grabbed his hand to lead him to the destination I had in mind. 

We trekked through the forest for a while before we finally came to the clearing. It was a small meadow surrounded by trees on all sides.

The grass was long at the edges, but toward the middle it gave way to a beautiful field of light blue asters.

I smiled at the sight and pulled Valen along with me until we were in the middle of it. I was glad this place was secluded. I didn't need an audience tonight. 

We sat down on the soft grass and Valen pulled out our food. We ate in silence for a few moments before Valen finally spoke. 

"What's really going on in that head of yours? You've been quiet all night. Is something wrong?" 

There was genuine worry on his face and my heart swelled. I swallowed my bite of sandwich and took a swig of water before answering. 

"No, nothing is wrong. I've just been thinking.."