Brotherhood

Chapter 9

He wondered whether she would come again. Geric spent much longer than usual waiting for Amy by the pond the next night and was about to give up and return to the inn when she emerged from the trees. A wave of relief washed over him followed by a wave of guilt. He knew that they were treading on dangerous ground, but a part of him didn't care about his own safety. But he did care about Amy's. What would happen to her if they got caught?

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered, stepping immediately into his arms as soon as he opened them to her. "Charles wouldn't leave, he stayed and played chess with my father well past midnight."

Geric frowned, pulling back to look at her. "Does he suspect that you're leaving the castle at night?"

"I don't think so," Amy said slowly, her brow puckering with worry. "I've been careful. Besides, he's so self centered that it would be a wonder if he noticed anything I did."

In spite of himself, Geric felt his lips twitch and curve into a small smile. He took her hand and led her toward the trees on the other side of the pond. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

Allowing him to lead her to an old tree stump concealed in the dense undergrowth of the forest, Amy gasped as she saw what he had brought. A lantern sat in the center of a spread of food and two goblets of wine that he had poured hours ago in hopes that she would come.

"I can't believe you did all this for me," she said softly and Geric heard rather than saw the smile in her voice. "Thank you."

Grinning, Geric took one of the apples he had placed to the side of the lantern and took a bite. "Don't thank me, thank Berta. She did all the cooking."

"Berta?" Amy asked, raising her eyebrows at Geric who chuckled. Was is his imagination or did he detect a note of jealousy in her voice?

"My landlady," he replied, giving her a wicked grin. "Don't worry, Princess. She's not my type."

Amy blushed furiously to the roots of her hair, making Geric's grin widen. "I didn't...I mean...I wasn't..."

A laugh rumbled out of Geric's chest and he sat down on the ground next to the stump and patted the dirt beside him. "Come on, Princess. I was just teasing you. Berta prepared a feast fit for a king, or at least a princess. Come join me."

Amy's cheeks were still warm with the last traces of her blush, but she sat down next to him and took one of the rolls he had brought. Picking the bread apart absently, Amy studied him thoughtfully in the lantern light. "Can I ask you again why you don't hate humans?"

Geric's smile faltered as he considered the answer to her question. "It's not something I like talking about," he said, taking another bite of his apple to give himself time to think. "I can understand the fear from both sides, there's a lot of bad blood between humans and wolves that should never have existed. Which is why the only person I think I've ever truly hated was Warrick."

Taking a sip of her wine, Amy looked at him over the rim of her goblet with raised eyebrows. "And why is that?"

"Because he destroyed everything that was important to me," Geric muttered grimly, fingering a piece of the chicken Berta had fried for him before setting it back down in disgust. "He destroyed my family, my home, and he was the one that turned me."

Amy sat in stunned silence for a long time as though unsure what to do or say. Geric looked down at his food, his appetite suddenly vanishing. He had been too late to save his family. Killing Warrick had been cold comfort when in the end it couldn't bring them back.

He felt something soft brush his forearm and jumped as he looked down to see Amy's wide eyes staring back at him, her fingers on his arm.

"I'm so sorry, Geric," she whispered. "I can't even imagine what that must be like."

Covering her fingers with his own, he gave them a brief squeeze. "It's alright, there's nothing you can do to change the past."

Amy nodded thoughtfully, her next words spoken more to herself than to him. "True, but it can help shape the future."

"Spoken like a true queen," Geric murmured, watching her face in the flickering light. It was clear to him that Amy would make a wonderful queen, and he didn't want to be the one who got in the way of that. Even though his heart had leapt at the prospect of running away with her, he knew that being another anonymous face in the crowd would never make her happy. She had been born to lead, whether she knew it or not.

"What are you thinking about?" Amy asked after a moment's hesitation. Geric paused for a moment, considering his answer before throwing caution to the wind.

"You," he said finally, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm always thinking of you."

Slowly, cautiously as she had the first night she had encountered him in his wolf form, Amy reached out to touch him, her fingers grazing the side of his jaw, tangling briefly in the ends of his hair before she let them drop again.

Some of the animal instinct inside him awakened at her touch and suddenly he found himself craving more. Gently cradling the back of her head in his hand, he lowered his mouth to hers, brushing their lips together gently at first and then more insistently. She tasted sweet and tart, like the apple he had just been eating and he felt her fingers tangling in his hair again as she kissed him back. Every inch of him came alive with their kiss and he allowed himself to forget who they both were. He wanted to be with her so badly it hurt.

"Geric," she whispered finally, and in her voice he detected a note of sorrow that brought him crashing back to earth. He drew back reluctantly, every fiber of his being wishing that he had agreed to run away with her yesterday when she had asked.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, unable to look her in the eye. He had let himself forget for a moment who she was. Who he was.

"I should go," Amy said finally, picking herself up off the ground. "Thank you for the food. Tell Berta she's a wonderful cook."

She seemed to be retreating into her well practiced and careful shell, and Geric wondered if he had lost her forever. Stupid idea, he realized. She had never been his to lose.

"I will," he replied, watching her disappear into the trees again. He didn't ask whether he would see her again, whether she would come the next night. Some things were better left a mystery.

Once she was gone, he did the only thing he could think to do. Transforming into his wolf form, he began to run.