Wild Magic Three: The Shade of the Earth- a M/M fantasy shifter romance

10- The Wild Witch

SAMI—

The woman I had been spending much of my time with, when I wasn't by my mate's side, was called Mistress Silvia, and was called a wild witch. She was like a hedge witch, but for animals, she told me, and her work fascinated me. My mate's work was boring, and I began to explore the castle and meet all the many humans there. I avoided the cougar, because when his mate left somewhere else, just after all of the mage hunters were sent away, he was mean as a snake. He snapped at me if I came even anywhere near him, got mad when I tracked in mud, and hissed back at me when I got angry because he came too close to my mate.

My mate told me to leave the cougar alone, and not "tease him," so I followed his order. I hadn't been playing with the cougar, I'd only been curious about him and his big cat, but I avoided him as much as I could after that. My mate was the one who teased him, and I had to stick close when he did, 'cause I don't think my mate realized the anger in the cougar's eyes was very, very real and smelled an awful lot like rage.

My mate didn't care. He just scoffed and shrugged off my concern, but I stayed beside him whenever the cougar was around anyways. If he was rejected by his mate, it was no wonder he was upset, though I was unsure why he was still here if that was the case. If my mate rejected me and left, I'd follow him, no matter what. Because even if he didn't want to be my mate, he was mine to protect, through any future he chose to lead without me in it.

Mistress Silvia let me follow along with her as she went about the castle, then outside the castle walls. She went alone, which was brave of her, with all the dangers in the woods, so I stayed close to her side and protected her from what I knew lurked in the shadows of the trees.

Robert and the wolf's mate had tried to ask me to follow Silvia, but I didn't understand why they were asking me to do something I was already doing, so I ignored them and they eventually gave up.

Silvia seemed to tolerate, and maybe even enjoy my company a little, and she talked as she worked, teaching me things about the animals in the keep, the ones killed by the huntsmen outside the keep, and the ones she tracked to ensure their population didn't go down and they didn't migrate away and not return. She was one of the few humans who looked me in the eye, and she never seemed uncomfortable if I did something strictly not human. She only corrected me and moved on— told me to scoop the water in my hands to drink, rather than drinking straight from the bucket, to keep clothes hidden throughout the keep so if I shifted I wouldn't have to go naked, scolded me when I got too close to people to scent them. She never lingered on my behavior, and never got frustrated when I was slow to pick up on something.

She even began to teach me to read, which made me proud and want to learn quickly so I could make Robert proud of his mate— who could read, and wear clothes and never go naked, and eat and drink and talk like a proper human.

I learned herbs that were deadly to humans, but healed dogs of infection, of weeds they were deadly to barn cats but were good for inducing labor in pigs, and about the many breeds of felines, of which I was one and not even near the biggest, I learned to my irritation. I learned to stitch a wound on an animal, while avoiding their bites as they felt pain, and fear made them lash out. And I learned that a gentle hand and lots'a patience was the easiest and best method to training a fearful baby horse or an abused stallion.

I had been at my mate's side for many days, almost a full moon, and I was only just starting to find a place by his side. I didn't just follow him around anymore, but spent my time being useful to his people, and then I brought him food he could eat that I had hunted. He never really thanked me for any of it, but I thought he might be pleased. He smiled that strange smile, the same one he did when he took my candy, and I thought that meant he was happy with my gifts.