บท 9: Chapter 9: Close Quarters

Azandra POV

Up to her elbows in children and healing, Azandra Hemming Cresta tried to have patience for her sister-in-law and friend, Lilia. "Ravyn will be fine. She's with Jude, and other than any man in this family, I can't think of another shifter who eats, sleeps, and breathes duty like he does. AND she's a powerful witch who is no wilting flower herself. How many times has she schooled both of us for 'chattering like magpies' and not focusing? Hand me that jar of salve."

She wasn't going to tell Lilia what she sensed yet. Ravyn and Jude might be fated mates.

Typical men. Jude thought he could ignore the will of the Moon Goddess. He didn't want a fated mate or someone from the Evenhide Pack. Well, he shouldn't be surprised that the Moon Goddess decided to send someone who fit both descriptions!

But Lilia seemed beside herself at her mother facing a sandstorm and camping out all night. What would she say when she learned Ravyn could be Jude's Luna? Lilia loved her mother–but she'd gotten used to Ravyn being single after that horrible man left them both. Should she tell Lilia what she sensed? Or would that just sink Ravyn's romance?

Azandra thought all this as she slathered a strong-smelling salve on Patch's daughter Brandy, who'd stumbled into an ant's nest. Welts from ant bites dotted Brandy's creamy skin. Anneliese, Patch's mate, hovered anxiously.

"Brandy will be fine. She just needs to be more careful," Azandra said in a kind but firm voice.

Lilia smiled, putting on a good face for everyone. "Yes, of course she'll be more careful." She gazed into Brandy's eyes. "Won't you?"

"Yes," Brandy said in a solemn voice. "Hurts."

Lilia kissed the top of Brandy's head. "I know. But Azandra will make it better."

And once Brandy went off with Anneliese for a nap, Lilia confessed, "I don't know why I'm so nervous. This storm is nothing Mother can't handle–and she won't rest until she tracks down my father."

Azandra's green eyes squinted. "You didn't want to help. I'm surprised."

Lilia shrugged. "I am the Luna and I've got my hands full."

"Since when has Lilia Rolfe Cresta made excuses?"

"I am NOT–"

Azandra put an arm around her. "I wouldn't be in such a rush to find him either–especially since Dane has vowed to destroy him."

Lilia shuddered, her amethyst eyes foggy with doubt. "You raise a good point. Why did I just leave it to Mother?"

Azandra was quiet, holding her friend. "Maybe because you know that she'll never be at peace until she faces him herself."

Lilia grinned, trying for a bit of humor. "At least Jude is handsome and makes her smile."

If Lilia only knew how right she was!

* * * * *

Ravyn POV

"If you sit closer, we'll both be warmer," Jude said casually.

Ravyn normally didn't have a problem with touch or physical affection. Most witches didn't. But something made her stay where she was, warming her hands by the flickering fire in the shelter of the sand dune. "I'm alright."

Jude rested his hands on his knees. "It's cold out."

It was. The biting wind nipped at her cheeks, and she tasted sand in her mouth that she couldn't get rid of. If Jude kissed her, she'd forget about the sand.

"You're shivering." Jude's arm draped around her and he scooted over next to her.

Goddess Brigid, it did kindle warmth inside her, and she felt more comfort from him than she ever could from the small fire.

"Better?" he asked in a husky voice.

Ravyn leaned back, smelling the maleness of him, feeling the warmth of his arms through the witch robe she'd given him. He didn't struggle with it.

Ravyn laughed softly. "Dane fought with the witch robe we gave him to wear when he was healing–Lilia thought it was cute."

Jude snorted with laughter. "I believe it and I wish I'd been there. He never told me that part of the story."

"Well, you handle the robe better than he did."

He grinned. "How do I look in it?"

"Better than Dane. At least I think so."

He leaned in closer, those firm lips compelling her like a siren song. Lips parted, she moved to meet him halfway.

At the last moment, he leaned back. "D*mn Daxius." His eyes burned with golden flames. "How could he just desert you and Lilia for some tart? I'll never understand that."

"You're not alone in that." She let herself rest her head against his strong, warm, well-muscled shoulder. "I lost count of how many times I asked myself that question. Certainly, the man I fell in love with would never betray me and Lilia that way."

"How did you meet?"

She settled back in his arms, talking about another man while the sandstorm raged, and she felt strangely at peace.

* * * * *

Jude POV

To say Ravyn Rolfe was a delightful armful was a colossal understatement. She had sharper elbows and knees than Emer, but she fit in his embrace beautifully.

"We met when I first started as a young witch in training–he was training to be a wizard."

He raised his eyebrows. "A school romance?"

"Oh, no, not at first." Ravyn grinned. "I could say I was too absorbed in my studies–"

"That would be my guess."

"But Lilia doesn't know that I was busy burning the candle at both ends, studying until my eyes hurt and also discovering the joys of romance with quite a few young wizards."

"YOU?"

"Yes." A smile flickered across her face. "I grew up in a strict home, you see. The shop was everything. The family legacy was everything. Hundreds of years of tradition were at stake. No dating for me. Witch festivals were allowed, of course–"

"Because your family probably had a booth and you worked at it," Jude finished.

Her eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Growing up as a future Alpha isn't much different."

She laughed in sympathy. "And probably even more demanding."

He couldn't resist emphasizing his childhood challenges. "My father was one of the toughest, most well-respected Alphas of his generation, second only to Jericho Cresta. I was expected to do even better. There were lessons in sparring, classes on pack history, learning to be a hunter, shadowing my father and mother as they carried out their duties. Oh, I had my share of boyhood mischief–maybe more than I'm conveniently remembering right now."

She tapped her ear. "What?"

"I said–"

"The wind has picked up. I can't hear you."

Now he noticed it too, the deafening howl of the wind. "This tent looks inviting," he suggested, surprised at the seductive hint in his voice.

He hoped the wind would drown that out.

Ravyn didn't seem to notice, thank the Moon Goddess. She slipped inside the tent and held the flap open for him to enter. He crawled inside and found himself delightfully surrounded by Ravyn's feminine curves. He rotated his body so that he faced away from her, because he could already feel his manhood stirring.

He hadn't realized how much he missed having someone snuggled against him.

"Where were we?" He tried to sound calm and open, rather than aroused and hungry.

"Childhoods. Strict parents. When I went away to begin my witch studies, I went a little wild."

"YOU?"

He heard the smile in her voice. "Nothing horrible that would shock my family–or you. Or Lilia. But Edna Chalice and I made it a point to chat up the cutest wizards in school. Or the quiet and mysterious ones–that was my specialty. She liked the brainy, delicate-looking or average-looking boys that, in her words, she could lure away from their books. And then she ended up smitten with a wrestler and boxer who could out-study everyone."

He was fascinated. "And was Daxius–"

"I didn't even notice him until the gathering to celebrate our graduation." Ravyn smiled, lost in memory. "During the party, someone had the bright idea to let a firefox hound loose–"

His eyes widened. "Where did that person get his hands on one?"

"Well, it wasn't a REAL firefox hound, just an illusion, but we didn't know that, We all ran in panic … most of us."

He smirked. "Not you, and not your friend Edna, and I hope not Daxius."

She smiled. "HE was the one who created the illusion and no one ever knew–except that I figured it out. I never told Edna or the school or anyone else, not even to this day. No one knows. Certainly not Lilia."

Jude found himself respecting the man's daring if nothing else–and Ravyn keeping his secret. "For Fenrir's sake, why did he do such a thing?"

But looking at Ravyn, and hearing her stories about pursuing so many of Daxius' classmates, he had a good idea. Maybe the mate sense wasn't exclusive to shifters. Maybe witches and wizards had it too.

"He thought the party was dull and slow."

He listened to her heartbeat and the wind outside, and felt the warmth of her skin against him. "Or maybe he wanted to get your attention."

She stiffened. "Why do you say that?"

Risking arousal, he turned around to look her in the eyes. "Because I would have done the same thing. And I did do something equally reckless when I met Emer. I told Kyon and Dane, during the whole contest to win Azandra, that I was no stranger to being wild and crazy pursuing a mate."

Ravyn's amethyst eyes were huge with interest. "What did you do, if I may ask?"

"Ah ah. Did he want to get your attention? Am I right?"

Her lips trembled like petals. "I yelled at him for doing such an irresponsible thing … and then Hyacinth Paine happened to overhear our quarrel–not our words, but our tone. We'd never fought before."

"Mmmm." He wondered if her cheeks were as soft as they looked. "So, what did you do?"

Ravyn leaned in and lightly brushed her lips against his.

"Very effective," she said in a husky voice. "Especially since passion flared immediately. Hyacinth left us alone as fast as she could, but we barely noticed."

His lips tingled just from her caress, and he growled, "Beware, sweetheart. You keep touching me like that--"

She pulled back, but he was done waiting, and he captured her sweet lips with his, hearing her breathy little moan.

Then, suddenly, a face appeared at the door of the tent. In a smooth maneuver, Jude pulled her outside the tent and into the open at the feet of someone in a long charcoal robe.

A face loomed over them. A lean, wan face that might have been handsome once. The features reminded him so much of Lilia's.

Ravyn gasped. "DAXIUS?"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE," the wizard yelled.