Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

GAHRYE

Gahrye sighed. Already impatient with laying there in the grass when they needed to get getting Elia to the Portal, but knowing Eve was helping his body heal, he made himself wait patiently. 

Then a tear from Kalle's pretty cheek splashed into his hair. He reached for her hand and she gave it and he kissed her knuckles. 

They sat together until finally Eve sat back on her heels and said, "Okay, I think that'll keep you. You should take those stitches out in three or four hours at the most."

Then both women helped him first sit up—feeling a little dizzy until he took a few breaths—the finally get to his feet.

As soon as he was certain he wouldn't fall, he pulled Kalle into his chest and they held each other. "That was so scary," she said into his chest.

He gripped her back and squeezed as much as he could without making his wound hurt too much. 

Eve quickly and efficiently picked up the papers and medicines she'd used, then stood, brushing her bloodied hands on her jeans. "Where's Shaw?" she asked him grimly, obviously realizing he'd be able to scent the body.

Gahrye nodded towards the thicket two rows back in the garden. "She took him in there. But I think she's still there with him. I haven't heard her move away."

Kalle's hands tightened carefully on his upper back. "Are you sure you still try—"

"Yes," he and Eve answered at the same time. He gave the older woman a grateful smile and she shrugged. "If I've learned anything in my years, it's that delay only makes the pain worse in the long run. Why don't I see if I can get close over there and see how Elia's doing while you two have a minute?"

Gahrye looked down at Kalle, whose fingers were digging into his upper back. He stroked her hair back from her temples with his fingers as Eve started down the path.

"This is… I can't believe this is it," she said, her full lips pushed out and her cheek glistening from her tears.

"It might not be. I still have to convince Elia to come through." 

Kalle's lips pressed to thin lines. "I think… I think we won't give up. I think we'll get there. She was following before. Now that she's fed she'll probably be less agitated."

Gahrye sighed, then dropped his forehead to Kalle's and buried his fingers in her hair, inhaling her scent deeply, trying to ignore the sharp, medicinal scents on his own skin. She laid her cheek on his chest and tried to swallow her tears.

"I'm going to take Elia through and figure out what's going on with Reth and the wolves. He needs to know what we just learned," Gahrye said quietly. "Then, just as soon as it's safe, I'm going to ask him to let me come back, even if it's only for a few days. He's just been separated from his Mate. I think… I think unless there's something going on that needs me he'll be… he'll think about it, anyway."

Kalle swallowed. "Even if he doesn't, I will still wait," she whispered.

Gahrye nodded. "Me too. You're mine, Kalle," he said, surprised by how vehemently the simple statement crossed his lips. "Stay away from that fucking asswipe at the library."

She snorted and it turned into a sob. "I will," she wailed. "Man, I've been such a baby tonight, I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "Your grief honors me," he said formally, then frowned. 

But Kalle nodded. "I want to honor you, Gahrye. I want the whole world to honor you for you who are."

They embraced and Gahrye knew his shaking wasn't simply the pain or the events of the night. He wasn't quite sure how he was ever going to let her go.

But as it turned out, it happened naturally when Eve appeared a few feet down the trail from behind some tall grasses with furry-topped stalks.

"Uh, Gahrye…?"

Gahrye looked up and Kalle turned to face her grandmother, coming out of his arms. 

"I think… I think you need to get moving. This is a mess that I can't completely hide," Eve said sadly. "We can wait a couple days to report him missing, but the staff would notice and… somebody's going to come across this. So I've got some work to do to make this believable as a feral dog attack. And just in case… just in case I think it's better for you to be out of here."

Gahrye nodded. "I'll just see if I can coax Elia out—"

"That won't be necessary," Eve said. When he frowned at her she nodded, her eyes fixed on the space behind him.

When Gahrye turned, the lioness was there, her head lower than her body, and that tail lashing. But she was watching them like she knew them. 

Gahrye blinked. "Elia? Can you… can you come out?"

He waited, but there was no sign of a shift, and then the lioness shook her head so hard her ears flapped.

Gahrye sighed. Beast form it was going to be, it looked like.

He just prayed going through the traverse that way didn't impact Elia's already fading ability to shift back. 

"Elia, will you… walk with me?" he said, and taking Kalle's hand, started down the path. He glanced back only long enough to see the lioness follow him, hesitant, and sticking close to the clusters of plants and trees, but she was moving, following him. 

Kalle's breath caught. With a squeeze of his hand, she trotted back, giving Elia a wide berth, to pick up their bags. She struggled under the weight, but Gahrye knew he was already going to have a lot of pain from the wound when he carried them, and he didn't want Elia to follow him in the wrong direction, or get confused. So he walked very slowly so Kalle had time to struggle under the weight of the two bags… just the way Gahrye suddenly felt himself struggling under the weight of their pending goodbye.

**** Privilege Warning & Mass Release ****

1. Don't forget: DO NOT buy expensive privilege tiers this late in the month, because privilege resets on 1 October (30 September for the USA) and you would have to pay again! Wait until the monthly reset and enjoy your privilege access for the full calendar month for a single charge! (And if you buy in October you'll be entered into the draw for a limited edition paperback of Volume 1!)

2. Your Golden Ticket support has earned an additional mass release chapter! But because I've been so touched by all your support--reading, commenting, gifts, and summoning pens--I'm going to release FOUR chapters on the last day of the month to say THANK YOU! (that's 30 September on NovelFull, 29 September in the USA.) 

Thank you again for everything you do to help me and Reth & Elia continue to thrive. You are a gift to me!