I remain true to my word. We ride all day and on into the night. I want to put as much distance between us and Valin as possible, considering the circumstances. It's probably overcautious, and if it was just me, I might not push so hard.

But my mate is with me, so I'm not taking any chances. Despite my insistence upon leaving her right after we met, I can't deny that I feel better with her near. But I'll have to deal with those emotions later. Especially since I still have no intention of telling her what we are to each other.

With luck, the only men who knew about what we did in the graveyard were the ones we killed. After some time has passed, the danger should be gone as well. We could probably even return to Valin safely. There's no reason to need too right now, though.

I have to admit that I'm impressed with her. She hasn't complained once, even though she's not dressed well for the road. Thankfully, being a wolf means that I run a little hotter than humans, so I'm able to keep her warm enough. I even stopped briefly to take my armor off so she could get more heat.

She's been sharing the food in her pack with me as well. It's certainly not the most unpleasant journey I've ever been on.

The waning moon is high in the sky when her head finally starts to loll against my shoulder. I lower my mouth to the soft shell of her ear and whisper, "Sleep, Rowan. You need it."

"What about you?" she murmurs.

"I'm fine," I promise. "Werewolves don't need as much sleep as humans. And I'm controlling the horse. There's nothing for you to do but sleep."

"Okay," she mumbles, unable to resist.

I assume her reluctance is because she's not quite sure if she can trust me yet. That's obviously my fault. I was trying to be unkind before, and I clearly succeeded. But she can't do anything without rest, and she knows it.

I shift her in my arms so she'll be more comfortable in the shadow, then continue pushing the horse as hard as I dare.

When we enter the Myremend, I slow to a canter. The canyon only has openings on either end, and plenty of places to hide. And many of those hiding places are big enough for a camp. We're far enough away now to be safe, I think, and the horse needs to rest. I do too, if I'm being honest. Even I can't go forever without stopping.

I can smell a few deer as I scan for a camp with good shelter that's close to the water. I might be able to catch us something to eat that's fresh. That would be nice. I'm sure Rowan would appreciate it too.

I note a particular bush that I remember conceals a path and tug the reins, leading the horse up it. The generous outcropping of rock is a good size, and impossible to see from the center of the canyon thanks to the trees growing along its edges.

I stop and exhale heavily. Rowan stirs against me. She sits up, blinking blearily, and I jump to the ground, then reach up to lift her down from the horse. I might be taking a liberty since I didn't ask this time, but I already miss her touch.

She doesn't complain. She sways on her feet a bit, then stands up straighter and shakes her head to clear it. "Where are we?" she asks.

"Inside the Myremend. We'll be hidden while we rest here, and I can scent anyone coming into the canyon so they don't find us."

"Do you think we're still in danger?"

I shake my head. "Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to be safe."

"If it's safe, why are you still with me?" she wonders bluntly. "You made it clear that you weren't interested in helping me before."

I laugh, surprising her. I don't mind that she's challenging me. In fact, I enjoy it. I rarely get to talk to anyone, and none of those conversations are anywhere near stimulating. "Well, since those men came after you because of me, I thought it prudent to assist," I admit, trying to seem casual about it.

She nods briskly. "Fine. How long are we staying together?"

"Well, I thought it would be nice not to abandon you in the middle of nowhere," I hedge.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do about her yet, beyond not telling her we're mates, so I'm hesitant to give her an exact answer. Especially since, like I already thought, I might find it impossible to walk away now that I've attached myself to her, even in a way that isn't romantic.

She narrows her eyes at me suspiciously. "I suppose," she agrees slowly.

I bite my tongue, waiting for her to call me on my vagueness. But she doesn't, at least not for now. Instead, she gets right down to business. "I still have some food left. It's not much, but we won't starve tonight."

"There are some deer nearby. I was going to get us one. If you like venison, that is," I offer.

"I do," she informs me, then glances at the horse. "You have a bow and arrow hidden in your saddlebags?"

I smile. "No. I hunt using... other tools."

She stares at me for a moment and then her eyes widen. "Oh! Of course. How silly of me. I'm sorry. I should have guessed."

"It's all right, Rowan," I assure her. "I'm not used to talking about it so openly, so it's strange for me too."

She blushes and quickly changes the subject. "I'll start a fire while you're gone. And I can break down the deer and make dinner. I know a spell that will dry whatever's left of the meat for later as well."

"You can dress a deer?"

The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it and she huffs in response. "I'm not useless," she retorts.

I hold my hands up in surrender. "I apologize," I say simply. "I'll just go get started."

I walk back to my horse and lift the saddlebags off of it, stroking its mane gently. "I'll take care of you when I get back, all right?" I soothe it.

Then I start to take off my clothes.

Rowan interrupts me. "Um, what are you doing?"

When I look up, she's gazing at me and biting her lower lip. I lick my own at the sight of it, full and pink. Her eyes are wide and she's blushing again, but this time her breathing is shallow and her heartbeat is faster too.

She finds me attractive. Well, that's nice.

I smirk at her. "Clothes don't transform with the werewolf, so I have to take them off."

"Oh," she squeaks, then takes a deep breath and steadies herself. "Actually, that's interesting. I've only ever read about werewolves, of course. I've never met one. I won't look."

She turns around and I bite my tongue again so I don't tell her she can look if she wants. She's intellectually curious, of course. But I also don't want her to think I'm making inappropriate overtures. I want her to feel safe with me, no matter what's going to happen in the future.

Before I transform, I tell her, "There's chamomile salve in a metal tin in my things. If your thighs hurt from riding, it should help."

I'd already noticed her standing with her legs a little further apart than they should be. She shifts on her feet and thanks me softly.

"I shouldn't be gone long. See you soon."

Then I change. I shake my fur out once I do, snuffling a bit. I make it a habit not to spend too much time in my wolf form so no one can catch me transforming. Even if someone sees me when I'm just a wolf, plenty of people kill wolves because they're dangerous or they simply don't know if they're a werewolf.

I put my nose to the ground, scent the nearest deer, then leap through the bushes to go after it.

When I come back, dragging the deer by its neck, I see that she's worked fast. There's a fire going with a spit over it. The rest of her food provisions are laid out on a cloth nearby. She still has cheese, dried fruit, and bread left. She's put my bags in a corner of the camp, and unsaddled my horse. It's got water and food and is resting comfortably. There's more water by the fire, and two full skins in another corner of the camp as well.

She's taken off her bodice and is only wearing her shift and overskirt. Her long, dark brown hair is loosely braided over one shoulder. Now I can see all of the curves that were pressed up against me while we were riding. In particular, the shift is a little tight across her absolutely magnificent breasts.

My desire surges, and so does my jealousy. My mate could tempt anyone with her beauty, and I want to be the only one who gets that pleasure. But it's best not to think of that right now. She still doesn't believe I'm even nice. I might want to start with that first, if I'm going to go there at all.

Her bodice is spread out over one of the nearby bushes. It's much easier to see how threadbare it is that way.

I gently lay down the deer and she looks at me and nods before turning her back once more. I pad over to my clothes before changing back and pulling them on.

"Thanks for setting everything up," I tell her, then gesture to her bodice. "You should conjure yourself some new clothes."

She laughs prettily. "That's not how magic works. Not that I'd expect you to know that. Most people don't. And I've read that werewolves can't practice magic. Is that true?"

"It's true. How does magic work, then? I'm curious. I've met mages before, but not any that would have been willing to explain it if I'd asked, I don't think."

"Well, you can't conjure something out of thin air," she begins. "You have to have the equivalent amount of materials. So if I had fabric and thread, I could magically stitch it together and make a gown in a much shorter time than it would take if I were to do it by hand. Or, if I had the raw materials to make fabric, I could do that and then turn it into a gown. But I can't just make a gown appear. And I can't repair this one without new material. Magic isn't a... well, if you can forgive a pun, it's not a magical solution to everything."

She sits in front of the deer, arranging it so she can start butchering it. It seems automatic for her. I sit down on the other side of the deer, prepared to help hold it if she needs me to. "I don't mind puns. And that's very interesting. Thank you for telling me."

She shrugs. "It's a common misconception that mages can do anything, especially now that they aren't really supposed to be around anymore. I'm happy to dispel it. I'll even give you a few demonstrations."

She finishes butchering the deer. As she does, I tilt my head to the side curiously. "Couldn't you have done that with magic?"

"I could have magically guided the knife, sure, but it would have taken more effort than just doing it myself. Magic doesn't necessarily make mundane tasks easier. It just makes them look more impressive."

She spits some of the meat and sets it to roast. Then she looks at the rest of the deer, and suddenly, the extra meat is dried and stacked in neat strips. Next, she glances down at some blood she got on her skirt while butchering and it disappears.

"Do you have your armor?"

I go to retrieve it. "How did you do that to the meat?"

"Well, how do you dry meat?" she counters.

"Air and heat."

"Which are all around us. I used what was already there. The magic was just an accelerant."

"And the blood? I thought you couldn't make things disappear into thin air."

"I said I couldn't make things appear out of thin air," she corrects me. "The opposite isn't difficult. I just deconstructed the components of the blood and lifted it away from the fabric."

I pause as she kneels and examines the hole in my armor where the dagger went through. "Could you do that to a person?"

"Theoretically, but the larger and more complex the substance, the harder it is to deconstruct. It'd be a lot easier to make their blood boil until they died or something."

"You can do that?"

"It would take a huge amount of energy. Not as much as the dissipation thing. But yes, I could do it. Again, theoretically. Me specifically? Likely not powerful enough. The idea of magic is only limited by creativity, but practically, there's more involved than that."

"You're smart and a little bit scary," I decide.

She smiles and blushes, clearly picking up on the admiration in my voice. "Thank you. And here."

The deer hide on the ground next to us turns into leather, and then my armor is whole again. I set it aside as she moves to the spit and turns it, then sits next to the fire so she can keep turning it as needed.

I join her. "Thank you again."

"You don't have to keep saying it," she offers.

I chuckle. "All right." I gaze into the flames for a moment, listening to them crackle, and then add, "Will you tell me why you're so determined to keep this book out of the wrong hands? Besides your own welfare, of course, considering what they'd have to do to take it from you."

She grimaces a little. "I could, but I'd kind of have to tell you my life story to make it make sense, and I'm not sure you're interested in hearing all of that."

"I'm listening," I reply evenly, trying to hide my excitement.

I want to know everything about her, but I can't exactly tell her that. Which means not acting uncharacteristically giddy.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

She turns the spit again and looks thoughtful. "Well, then I guess I'd better start at the beginning."