KNIGHT

 

I was warm. From my head to my toes, I could feel the sweat on my skin from the warmth emanating from my body. Even my blood felt like it was boiling.

I gasped a deep breath and blinked my eyes open.

“Knight!”

I was still in a daze. I could barely make out the sound of the voice.

“Knight…”

My eyes kept blinking on their own. The ceiling of the tent kept looking back at me.

“Knight… Are you all right?”

My eyes closed. Another deep breath filled my lungs. When I opened my eyes again, he was staring back at me.

“Oliver…”

The light from the flames dancing next to me illuminated his face.

He appeared just as he always did. Fiery red hair. A handsome face with freckles on his cheeks. And his eyes. Shimmering green with such innocence in them.

“Oliver…”

I whispered his name again like calling out to a dream.

“How are you feeling?”

He reached a hand out and put it to my cheek. It felt so real. Real enough for me to realize that I wasn’t dreaming.

My eyes wide, I looked to the left and right of me. I laid on the floor of a small tent. My surroundings were barren except for a couple of bags of food and flasks of water. The fire right next to me burned hot.

“What is this?” I said. “Where am I?”

I looked down and saw the furs that were bundled on top of me.

“It’s okay,” Oliver said. “You’re safe.”

“W-what… How…”

I tried to remember what happened but my thoughts were scattered. It was like trying to recall a dream.

“It’s over,” Oliver said.

“What do you mean?”

“The fierce wolves retreated. You defeated the Alpha. They tried to kill you but your friends arrived. The bears… Dexter…”

“Dexter…”

“Do you… remember?”

I closed my eyes and sighed. The memories slowly returned to me.

“I remember,” I sighed. “Dexter carried me into the burrow and…”

“Baron had to sedate you to tend to your wounds.”

I looked at Oliver and saw the tender smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile in relief back at him.

“How long?” I asked.

“Three days.”

“Three days… The snow?”

“It’s thick outside. But you’re safe. Baron patched all of your wounds and stopped the bleeding. He said I only needed to keep you warm…”

“That explains all of this… I’m actually sweating quite a bit.”

“Oh… Sorry… I only wanted to make sure…”

Oliver sheepishly removed the fur blankets on top of me. I looked down and saw the scars covering my body. I put my fingers out and trailed them over the bandages.

“Baron said that it was close,” Oliver said. “If you were out there even a moment longer…”

“I remember now. The snow was red beneath my feet.”

“They were vicious. They were trying to kill you even though you’d won. If Dexter hadn’t come—”

I put a hand to Oliver’s cheek. I smiled at him, hoping to calm him.

“Don’t think about it,” I said. “I’m here with you now. That’s all that matters.”

“You are.”

Oliver leaned down and kissed me softly. Feeling his lips on mine was like floating into the air. Everything that had been weighing me down had suddenly vanished. It didn’t matter that we were stuck in a snowstorm. Oliver was safe and he was here with me.

“The others?”

“They’re fine. Huddled in their tents at the moment. The middle of the snowstorm has come.”

“Anita? What happened to her?”

“She took a hit but Baron did his magic. It was nothing serious. She’s a strong woman. You know that.”

I ran a hand over my face in relief and sat up straight. I looked around the tent at my surroundings.

The tent was small. A tiny hole at the top of it allowed the smoke rising from the fire to escape. The sound of the snowstorm outside was faint.

“It all happened so quickly,” I sighed. “The wolves came. They attacked. We retreated. I… I fought the lead Alpha. I don’t remember much after that.”

“You don’t need to remember. All you need to know is that everybody is safe. There’s nothing more to worry about.”

“The snow? How much longer will it last?”

“I don’t know. Just a few more days. Perhaps longer. But we always prepare for the worst. We can survive without having to forage for more than a month if necessary.”

I reached forward and put a hand on Oliver’s stomach. I caressed the softness of his belly, which was beginning to protrude. I couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” I said.

“Why? Would being stuck in this tent with me for a month be so bad?”

He gave me a sly smirk and I laughed. He was just as cute as he was handsome.

“It’s not that. You know I would spend forever with you. It’s just…”

I ran my hand over his stomach. I could’ve sworn I felt our child kicking inside of Oliver.

“…I want the world to see what we’ve done.”

I moved my hand toward the back of his head and massaged his scalp softly.

“You’re amazing, Oliver. You found me after the avalanche. You brought me back to your camp. And you fought off the fierce wolves.”

“It wasn’t just me,” he said, his head down as his cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

“You deserve as much credit as anybody else. I’m so proud to have mated with you. I’m proud that you are carrying my child.”

Just a quick glance at Oliver and you wouldn’t think much of him. He was handsome but somewhat meek-looking. After living in the city for so long, I’d had more than my fair share of intimidating encounters with imposing Alphas. But Oliver was just as strong-willed as any of them.

I couldn’t tell him how much I needed him. I couldn’t tell him how much it meant to be here with him. I couldn’t tell him how important he was to me.

“I’m proud to be carrying the child of a jaguar. I want the whole world to know, the same as you.”

“When the snow passes, they will. They will know of our bond from here all the way back to the city.”

I pulled him close to me and kissed him softly on the lips then whispered into his mouth.

“I love you…”

“I love you, too.”

The snow was raging outside. The fatigue of everything that happened returned to me.

I gently laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. Oliver curled up next to me and rested his head on my chest.

“If you need anything, tell me,” he said.

“I have everything I need right here.”