The two-day ride to the swamps is a quiet one. Merrick is still in his beast form, and Ferris has been less than talkative since we left the bridge. Even come nightfall, MacKenna has very little to say as he stews over not being allowed to come with us.
Ferris guides his horse to a stop beside a small stream, climbs down, and offers me a hand. After we’ve both dismounted, we loosely tie the horses to a tree and then take a moment to stretch.
MacKenna’s wolf bows its head and drinks from the stream then turns and lies down.
Branches crunch behind me, Merrick’s beast remaining just out of sight.
“Are you certain this is a good idea?” Ferris questions. “With Merrick in that form—”
“It will be fine,” I assure him. “Merrick has taken on full armies, remember?”
“That was before he had you to protect, Beta,” he replies. “With your life threatened, even the beast takes pause.”
I recall that instant on the bridge when Merrick’s animal had halted its advance. He could have bounded across and killed that guard in the blink of an eye—though my life would have likely been lost.
Nerves churn in my belly, unwelcome venom that taints any hope I have. Am I a weakness now? A danger to Merrick? “We will be safe,” I assure him. “You need to be as well. Now that the king—”
“The king will not dare step foot in the Shadow Lands,” Ferris assures me. “And if he does, you’ll come home to his head on a spike, Beta. Of that, you have my word.”
I smile at him. “Thank you, Ferris.”
He drops his head in a nod. Then, he crosses to his horse and removes a small sack of bread and dried meat. After depositing it into Boots’ saddle bags, he pulls them off and offers them to me as well as a bedroll. “I am not thrilled about leaving you here,” he says.
MacKenna growls in agreement.
Stretching up on my tiptoes, I kiss Ferris’s cheek gently. Then I walk over and stroke the top of MacKenna’s head. “And that’s only one of the reasons I completely and utterly adore you both.”
Ferris beams at me, a wide smile that honestly looks more like his nephew than I think he realizes. The two of them, it’s a bond I envy.
“Ride safely, and we will see you soon enough.”
“I will return to this spot with the horses in three days,” he tells me. “You both had better be here waiting for me.”
I grin at him. “Don’t be late.”
With a hollow smile, he unties the horses, connects Boots’s reins to his saddle, and then clicks his tongue and urges the horses on. MacKenna hesitates just a moment.
“I promise I will be alright. You be safe.”
His eyes watch me carefully. After a moment, he turns and follows his uncle. As they fade from view, the pit in my stomach grows larger. What if we cannot find this witch? What if the barbarians catch up to us first?
A soft growl emanates from the trees moments before Merrick’s beast comes into view between two of them.
“I’m just a bit nervous,” I tell him, forcing a smile. “I’m going to make camp here, okay? It’ll be nightfall soon, and I’d rather start our journey early in the morning.” Grabbing my bedroll, I drop it near the trees before heading inside to try to find some wood for a fire.
All the while, Merrick’s beast walks beside me.
I’m slowly roused from sleep by a calloused hand sliding up and over my belly. Adrenaline surges and I panic, shoving at the warm body in front of me. Merrick’s deep grunt fills my ears, though, and the fear subsides, replaced with something else entirely.
In the shadow of our dying fire, I can barely make out his features, but the gold of his eyes shines brightly enough. “My love,” he greets as he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“It’s good to hear your voice,” I whisper back. “I missed it.”
His stubble scratches against my cheek as he rolls me onto my back and presses against me. A soft moan leaves my lips as heat floods the area between my legs. The throbbing is next, a desire to have him buried inside of me stronger than the chill hanging in the air.
“Bloody pants,” he growls as he grips them and yanks them down my body. I pull my legs out, and Merrick spreads them quickly, his massive hands going to the insides of my thighs. In one delicious thrust, he fills me. I arch back, crying out as he slides fully inside. “Yes,” I whisper.
“Does that feel good, wife?” he questions.
“Yes.” I reach up to touch his face, but he grabs my wrist and pins it above my head to the ground. Then, he pulls back and slams into me again. Harder this time.
I gasp, the friction sending pleasure shooting straight through me. My nipples chafe against the fabric of my shirt while the heat devours me. He pulls out and slams back into me again and again, and then—he pulls back and releases my wrist to flip me over. In the next moment, he thrusts into me from behind.
He fills me completely—almost to the point of pain—and fucks me with carnal passion. The same passion he has wakened in me.
Hands gripping my hips, he holds on tight as my release builds within me. My muscles tighten, nerves preparing to fire off, and then—“Yes!” I scream it far louder than I should have, but I cannot be bothered to care because, at that same moment, Merrick comes, his release filling me.
Slowly, he continues moving until my muscles give out and I fall forward. He withdraws and rolls me over, tucking me against his massive body.
“I’m sorry if I was rough,” he whispers in my ear.
“You weren’t,” I assure him. “And even if you were, I think I might like it a little rough with you.”
He chuckles. “I do not deserve you, my beta. Not in the least.” His lips press against the tender skin just below my ear. “I long to be home again when I can take you slowly. Drawing out every single moment of pleasure.” His stubble scratches deliciously against my throat, his massive hand splayed against my belly. “You have no idea what it did to me to see you with a blade against your perfect throat.”
I shift in his arms, turning so I can somewhat make out his expression. “You have to promise me you won’t hesitate next time.”
His brows draw together. “I will not allow anyone to harm you.”
“Your hesitation could have gotten you killed, Merrick. Your beast—he needs to understand that you have to survive. Your people depend on you.”
Merrick cups my cheek. “I will never sacrifice your life for anyone else’s,” he replies, tone deathly serious. “Not mine. Not theirs. No ones. Do you understand me?”
“I don’t want to live without you. Can you understand that?”
“I cannot live without you, Beta. You are my sun, my moon, my water, the very blood that moves through my veins. A life without you doesn’t just not make sense. It’s impossible.”
“Then it’s settled. We live and die together.”
He pulls me in and presses his lips to mine. “There will be no dying for you, Beta,” he whispers. “Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”
“The swamps are treacherous,” Merrick explains as we stand at the edge of the boundary. Ahead, slime clings to trees that are partially submerged in water. A path weaves through them, though it’s barely wide enough for Merrick to walk on. The air is thick straight ahead, muggy, a direct contrast to the fresh air at our backs.
However, it’s the stench that overwhelms me now. Like food that has been left to rot. “What is that smell?”
“Some say these lands are cursed,” he says as he grins. “In such a way that is far worse than the Shadow Lands and its alpha.”
“Had you told me that when I first arrived, I would have accused you of losing your mind. Now, though, It wouldn’t even surprise me if they were.”
“You need to be sure to keep your head in here, Beta. One wrong move and you could fall into a quicksand pit.”
“Quicksand?” I squeak. My head whips up to look at him so quickly that pain shoots through my neck at the jarring movement.
“Yes.”
I scan his expression for any sign that he is jesting me but find none. “Quicksand is real, then? Not just made up?”
“It is very real, and thanks to the softened ground, the swamps are covered in it. You only step where I step, understand?”
“And if you end up falling in?”
“You turn and run as fast as you can back the way we came.”
I gape at him. “You cannot honestly expect me to leave you to die.”
“That is precisely what I expect.”
“Merrick—”
“I agreed to come here with you, Kiya. Promise me you will do as I say.” His expression is so concerned, eyes so full of fear that I couldn’t tell the truth even if I wanted to.
So I lie. “Fine, should you fall in, I will abandon you and return home.”
He lets out a breath and then withdraws his sword. “You still have that blade I gave you?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Get it out. You might need it.”
I withdraw the dagger from my boot, straightening to scan our surroundings. Merrick watches straight ahead, though I’ve no doubt he’s also listening to anything that might be amiss around us.
On high alert, we cross the threshold and into the swamp.
“Watch for alligators and snakes,” he warns me. “Both can end your life faster than the barbarians can find us.”
I swallow hard then fall into step behind him.
The music of crickets surrounds us, a deep croaking from bullfrogs falling in tune occasionally. Hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as though no part of me will allow itself to feel even mildly relaxed in this place.
How anyone would call this home is beyond me. Though, I suppose that speaks quite accurately of the men Merrick described.
The farther in we get, the greater the stench around us grows. While I’ve never been in any of the marshy areas around the kingdom, I never heard mention of a stench, so I can only assume it’s this place in particular that smells this way. Likely the bodies of the Barbarians’ victims. Even as I think it, a chill runs up my spine.
Something moves in the murky water beside the path, and I jump. “It’s a frog,” Merrick tells me.
Heart hammering, I watch as a massive green frog jumps up onto a fallen log. It watches me with huge, bulging eyes, the whole creature larger than my palm. Hell, likely larger than Merrick’s palm.
“You alright?” Merrick stops and turns to look at me.
“Yes, just nervous.”
He doesn’t smile, doesn’t make a joke, simply nods and turns back to finish walking. This place is heavy with the overwhelming feeling of death. As though it clings to the very air around us.
Whether that’s simply my mind playing on my own fear or an actual occurrence, I can’t be sure. But one thing is certain: once we find this witch, I will never return to this place. In fact, I should discuss with Merrick about building a huge wall around our barrier so no one decides to venture in again.
My thoughts drift to Maynard’s fiancé and her brother. How devastating it must have been to fall prey to this place and the monsters residing within it.
I can only hope Merrick and I do not meet the same fate.