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Morning came too quickly.

When Sarrassin opened her eyes, the sky was just starting to lighten. She spread a paw over the place where Rowan had slept and found it cold. He'd been gone for a while. A few hours of sleep hadn't dimmed the anxiousness she felt about the near future. How she'd let herself get torn between her family and their obligation to Jalal and this group of wolves, she'd never know. Her brother would call it naivety; letting her kind heart get in the way of logic and reason. Maybe it was. Maybe she just hadn't experienced enough of the world to understand conflicts like the one going on between Jalal and the north, or why she should hate men like Rowan simply for living somewhere else and differently than they do.

All Sarrassin could do was make decisions based on what she did know. Right now, she knew that Jalal made her hackles rise and treated her like an inanimate object made to be molded and influenced to his liking. She knew that he treated her father like an idiot, and that her brother disliked and was suspicious of him. She knew that he was an arrogant, ambitious man that fancied himself superior to the rest of them - even his 'equals', the other Kings that ruled on the Continent. Sarrassin knew that Rowan had a standing issue with Jalal and might already be at war with the man; that he'd spared her anyway, knowing hurting her would hurt Jalal, even if only his pride and reputation. Rowan was kind to her. Patient. He'd been more forthcoming and inclusive with her than any other person in her life up to this point, including her brother.

Still, Jalal's alliance was important to her family. It was important to her home and her people. With his resources, connections, and control over trade routes and alliances with other territories, he could cut Thilinael off on two sides, possibly three. It would devastate their economy and crush the working class in the villages. That pressure was enough to make her knees feel weak; knowing that it all depended on her successful marriage to Jalal and the security it would bring. Some fanciful corner of her mind thought perhaps she could just disappear. Let this group take her as far away from her home as possible, split from them with enough supplies to last until she could find somewhere to settle down, and then homestead for herself, leaving the political troubles of Thilinael behind. It sounded decent enough. Only, reason told her it wouldn't matter. Jalal would blame Rowan for her disappearance, and her family would believe him, and then half the Continent would wage war with the north and thousands would die because of her selfish decision. She couldn't do that to her family. Or to Rowan.

Fully understanding all the complications it brought, she liked him. Craved_him, even; his attention, his scent, his warmth, his voice. She wanted to talk to him _right now, in the midst of listing all the reasons why she shouldn't. Thought of the way his fur had stuck out this way and that after removing his armor, how she'd have liked to run her fingers through it, used her claws to gently separate and smooth it, the way he'd done with her hair. A weight settled low in her belly, and she squeezed her thighs together to negate the ache growing in the junction there, slowly driving her mad. Maybe she'd already gone mad. Miles from home, in the center of a dangerous political conflict, on the brink of war, and she was lusting after the man her fiancé wanted dead. Yes, she thought, definitely mad.

"You're awake."

She only just stopped herself from groaning. How was his voice that deep? "Yes," she groused, staring at the side of the tent, contemplating precisely how screwed she was, no matter what she decided. "Unfortunately."

"I know. If we could spare the time, I'd let you stay in here as long as you like." Not yet redressed in his chest armor, Rowan looked irritatingly refreshed. He knelt at her side and placed a cloth bundle on the mat. "Nabbed the last of the berries. You should eat before we hit the trail. Won't stop again until nightfall."

A small drop of water hit her snout. She took a closer look at him; at his fur that was, she realized, soaked through and dripping all over the tent. "Has it been raining?"

"I went for a swim in the river. We'll be doubling up on Argus again. Figured I'd do you a favor and wash off some of the grunge from the trail." His lips curled a little. "We were all pretty ripe."

Before she thought it through, Sarrassin said, "I thought you smelled nice." The moment it left her mouth, she regretted it. Felt him watching her with that familiar intensity, making her heart rattle in her ribcage and her breath lodge in her throat. "At least, it wasn't pressing enough to freeze yourself solid in the river." She cleared her throat. "That's what I meant, of course."

"Of course."

"Is everyone ready to go, then?" Glancing through the front of the tent, the fires were out and the mats were gone, all the packs of supplies and belongings that were spread out the night before put away, back on the horses, she assumed. "Am I holding them up?"

"No," he said around a huff of laughter. "No, nothing like that. We decided to split the party. Some of our scouts confirmed Jalal's men trailing us. Breaking into smaller groups will force them to do the same. That way if they do manage to catch up, it'll be more manageable."

Sarrassin sat up and they were nearly chest to chest. The water only served to make his scent denser. This close, she could see small flecks of amber in his mossy green eyes; the thin indentations along his chest and shoulders and face where scars disturbed the fur. She lifted a paw and traced an especially long one that began at his collar bone and ran along the right side of his chest, downward, to the hard plane of his stomach. His muscles shuddered under her touch, and she thought for the first time that he might be as affected by her as she was by him. She watched his nostrils flare and his eyes dilate, felt his shaky inhalation with her hand, still pressed to his stomach, and then the quick exhalation through his nose and across her face. Her skin prickled with anticipation and, against her customarily subtle nature, she slid her hand back up his stomach and over his chest, into the thick fur around his neck. He was so warm. Every male she'd ever met, every little kiss she'd stolen as a teenager; she'd never felt so utterly enthralled. So reckless. The rigid structure of her life was gone and now there was just this. Just him. It was intoxicating.

Rowan lifted a paw and closed it over her wrist and held it there; didn't move it away. "We should get going. I'd prefer to make Vesnea before Jalal's men get too close."

She nodded, watched him gather up her uneaten food with his free hand, and then he pulled her up with him as he stood and led her out of the tent.

.

Her mind, it seemed, had fallen into the mud, and it was content to stay there.

Their first joint ride had been rushed and painful. She was coming off an adrenaline dump like she'd never experienced and the speed of their party and awkwardness of her posture was all she could concentrate on. That was not the case today, as the fiery sun broke the horizon and began climbing over the treetops, coloring the forest in reds and oranges and yellows. Argus, Rowan's startlingly large mount, weaved slowly down a narrow path lined with thick underbrush. She could have kept this pace on foot alongside him. It gave her all the time in the world to focus on the intimate way her back was pressed into his front; his arm, curled around her middle, paw sprawled over her hip. The way his pelvis was cushioned against her rear. That one was hard to ignore.

"How far is it to Vesnea?" she asked, desperate to distract herself.

"Three days, give or take, by this path. We'll have to send Argus ahead once we reach the Caskana Mountain pass; it'll be too narrow for him."

Sarrassin tilted her head so that she could look up at him. "What if he gets lost, or Jalal's men find him?"

"Argus knows his way home. And he'll be able to move faster without us and all our junk weighing him down." Rowan patted the mount's neck and squeezed her hip reassuringly. "Don't worry about him. I wouldn't send him if I thought he couldn't handle it."

She believed that. Just as she believed he'd sent his people ahead and in different directions because he didn't want to be responsible for any of them getting hurt... because of her. Because of his decision to bring her along. Arrik, Rowan's second, had made his annoyance with that clear before they'd left camp. Not with his Alpha, per se, but with the trouble she'd caused simply by being with Jalal's caravan. He'd have left her, she realized. Was frustrated because Rowan didn't, and now the possibility of something happening to him was increased tenfold. Sarrassin couldn't fault him. He was a loyal man worried for his friend and leader.

"How long have you and Argus been riding together?"

Rowan smiled. "I was there when he was born. His mother was my first horse, gifted to me by my father. She was a hellion. Never let anyone near her except me and my father. Our stable hands hated her. Ornery, volatile thing that she was."

"She sounds like a handful." Sarrassin cringed at the idea of a horse as large as Argus with the temperament of a rabid bear. "I'm not sure I would have liked her much, either." She studied the fond look in his eye and the amused curl of his mouth. Narrowed her eyes. "But you did."

"Oh, I loved her. She was a little wild, yeah, but she was special. Fiery and powerful and smart. Wasn't afraid of anything. And, gods, when you let her open up, she was incredible. I don't know. There was just something... free about her. She liked who she liked and bowed to no one. I didn't tell her what to do, I asked, and she obeyed if she wanted. "

"Doesn't sound very dependable."

Rowan clicked his tongue and slanted his eyes downward, to her face. "But she was. I took care of her and she took care of me. That horse never let me down. Would've come between me and an army if she thought I couldn't do it myself. Got me out of a lot of scrapes." He sighed. "I miss that old devil."

"What happened to her?" She didn't expect him to answer. He'd been far more open with her than she could have expected, but he'd shut down most of the questions regarding his family and their fate. So thinking, she shook her head and returned her eyes to the road. "I'm sorry. I keep pushing into your personal affairs. You don't have to answer that."

He was silent for a beat, and then, "She wasn't exactly a spring chicken when we met. Was a little beaten down by the time my father got ahold of her; years of people trying to force her into submission and her never giving in. I think she found some relief in freedom, and it breathed a little life back into her. Gave me more time with her than even my father thought she had left." He lifted a shoulder. "We bred her once she calmed down enough. My father's way of making sure she wasn't an empty investment. Felt wrong at the time, but I got Argus here out of it, so in a way I'm glad." They were quiet for a moment as Argus dug his hooves in and carried them up a steep incline. Once it leveled out, Rowan said, "She was slowing down and I didn't feel right dragging her out into battle and over such long distances. Once I got Argus broken in and he was ready, I let her go."

Sarrassin whipped her head back to him. "Let her go? You mean you turned her out to pasture?"

"No." His lip curled in distaste. "No, she'd have hated that. Bumbling around in a field with a bunch of old, tired studs and mares. She was slow for my needs, but still had her wild streak. I gave her what she'd always wanted. To live her life outside of the fences and the saddles and the harnesses. No more orders. No more expectations. Just freedom."

"Well," Sarrassin drawled, amused. "Me and your hellion might have more in common than I thought."

She felt Rowan's head lower, felt his eyes warming the side of her face. He seemed to contemplate his words before finally saying, "I've never put much thought into what it's like to be royalty. We don't have a monarchy in Vesnea." His breath tickled her ear as he nudged her with his snout. "Tell me about it."

"About what?" Her whole body lit up under his scrutiny. "The King and Queen? Thilinael?"

Rowan snorted. "I don't care about their politics. Tell me about you. About your life. What was it like for Princess Sarrassin growing up?"

"Boring," she said immediately. Honestly.

"Boring? You're telling me you and your friends couldn't find anything to do in that big fancy castle?"

Sarrassin harumphed. "What friends?"

"C'mon. You didn't have friends? Other kids you played with, at least?"

"It was just me and my brother. Children from the village weren't allowed in the castle except for holidays and special events. And we weren't allowed in the village without a party of escorts. We had our lessons and our house staff, our parents when they weren't busy, but that was it." Sarrassin lifted a shoulder. "The townspeople were intimidated because of who we were and our family didn't trust the townspeople for the same reasons."

Rowan grunted and she glanced up at his face just as his brows furrowed. "That sounds... lonely."

A word to sum up her life. She swallowed thickly. "It is." Fiddling with the fur on his arm, Sarrassin considered that life, the one she'd left behind all those weeks ago. It was like walking out of a black and white picture into a world of watercolors; everything fresh and bright and new. "Well," she murmured, smiling to herself. "It was, I suppose." He was already looking at her when she peeked up at him. "Hasn't been all that lonely since being kidnapped."

He laughed that damned laugh; deep, from the gut, with his whole body. She smiled reflexively, giddy with the sound of it, and leaned a little farther into him. Rowan said, still shaking lightly with mirth, "Your previous company must've really been disappointing, if you're impressed with me."

"Hey," she barked around a laugh. "I happen to find you pretty amusing. Charming, even."

Rowan shook his head. "You've gotta get out more."

Before she could respond, intent on telling him that she'd been around plenty of pompous, self-important nobles, all of whom thought they were the gods' gift to society, and that not a single one had made her laugh and feel as light-headed with good-humor as he had in the two days she'd known him, something disturbed the brush to the right, and his attention snapped in that direction. His body went rigid around her, and she felt Argus vibrate readily against her legs.

Quietly, she asked, "Is it Jalal's men?"

"No." Rowan's eyes scanned the trees. "They wouldn't bother stalking us."

Her eyes widened. "There's something_stalking_ us?"

"Feral bear, probably." He relaxed and urged Argus along at their previous, meandering pace. "Moving into fall, they're desperate to eat enough to last the winter."

Sarrassin blinked at his cool expression. "And this doesn't concern you?"

"They're trying to fatten up. Hunting something that'll fight back is too much work, expends too much energy. They're lookin' for an easy meal."

"I take it you don't consider yourself an easy meal."

Rowan's face pinched in consideration. "I might be just enough trouble."

"Right."

She smiled and shook her head, and rode for the next undeterminable amount of time in comfortable silence, watching the world come to life as day broke in full and the forest finally woke, erupting in bird song and cricket cadence and the high and low mix of cicadas and frogs echoing around them. It was loud and chaotic in its own way, but also surprisingly soothing. It kept her mind off the hot body at her back, at least for a little while.

Rowan pulled his canteen from the side of Argus' saddle and twisted the top off, took a long, generous pull and wiped his mouth with the back of his paw. He offered it to her. "Thirsty?"

Sarrassin accepted and took a small sip, and then another. She could taste him on the rim of the canteen. Licked her lips and knew he was watching. Maybe even liked that he was. What was left of her rational mind struggled to comprehend this draw. She'd never felt so ludicrously attached to someone. It didn't seem to matter that she barely knew him, or that this type of attraction should've been reserved for her fiancé alone. When she thought of Jalal, it was cautionary. Dread. Knowing she had_to be with him, but no part of her that actually _wanted to. This thing with Rowan was easy, falling into place with no resistance, no doubt. Head tilted upward, her snout so close to his, she realized that she would very much like to kiss him. Began to consider it with far more seriousness than was appropriate. He noticed the shift, she thought, because his eyes left the road ahead to study her, instead.

"You alright?" he asked.

Sarrassin swallowed and couldn't stop her mind from wandering to what it would be like. It wouldn't be her first kiss, and she doubted it would be his. Would it be like the others? A moment of forceful mouthing that wet her lips but little else? No feeling and no heat. Empty, with nothing waiting on the other end. She felt his arm tighten a little around her middle, watched his brows furrow as she remained silent.

"Yeah," she finally answered, offered him his canteen. "Sorry. I'm finished."

He screwed the cap back on distractedly, still watching her, and replaced it on the side of the saddle. It was worse now that she had his attention; now that she could see his eyes dip down to her mouth, as if he were mirroring her thoughts. Was he imagining it? Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and his gaze followed, throat bobbing, and the arm around her hips flexed. She momentarily forgot about everything else. Argus swayed obediently down the path, oblivious to his rider's frayed interest, and the motion brought Rowan's mouth tantalizingly close to hers and then away again, over and over, until she couldn't focus on anything but that. It would be easy to lean just a little, less than an inch, and close the distance. Press her lips to his and let herself be lost to whatever happened after.

A shift to the right caught his attention, the moment broke, and the world rushed back in. Sarrassin followed his gaze. "The bear?"

"Maybe." He didn't appear satisfied with that theory. Rowan's body tensed once again, his senses stretching and seeking, and something was making him wary. His paw slid from her waist and to the side of the saddle, where both of their swords dangled and clinked tighter in their sheaths. "We've not discussed the possibility of something happening." He closed his fingers around the hilt of his blade. "If, for instance, someone or thing were to burst from the trees and attack, you'll take Argus and flee. Do you understand?"

She shifted her eyes back to him. "And you'll stay?"

"A bear isn't something I can't handle myself. As I said, though, it will go for what it perceives to be the lesser threat. Argus, you, and then me. That order. It's unlikely one would stick around to fight me to the death."

"And if it did?" Her face pulled into a deep frown. "Why not just run if one charges?"

He snorted. "Bears are big, but they're also fast. Outrunning one in this dense forest would be improbable. They run, they climb, they swim. Making a stand, showing them that you won't just roll over, is the best way to deter them. Loud noises and aggressive body language."

"Well, don't you think three of us would be more intimidating?" Sarrassin lifted her chin. "I'm rather loud, actually. I have a sword. Atop Argus, I look bigger than I am. Who knows? Maybe if we remain as we are and put on a good show, the bear will think we're some kind of three headed, inter-species beast."

Rowan laughed and seemed to relax a fraction. His paw left the hilt of his sword and he resumed leading Argus by the reins. His other arm slid back around her middle, and she laid her head back against his chest, looking up at him. "We'll try your way," he agreed, lips still tilted into a smile. "But if that doesn't work, you'll do as I say." He glanced down at her, expression sobering. "I'll have your word."

"You have it," she told him quietly, and the remnants of their earlier exchange came trickling back. His face softened and she felt his paw move from her hip to splay over her lower belly; an oddly intimate sensation. Sarrassin gripped his forearm in anticipation. She could still taste him faintly on her tongue and wanted more; wanted to drink him into her and drown.

This time when something drew his attention away, he pulled Argus to a halt and then turned them to face the way they'd come. She reached with her gaze, trying to find the damnable thing that kept interrupting her selfish and inappropriate attempts to complicate her situation more than it already was. Being stalked by a feral bear wasn't something she'd call pleasant. Rowan's indifference over it, his rationalization of it, had put her at east. They had a plan and that made things easier; made her feel prepared to do something, one way or the other. Stand their ground and if that doesn't work, run. Rowan seemed confident that if they couldn't take it together, he could deal with it himself.

And then something shifted.

Sarrassin could hear the rustling brush growing louder. She felt the change in the air and her hackles rose. She glanced up at Rowan's face. "Is this the part where we look tough and try to scare it off?"

His eyes were moving deftly over the area, not in one direction, but several. "I don't think so, Princess."

"But, I thought -"

A pair of small pine saplings bent and snapped as the brown bear finally made its appearance, ambling downhill and onto the path. Argus grunted beneath them. The grizzly was big, certainly. But she didn't think it was any reason to abandon their strategy. She was just about to say so as the bear pushed up to stand on two legs, lips flapping around a bone-rattling roar that put his especially long, yellowish fangs on display. Sarrassin felt Argus shift nervously, hooves prancing in the dirt, ready to run.

"Find something to hold onto and don't let go," Rowan said quietly.

Sarrassin swallowed. "I thought you said we couldn't outrun him?"

"The situation has changed."

On the cusp of this realization, Sarrassin's eyes widened as two more grizzlies emerged from their camouflaged hiding places, flanking the first. "I thought they were solitary creatures," she murmured, fear gripping her lungs.

"They are."

"So what is this, then?"

Rowan's paw gripped the reins tightly and tugged, guiding Argus backward. "An anomaly." They reared slightly as the horse whirled around and Rowan's thighs squeezed his sides once, twice, and then suddenly they shot forward, the bears bellowing in rage behind them. "Just our luck."

Everything around them was a blur, and the breaking pace was jarring her too hard to understand where they were going and whether the bears followed. One hand gripping Rowan's arm around her waist, the other holding tightly to his thigh, she felt off-balance and on the verge of being unseated every time Argus had to leap over a branch or take an incline at this speed.

In her ear, Rowan said, "Take the reins from me."

Sarrassin shook her head, panic breaking out across her skin like gooseflesh. "I can't. He's too big and I'm not used to -"

" - When I jump down, you'll have to take control. You can. I told you that Argus knows his way around and I meant that. Tell him to take you home and he'll know what to do. It won't be the Caskana pass, but you'll get there. All the supplies you'll need are in the saddle bags. No fires. Stay away from the road. You'll be fine." He bumped her head with his when she made to argue. "This isn't a negotiation, Princess. I'm truly sorry I got you into this, but you're in it now, nothing you can do about that. You're tougher than you think. Trust him and trust my word that you'll be safe in Vesnea. Alright?"

Tentatively, she nodded.

"Sarrassin, I want your word."

She was firmer this time, and said, "You have it."

"Get ready."

Paws shaking, she released her hold on him, grabbed the thick leather reins and immediately shifted her focus to learning Argus' language. Rowan gave him a lot of slack, so she did too.

They rode another twenty feet or so before Rowan unsheathed his sword, wrapped an arm around her chest to pull her back to him, planted a kiss on her cheek and said, "Don't stop and don't look back. I'll see you soon."

He was there, warm and solid, and then he was gone. She immediately went against his instruction and looked over her shoulder in time to see him hit the ground and roll, and all three bears crest the hill, running full tilt. The sounds of their meeting made her skin crawl and her stomach churn with dread. Could he manage all three of them? Maybe. Rowan, himself, was large for a wolf. Even a Dire Wolf. But rationality told her it was unlikely he'd get out in one piece. Sunlight streamed down in larger rays up ahead, indicating greater breaks in the trees and, just within sight, she saw a small clearing that ended abruptly at a cliff. She pushed Argus a little harder and, leaning forward, raising herself just off the saddle so that his movements weren't rattling her teeth, Sarrassin had a small, breathless moment in which she imagined this was what flying probably felt like.

They broke the tree line and speared across the open space to the edge, where Argus skidded to a stop, spraying clumps of dirt and grass. There was water below, but only after a sharp, nasty drop riddled with jagged rock and unstable earth. She turned Argus in a slow circle, considering their options. A collection of rock and mountainous earth jutted upward at uneven angles on the left, blocking them in, but opened up a hundred or so yards to the east. Sarrassin considered the rocky hill. It was impossibly steep, but she could spot several shelfs sticking out, thick and steady-looking, that could hold her. They would have to hold her. All three of those bears would be too heavy to manage their way up. The ground was riddled with loose gravel and dirt and there were hundreds of larger rocks teetering, waiting to fall. Maybe that was the answer, then. If they were dumb enough, if she was lucky enough, they would try to chase her upward, and it wouldn't take much to cause a rockslide, crushing them.

It was a sound enough plan. Because, and she'd decided this long before Rowan began barking orders, she was _not_leaving him to his fate out there to go wait around in the comforts of his home to find out if he was alive or dead. If that meant squaring off with a few bears, so be it.

.

She didn't have to backtrack far to find them.

Rowan had kept them moving; engaging, throwing a few blows, and then retreating again, forcing them to give chase. Sarrassin didn't have to be a tactician to understand that wearing them out was one of his better, and more likely, options. By the time she and Argus eased through the trees and positioned themselves so that she could see him clearly, one bear was dead, and Rowan was bleeding; a large patch of fur around his left shoulder was wet and matted down with it. There was enough cover and just enough space for Sarrassin to ease Argus around the fight, in a wide circle, back to face the way they'd come. Truthfully, it probably only took them two minutes, give or take. It felt like an eternity. The bears were tiring, yes, but so was Rowan. He was far more agile than they were and yet still had his own bulk and weight to take into consideration. That he was outnumbered meant double the expended energy. Triple, before the first bear fell.

As she came to a stop, facing the path that would take her back to the cliff and the formation of rock and gravel and dirt that she was currently betting her life on, Sarrassin considered the probability that her plan would fail. Half cocked as it was, she couldn't imagine that it would go exactly how she envisioned. Argus might not be fast enough. The bear might be faster than she'd anticipated. They could slip and fall. She - and this was most likely - might not be able to climb up that steep rock face to get to one of the shelves where she would be out of reach. The variables were stacked against her, as was her own rotten luck.

"Alright, Argus," she murmured, and the horse shifted under her. "I suppose if this is to be my last moment of lucidity, I'll admit that I've become quite fond of you." Patting his neck, she smiled at his grunt of approval. "Let's get on with it, then."

Sarrassin urged him with her legs, hard, and he broke into a gallop without hesitation. She pulled her sword from its sheath and went for the bear currently hanging back, puffing and pacing, looking for an opening to jump in with its friend that was trading swipes with Rowan, who was on the defense. Maybe it was too engrossed in the potential meal; maybe it really was just dumb. Either way, the bear only turned to see them in time to get her blade across its face, and to whip around as she and Argus raced by. It roared, enraged, but didn't follow. Sarrassin cursed under her breath and slowed, turned them around to face the bear. Its attention was already shifting back to Rowan. It didn't see them as a threat, she realized. Not a real one. Not like the one Rowan posed to them as long as he was up and moving. She'd hoped for a subtle engagement before the chase. It would be easier on Argus and was certainly less dangerous than charging it head on.

But subtlety wasn't going to work here.

This time when they charged, she made no bones about getting the bear's attention. Yelled, made ridiculous noises, swatted at it with her sword as she and Argus ran circles around it. At first, it treated them similarly to how Sarrassin treated a lone bee buzzing around her head in the summer; knowing it stung a bit, but that it couldn't do any real damage. She realized she would have to alter its perception of her if she was going to make any real headway. In the midst of considering this, though, the bear grew tired of waiting for its partner and charged in to join it, leaving her behind. Panicked, realizing that Rowan might be overpowered by them both at once, she urged Argus up and against its right hind leg and, releasing the reins momentarily, used both paws to drive her sword into its lower back. She felt it push past fur and skin and into the dense combination of fat and muscle, and was a little surprised, as she yanked it back, that she'd managed to get it in so far.

She now had the bear's unfettered interest, and it was pissed.

Rowan, who had been paying as much attention to her as the bear up to this point, realized this, as well. "Move," he shouted, and Argus followed his command without hesitation. That she'd already begun pulling his reins in the right direction was the only thing that kept him from darting off randomly.

The bear's paw and four inch-or-more long claws grazed her shirt as it swiped, and she felt it giving chase as Argus tore for the clearing, grunting and blowing air loudly through his nostrils. Unfortunately, the bear was fast. Argus only just managed to stay ahead once they broke the trees and, as they reached the base of the formation, Sarrassin slid from the saddle into an awkward stumble, slapped Argus rump and told him to, "run."

Sensing the bear closing in, the horse took off and Sarrassin scrambled up the incline, paws slipping on loose gravel and dirt, making it a dangerously slow ascent. The bear used its momentum and very nearly reached her before sliding back down, and then doing it again, and again. This might have been encouraging if she wasn't having exactly the same luck. She dug in her claws, front and back, and felt the earth giving beneath her. No purchase. The bear, despite its greater size and weight, was also much stronger. When it dug in four inches of claw and pulled, it made far greater headway. She felt every beat of its paws against the earth. Felt its breath as it snapped at her feet and ankles. The closest shelf wasn't close enough. Sarrassin kicked and flung the gravel, hoping to distract the bear by blinding it, but only succeeded in making it angrier and more desperate.

Muscles screaming, Sarrassin knew she wouldn't last much longer like this. Not with the bear breathing on her, inches away, and this whole rock face ready to give at any moment. She blinked in realization. Of course. She'd planned to be safely on the shelf before loosening the rocks and creating a slide but, at this point, she'd take being crushed over being eaten, and it seemed that one of the two were inevitable. With one hand, she pulled herself up as far as she could and, with the other, grabbed a loose rock and threw it at the collection just above her head. A few fell and scattered around her. She grabbed another and did it again. And again. Pulling herself as far upward as she could each time. Finally, she struck at just the right angle and the collection loosened and then released.

Sarrassin dug all four paws in and ducked her head as jagged rock and small boulders and gravel rained down on them. They struck her shoulders and arms and the top of her head, but she managed to hold on. The bear roared and she shifted so that she could look back just as it began swiping at the falling debris, losing its footing and tumbling back down to the bottom, where it was struck over and over, slowly being buried. When it all slowed and began to settle, Sarrassin breathed a sigh of relief. The bear was alive but dazed and obviously hurt as it tried to shove some of the larger boulders away. She dislodged her front paws, intent on reaching the shelf, but paused as a deep crack resounded through the formation. Another. Sarrassin glanced at the bear and saw that it, too, had heard the sound and was scrambling to free itself.

Something shifted beneath her and that thick, sturdy shelf she'd been vying for cracked and one half slid downward, into another collection of rock, and everything followed. Sarrassin saw it all coming and rolled to the side, but could do nothing about the downward momentum or the debris that came crashing around her. She slid until one of her feet caught and sent her flying forward into a roll, and then her body catapulted into an uncontrolled descent, hitting earth, then air, and back again until she finally landed hard on her side at the base, a few feet from the bear who was fighting its way out of the rock and getting pummeled at the same time. Destabilized, the formation crumbled in full, and all Sarrassin could do as it rushed downward was curl and cover her head.

.

Her luck was apparently not so rotten.

Sarrassin opened her eyes and blinked through the dust, slowly unfurling herself and assessing the damage. There were places that would certainly be bruised, but the only real pain was in her tail, trapped beneath a boulder. She tried to lift it once and sucked in a sharp breath, startled by the pain.

"Let me ask you," she heard a voice call, and the relief was all-consuming. "When I said don't stop, don't look back, did you get confused?" Rowan stepped into view from behind her, hovering above and studying her upside-down features as she craned her neck to see him. His expression was sour. "You gave me your word."

She exhaled slowly and was genuine when she said, "I'm sorry. But, in all fairness, you wouldn't have left me."

"That's not the point." Rowan moved around her and carefully lifted the rock trapping her. "Be still and let me see." He lifted her tail with one paw and gently prodded it with the other. She winced. "I don't think it's broken." Smoothing down the fur, he said, "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Rowan didn't let her answer as he shifted to kneel at her side, paws poking and grazing over everything from her head to her sore shoulders to her lower back. "You're lucky to be alive. What the hell were you thinking?"

Sarrassin marveled at her ability to transition from adrenaline and near-death experiences to lusting like some horny adolescent in the blink of an eye. He was pressed close, still subtly feeling around her back for injuries, and his scent and warmth consumed her. She pushed up onto her knees and her eyes caught on his shoulder. "You're bleeding." Four long, jagged gashes cut through his shoulder into his chest. The fur around them was dark and crusted with blood both dried and new. "We should clean these. Let me -"

" - It's fine." He caught her hand and waylaid it to his stomach, instead. "Answer my question."

Sarrassin swallowed. "I was thinking that you were risking your life to save me and that I wasn't going to be responsible for your death." She lifted a shoulder and raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "I was thinking that I didn't want to make the rest of this trip alone." Her paw squeezed his. "I was thinking I might miss you if you were gone."

She opened her mouth to say more, closed it. He noticed. "And?"

"I was thinking I didn't get a chance to -"

His free paw raised to her cheek, slid around to the base of her neck and closed, pulled her head forward as he leaned down until they were nearly nose to nose, breathing each other's air. Sarrassin's body ignited. She ran her claws through the fur of his chest, away from the wound, and felt him shudder.

"To what?" he asked.

"Can I show you?"

He snorted, pressed his lips to hers, and murmured, "Please."

Finally, finally, she would get her kiss.

.