Too Weak

"I— I am not used to this weather," she said trying to curl her hands in her sweater.

Suddenly Ileus broke the line and nudged his horse to race higher.

Anastasia watched him with shock. Although she was no good at horse riding, she knew that this was dangerous.

Kaizan laughed as if understanding her. "He is a good horseman. I think he is just going to see the path ahead."

She didn't reply. However, a few moments later they saw Ileus coming back down the steep slope and he was staring straight at Anastasia. No. Glaring. His golden eyes were like flames and his demeanor was that of fury and panic mixed together. His biceps were bulging and his jaw was clenched.

"What is wrong with him?" asked Anastasia.

Kaizan laughed. "Oh, ignore him. He is probably trying to figure out what to do next."

Once again Ileus passed them, staring harshly at Kaizan. It was as if Kaizan was a foe whom he was dying to have a confrontation with. His disposition showed danger. For a moment Anastasia thought that he looked cruel.

"How do you know him so well?" she asked. "Are you also a vokudlak? Are you all vokudlaks?"

"What is a vokudlak?" he asked with a frown.

"Those who can shift into werewolves."

"Oh!" Kaizan said with a start. "Is that what you call a werewolf?"

Someone behind grunted so loudly that it was hard not to notice. He said from behind, "The path we are about to take is a steep descent, and it is snowing!"

Kaizan turned to look at Ileus and said, "I know that vokudlak." Then he held the reins around Anastasia tightly. He answered her question. "No, only three of us are werewolves. And the rest—" he stopped.

"And the rest?" she goaded.

"The rest have limited abilities, you could say."

The snow was now pelting them. "I have known Ileus ever since I was born," he answered her next question.

"Oh, you too!" So they were all childhood friends. Her cheeks were cold and she began to shiver.

"Yes me too," he said with a smile lingering on his lips.

Once again Ileus urged his horse to move on. He was noticeably restless. He turned and came down the slope again, it looked increasingly perilous.

This time Kaizan stopped. He raised an eyebrow and Ileus came to stop next to him.

"What are you doing?" asked Kaizan as Anastasia glared at Ileus. The glare was returned with equal intensity.

Without peeling off his eyes from her, Ileus said, "Your horse is too weak for carrying two people up the steep ascent, and I don't want accidents. We have to reach Óraid as soon as possible."

At first Kaizan narrowed his eyes and gave him an are-you-dumb stare. Then his gaze went to his perfectly healthy stallion. However, when he noticed Ileus's serious demeanor, he coughed in his fist and remarked, "That might be… correct." He mentally apologized to his brown horse that was pretty sturdy and had been his companion for almost three years. His eyes went back to Ileus. After studying him for a moment, he said, "Anastasia, I think you should go back to Ileus and ride with him. My horse is really weak. Besides the descent is steep, so it may slip."

His statement sounded so ridiculous that Guarhal who was in their front, snorted while Aidan suppressed a laugh. They all had come to a standstill because of them.

"Oh!" Anastasia voiced her disagreement in that 'oh'. Her brows drew together but Ileus had a valid point. She was no judge of the horses' health and had to rely on these people. "I could ride with—" Before she could contemplate and speak further, Kaizan lifted Anastasia off the saddle like she had no weight and handed her to Ileus. He eased her in front of him, closed his arms around her possessively with a deep sigh, held the reins and urged his horse to move ahead.

Stunned, Anastasia found herself sitting in front, on his horse once again. She did marvel at the strength of the men around her, but that didn't mean that she could be 'manhandled' like this. "That was rude," she remarked.

"No, that was the safest thing to do," Ileus said nonchalantly, making his horse fall into the line and the caravan started moving again.

The man had visibly relaxed. Anastasia couldn't sit straight for long because of the steep ascent and sagged against his chest. He was so furious only moments ago but now he had loosened up.

"You are very cold, Anastasia," he said and shifted her closer to him. When he heard her teeth chattering, he removed his cloak and said, "Put it around you."

She wrapped it in front of her and covered her cheeks. In order to keep his hands warm, Ileus shifted and slipped his arms inside the cloak. Now his forearms hovered just beneath her breasts and her breath hitched.

"I hope you are not as cold now," he said as he tilted his head and whispered in her ears, his warm breath touching her sensitive earlobe. She felt them reddening again.

"It is very cold," she said looking at the tufts of snow falling around them. Her teeth hadn't stopped chattering. The experience was pretty new and she loved it.

"We will have to travel like this for a few days. It will become better," he said to comfort her.

She took in a deep breath. "I hope so," she murmured and ducked her face beneath the cloak. Two sweaters and the cloak shielded her front and her back was against his chest—they sure heated her until— Her body became stiff when she felt his hand moving against the lower swells of her breasts and then below on the sides of her belly.

"You must be hungry," he said.

"I am not," she replied, taking her face out of the cloak. Though she really was hungry, she didn't want to slow their pace. Her stomach growled loudly, shamelessly.