Read Tyler's Story (Tales of Quelondain) Online
Authors: Mireille Chester
Tags: #romance, #adventure, #fantasy, #magic, #young adult, #shapeshifters
“How are you feeling?” Heidi noticed he had already
put on the little bit of weight he’d lost since the last time she’d
seen him a week before. She looked at her boots to keep from
reaching over and brushing the bangs out of his eyes.
“Good. I was thinking we could head out tomorrow. If
the weather holds, we should be in Sageden before the snow flies
and we can get you home.” He pushed everything down and gave her
his best smile.
Her grin mirrored his. “Good.” She downed the rest of
her drink and left.
“Wow,” muttered John. “That wasn’t the least bit
awkward. The two of you are going to have a great trip in these
conditions.”
Tyler frowned. “You’re not coming?”
“No.” John poured another drink for the both of them.
“I’ve asked Trista to be my mate and she’s agreed.”
Tyler grinned. “That’s fantastic!”
John chuckled. “I agree.” He took a drink. “I’ve no
family left that I know of and Trista is very close to hers.
Staying here is the best option.”
Tyler watched as Trista walked into the pub. John lit
up at the sight of her and her smile beamed.
“Hello, Love.” He pushed the chair next to his out
with his foot.
“Hello, my sweet.” She leaned over and gave him a
soft kiss. “Tyler, how are you feeling?”
“Great. Thank you.”
She shook her head. “You had me worried for a while.
I’d never had anyone stay alive on magic for as long as you
did.”
Tyler smiled. “Well, in that case, thank you for not
giving up on me.” He finished his drink.
“Was Heidi alright? I ran into her about an hour ago.
She said she was trying to find you; that she needed to talk to
you.”
John looked pointedly at his friend. “I wonder what
she might want to talk to you about.” He raised an eyebrow in his
direction.
Tyler frowned. “It doesn’t matter, John.” He turned
to Trista. “She seemed fine. She just finished having a drink with
us.” He stood. “I’m going shopping for supplies. Meet us outside
tomorrow at daybreak if you want to see us off.”
John groaned. “Daybreak? Fine, but only because this
is the last time I’ll be getting up that early.”
Tyler grinned and went to find what they would need
for their trip. A window shop decorated with knives and daggers
caught his attention. He stopped to look and smiled at the slender
boot knife with a handle almost identical to the dagger he’d gotten
Heidi. Without thinking, he went in, purchased it and a leg sheath,
and walked back out. Once he’d bought all of the provisions they
would need for the first leg of their trip, he made his way back to
Trista’s house. He hated to admit that just moving around town had
drained him. The moons were starting to rise and he was ready for
bed.
He paused in front of Heidi’s door, took a deep
breath, and knocked.
“Come in!”
He walked in and closed the door quietly. She looked
up then went back to packing her bags.
“I, umm… Do you want me to wake you when it’s time to
leave?” He put his hand in his bag and felt the knife he’d just
bought.
“Sure, that would be good.” She paid extra attention
to the pair of pants she was folding.
“Heidi…”
She looked up and frowned at the look on his face. He
looked scared. “Yeah?” He clenched his jaw, forced a smile, and
shook his head slightly.
“Nothing. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
He’d been about to turn to leave when a sharp pain in
his head caused him to flinch and close his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Heidi stood still, her worry
obvious.
He shook his head and winced at the explosion it
caused behind his eyes. He put the heel of his hand against his
temples and tried to massage the pain away.
“Here, lay down.” She moved to his side and guided
him to her bed where she gently manoeuvred him so that he lay flat.
“Can I do anything?”
“No.” He frowned as he felt her raise his head
carefully and settled it back down on her lap. She softly moved his
hands and replaced them with her own, her fingers massaging in
small circles. He relaxed as the heat seeped into his head and the
pain lessened.
“When did they start?” she asked softly.
“About three hours after I woke up, I got the first
one. This is the fourth one.”
“Did you tell Trista?”
He nodded and gasped as the pain reoccurred. Heidi
brushed the bangs out of his face and continued to rub his
temples.
“She said it was from the falling on my head. She
tried to use the waves to help heal whatever’s wrong, but she
couldn’t.” He flinched as the pain intensified.
“Don’t move.”
Tyler grunted at the obvious. She gently moved her
fingers down so that she was massaging his neck, the back of his
head, and back up to his temples. She felt him relax on her legs
and she smiled at his sigh.
He reached up, took her hands in his, and brought
them to his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered softly. When it was
obvious he was about to sit up, she put a hand on his chest.
“Don’t.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to
fight, Tyler. I’ve been beside myself this week knowing you were
mad about what happened…”
“Heidi, I wasn’t mad. Is that why you were avoiding
me?”
“Yes, no, maybe…”
He looked up and backwards and gave her a lopsided
grin. “You sound confused.”
“I am.”
His smile softened. “Soon, you’ll be home, and all of
this confusion will be done with. You’ll go back to your life and
you’ll be happy.”
“And you?” She searched his deep brown eyes for the
answer.
Tyler forced his smile to stay on his face.
“And for me, well, it works out perfectly, yeah? The
sisters are gone, John is staying here with Trista, and you’ll be
gone home. My pack will be back to simply Bird and me and we can go
back to wandering.” He sat up and blinked a few times to make sure
the headache was truly gone. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Heidi watched him leave and lay on the bed.
Everything was working out perfectly. He was right, right?
Chapter Six
Tyler looked out of his window and checked his packs
one last time. He’d been unable to sleep and the hours had dragged
on as he’d waited for morning to break. Unable to sit still any
longer, he walked quietly to Heidi’s room. She’d managed to kick
her blankets off and lay on her stomach with her head in her arms,
her hands under her pillow. She was wearing his grey tunic. Her
legs were bare to mid-thigh. He made his way to the bed and sat
softly. Unable to help himself, he brushed the hair from her face.
Still asleep, she smiled at the touch and turned her face into it.
He closed his eyes.
He was doing the right thing, right? By the moons,
she didn’t belong here. Even if he told her how he felt, she’d
simply tell him she wanted to go home, right? He took a deep breath
and opened his eyes.
“Heidi.” He rubbed his hand along her arm. “Heidi,
wake up.”
She groaned and stretched, cracked open an eye and
closed it again. “It’s still dark out,” she mumbled into her
arms.
“It’s starting to get light.”
She took a deep breath and rolled onto her back.
“Tyler.”
“Hmm?”
“Trista was telling me about a sort of holiday that
goes on here. It’s to celebrate the success of their fishing year
round. She said it’s in a couple of days. I was thinking…” She
blushed.
“Do you want to stay until after it’s done?” His
heart was pounding in his chest.
“Would you mind? I’d like to see it. She made it
sound amazing.”
“That sounds fine.”
The two of them stared at each other for a moment.
Tyler blinked first. “Go back to sleep,” he said softly as he
stood.
He walked back to his room, dropped his packs on the
bed, and headed outside where he promptly shifted into his wolf. He
needed to run; he needed to breathe, to think… he needed to get
away. He ran along the edge of the cliff, letting the sea air fill
his lungs. He leaped over fallen logs and big rocks and didn’t slow
as he picked a narrow trail leading down the side of the cliff to a
white sandy beach. Once on the beach, he kept going, galloping as
fast as he could until he was sure his lungs would give out due to
lack of air. The beach ended and he picked another trail that led
back up the cliff side. He let himself collapse at the top,
shifting back so he could lay with his arms behind his head. He
gazed up into the sky, watching the stars fade as the sun started
to appear over the horizon.
What was he so upset about? Shouldn’t he be glad
Heidi had decided to stay a few more days? He growled low in his
throat. It didn’t make a difference; either way she was going to
leave. If she wasn’t planning to stay then he wanted her gone as
quickly as possible. By the moons, didn’t she see what she was
doing to him? He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was two
days. It would go by quickly and then he could concentrate on
traveling and getting her home. Just two days; how bad could it
be?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The breeze blew the bangs into his eyes. He tried to
relax. He was starting to wonder if Heidi had gotten his note when
the sound of someone coming up behind him drifted on the wind. He
smiled at the feel of her small hand touching his back.
“
It’s beautiful here.” Heidi took a deep breath of
the salt air.
Tyler nodded and pulled her around so that her back
was to his chest and he could rest his chin on her head. When she
didn’t object, he hung his arms loosely over her shoulders.
“
Heidi…”
“
Hmmm?” She glanced back at him and caught her
breath at the look in his dark eyes.
“
I…” He smiled and turned her head so she was
looking at the ocean once again. “Just look straight ahead until
I’m done.”
She nodded and put her hands on his arms.
“
I need to tell you something. I wasn’t planning
on saying anything, but the longer you’re here, the more I realize
that if I don’t tell you, I’ll hate myself and forever wonder if
things could have been different had I said something. I also
realize that you miss where you’re from and that you have a mate
there, but I’ve come to care for you, Heidi. A lot. By the moons,
I’m falling in love with you and I know this is only going to get
better the longer we’re together. You’re amazing, beautiful, brave,
smart.” He smiled. “You like to fish.”
She started to laugh despite the effort she was
putting in not to do so. “That’s a requirement, is it?”
He chuckled. “It is.” He turned her so he could watch
her reaction. He gazed into her grey green eyes. “I want you to
know that staying is an option.” He cupped her face lightly in his
hands, his heart threatening to pound out of his chest. “You don’t
have to answer right away, but if you decide to stay, I can
guarantee you’ll be making me a very happy man and I promise to
spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret your
choice.”
He bent slowly and paused a mere inch from her lips.
When she didn’t pull away, he closed the distance between them.
Their lips brushed together lightly. Heidi’s hands moved up his
back so that they tangled in his hair. Tyler groaned and parted her
lips with his tongue. All he could focus on was her taste on his
lips. His head spun. Heidi moaned and his heart jumped.
He made himself pull away. The urge to keep going, to
start exploring her was overwhelming. He had to stop now or he’d
never be able to.
His heart dropped at the feel of the cold blade
against his throat. The grass tickled the back of his neck. By the
moons he’d fallen asleep and been so involved in his dream he’d let
his guard down.
Heidi giggled and he relaxed and opened his eyes. She
pulled the dagger away and sat beside him.
“It must have been a good dream,” she commented and
grinned at him.
He felt the blood rise into his face. “What makes you
say that?” He sat up and rubbed his hands over his face.
“I’m not the best at sneaking up on people and I
could have killed you if I’d felt like it.”
“I wasn’t talking out loud, was I?” He glanced
sideways at her then back to the ocean to hide his
embarrassment.
“If I say yes, will you get any redder?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
She smiled. “No. You weren’t talking.”
Thank the moons for small miracles, he thought to
himself.
They watched the waves in silence. A large white bird
with black feet floated lazily on the air currents. It spotted
something it liked in the water and dove in after its prey before
reappearing with a small fish in its talons. It flew to its nest on
the edge of the cliff. Tyler glanced sideways at her and took in
the peaceful look on her face, her grey green eyes slightly
squinted as she looked at the view. She tucked a loose strand of
dark hair behind her ear. He took a deep breath. If he was dreaming
of asking her to stay, then maybe it was time he did.
“Heidi…”
“Hmm?” She cocked her head to the side and her smile
softened.
He grinned. “You just cocked your head like a
dog.”
The two of them laughed. “I suppose if you live in a
pack for over two months you start to act like everyone else. You
know, I will never look at my dog the same way again.” She looked
at him expectantly.
By the moons, what was he thinking? She had a life to
go to. Could he ask her to forget about everything she loved just
so he could have her?
“Tyler.”
“Hmm?”
“You were going to say something.” Heidi frowned as
his eyes returned to they’re slightly guarded state.
“Was I?”
She raised an eyebrow at him and he gave her a small
smile.
“It mustn’t have been important.” He pushed up off of
the ground and offered her a hand up. “I’m sure I’ll remember
later.”