Please wait for me

"I will be safe," I nodded with a smile. "But I need you to promise to return to me…" To our kids. I wanted to add but didn't. Instead, I placed both hands on the sides of his face, and kissed him, pouring out the unsaid words, and making sure he knew just how much I felt.

He placed his head on my forehead, to regain his breath after the kiss, sending out a calming dose of his pheromones to soothe me. I closed my eyes, inhaling the sweet orange smell as I tried not to cry. It feels like I felt when I left Storm at Dark Moon.

"And no matter what you do, never agree to whatever my mother might wish to talk you into." He kissed my forehead, "I will return to you, Brys. Please wait for me."

***

I stood on the outskirts of the town with all the members of the royal family — I was shocked to see Theo in attendance — as we watched Storm enter the forest. The darkness loomed behind the tall trees, making the forest look ominous.