Dried plants hung from the rough-hewn beams of the ceiling in bunches, making the space into a fragrant jungle.
“There’s something you must know,” Mother Alma whispered to her. “We do not have much time. And I do not yet know the nature of your bond to the prince.”
Willow looked down automatically at where the vines made a pattern from her ring finger up around her wrist.
“That’s lovely, dear, but you’ll forgive me my cynicism,” Mother Alma said. “The bond never lies, but he did not mean to be betrothed to you, if you see my point.”
“He thought I was Ashe,” Willow said softly, realizing that she wasn’t the woman he thought he had chosen.
She had the right role as princess to the Winter Court.
But perhaps he had long admired Ashe, and wished to make her his wife for other reasons.
Mother Alma leaned close.
“Before you go making any decisions,” she confided, “you should know that you already carry his child.”
Of all the news she’d learned today, here was one piece she fully understood.
Willow’s heart stuttered and threatened to stop altogether.
Then she was filled with a sudden sense of peaceful joy.
“Do you need a hand?” Heath asked, sticking his head in the doorway.
“Not at all,” Mother Alma said, pressing a warm loaf of freshly baked bread into Willow’s hands. “I merely wanted to welcome her to her birthright and wish you joy of your bond.”
Heath smiled, but it wasn’t the warm smile Willow was used to.
Her heart sank as she realized three necessary truths.
I love this man.
I’m having a baby with him.
And he didn’t claim me on purpose.
10
Heath
Heath wrapped Willow’s cloak around her shoulders and together, they headed out into the building snowstorm.
“We’re going to the castle, the seat of the Autumn Court,” he told her. “We have to send someone after Ashe immediately.”
She nodded, but somehow the glow was gone from her face, as if he had said something wrong.
“Willow, are you okay?” he asked.
It was strange to use her real name, but something about it felt good in his mouth.
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s just a lot to take in.”
“Do you feel ready for a long ride?” he asked. “I can take you back to the lodge instead, if it’s too much.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re right, we need to save her.”
He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head through the cloak.
She smiled, and he felt better instantly, even though it was a very small smile.
When he sank into his bear form, everything seemed to come back into focus.
His princess was here, safe with him. She was overwhelmed but this was as it should be.
There was something…fuller about her scent now. She had accepted him. Any little sadness was just that - a small thing for them to work through over time.
And though the real Ashe was not a Winter princess after all, she had been raised in Faerie and was kind and good. As an honorable man and a prince of the Autumn Court, he could not stand by knowing she was being tracked by a ruthless bounty hunter.
Willow climbed onto him, her weight satisfying and warm on his back. He lumbered off toward the Autumn Court, moving as quickly as he dared with such precious cargo.
Snow was falling much harder now, as if it were racing to the ground, moving faster than something so light had any right to do.
The ground was cold even to his tough paw pads.
He lifted his snout to the wind to see if he could detect the source of the magic that had sent this onslaught of white.
But the air was so cold and clean that it almost hurt his nose.
Surely, there was bad magic at work. The bear never smelled just one scent. There was always a tapestry of good and bad to be picked apart when seeking the truth.
But this snow was blunting his senses. He could not even identify what was different about his princess. Maybe just knowing the truth about her was causing him to view her in a new light. She must be even more overwhelmed to learn so much about herself so suddenly.
She had taken the news with extreme good grace, and a curiosity he found exhilarating.
He could not wait to show her the birthright she had been denied. Watching her embrace her magic would be a privilege.
Everything about their lives together would be a gift. He felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted, just knowing that she had been of sound mind when he claimed her.
She truly wasn’t Ashe.
Which also explained why his feelings for this woman were so much stronger than he had ever thought they could be.
And she cared for him as well. He could tell it from every sound she made as he pleasured her, from the way she responded to his bear without fear during their very first encounter.
Her hands suddenly tightened in his fur, her body crouching close over his neck. She was clinging to him as closely as she could, to keep from being battered by the raging storm.
A cyclone of snow pelted them so that he could barely see a few feet ahead of them. And with its fury whitewashing his sense of smell, he was barely able to pick up the trail.
The world was a blank, white canvass all around them, and the snow drifted nearly up to his belly.
They couldn’t travel to the Autumn Court this way.
They would be lucky to make it back to the lodge.
11
Willow
Willow clung to the bear, wondering how they could possibly make such a long journey in this weather.
The bear had his fur coat, but Willow had only a cloak. She wasn’t cold yet, but in this storm, it could only be a matter of time.
She sensed something looming ahead of them.
The bear lowered himself and she hopped off.
Though her hand was on his massive shoulder, she could hardly see the him. She felt it as he shifted into human form.
Then his arms were around her and he was carrying her into the lodge.
“I’m sorry, my love,” he murmured. “I don’t know what’s happening out there, but we can’t travel in it. I was afraid we might not even make it back here. I’ve never been anything close to lost in my own lands before.”
She clung to him tightly.
The idea that there was anything Heath couldn’t do was already shocking to her, and she had a feeling she had seen only a tiny fraction of his power.
“Don’t be afraid, my love,” he murmured.
She closed her eyes as he stepped across the threshold.
There were so many doubts racing around in her mind at that moment, vying for the top spot on her list of worries.
She was realizing she did not know herself and had never understood where she came from.
She did not know whether Heath was glad that she was his princess for political reasons, or personal reasons, or both. Or if he was pining for Ashe, even as he comforted Willow.
She did not know or understand her powers and a little voice in her head was asking her if the terrible storm might be all her fault, brought about by this sudden jealousy over a woman she’d only met for an instant.
And above every other thought, stood the news the midwife had given her.