The woods feel colder than they did when we left the caves. A wind nips at my face and I can feel the moisture of oncoming snow. I shiver, pulling my coat tighter to me.
"It'll be almost a straight path East, if I'm correct." Lycer pokes at my hand as I turn my back to our temporary shelter. An encompassing feeling of gratitude warms my chest as I think of the kindness Leroy gave us.
"Right. And how do we know we're going in the right direction?" I find myself catching up with his stride, trying to ignore the ache in my legs. They're starting to heal, finally; I can feel it. He looks in my direction, giving a soft smile. His smiles used to be bigger.
"We'll follow the sun's path. Rises in the east, sets in the west. Might be a bit skewed but from my memory, your pack has a large chunk of land. We should hit it either way." I nod. I guess I never really thought of that. The sun is just another star and it will guide our way. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," I shrug, "I guess."
"Good enough to try to link your mate?" My heart stops and I come to a halt. Xavier. . . Lycer slowly spins on his heel, coming to face me. His brows furrow, taking in my frozen state.
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Then we try again later." I nod. Several times. Too many times. My breath catches in my throat. Lycer comes closer, grabbing my hands. "It's okay, Celestial. One way or the other, we're going to get back to him." I nod again, letting out a shaky breath.
I squeeze Lycer's hand. Taking a deep breath, I search inside of me for the tie to my mate. 'Xavier?'
The world spins oh so quietly.
'Xavier?' Tears prick my eyes as I hold my breath tightly in my chest.
'Celeste,' his voice hits me with a wave of relief. A tear falls. Lycer grabs my hand, catching my eye.
"Is he there?" I nod several times over, a breath bubbling over my lips in a sort of gasp.
'Baby, where did they take you? Quick, before I lose you again.' I can feel his panic as if it's my own. Take me?
'Xavier-'
'We found it. Malum's hideout.' My eyes widen.
'Xavier, get out of there.' Lycer squeezes my hand again. "He found the caves."
His eyes widen and it makes the bags under his eyes seem deeper. I haven't realized how tired he looks. . . Did he look this way in the caves? Is it less than then? "Tell him to leave."
"I did," I say in an unnecessary defense. 'Xavier, Lycer and I-'
'Where are you?'
'We got out.'
He's quiet. Lycer raises an eyebrow as I scan his face as if it'll hold some answer.
Then.
'You got out?'
'I'm coming home, Xavier.'
'Home?' I don't think he meant to say it, especially not as a question.
'I'm coming back to you.'
'Celeste-'
'Lycer said two or three days.'
'I'm turning around now.'
"What did he say?" I let go of Lycer's hold, slapping his hand with a sush.
'Turning around?'
'We're on our way back to the pack now; in wolf form it's not too far. We're less than a day away from the caves.'
'We must have just missed each other.' I let out a laugh but it feels sad. Maybe even just a few hours and Xavier would've found me. Us. I look to Lycer. I wouldn't leave him behind, not then. Not now. Not ever again.
'Baby, I'm coming to find you. What direction are you coming from?"
"Lycer, we're to the west of the pack, yeah?" He nods. 'Lycer says west of the pack.'
Lycer gives a surprised blink and looks up. Following his line of sight, I see what he's looking at. Small flurries begin to softly don the ground and our shoulders. I hold my hand out and let a flake melt on my palm.
'Is it snowing where you're at?'
'Just beginning to.' My heart clenches. Under the same snow and yet he still feels so far away. 'Soon, baby. I'm going to find you.' I nod as if he can see it.
"Well?"
"He's still in the woods." My hand finds my mouth as I look upwards. "He's coming."
"That's good. Let's try to meet him halfway, okay? Malum likely still has experiments out looking for us." I nod.
'Xavier-' I want to tell him. How can I tell him? How does one tell their most favorite person in the world how they feel about them? How does one express love? It's probably something that should be said in person though, isn't it? I bite my lip.
'Celeste.' There's an airyness to his tone. Like a breath relief and an encompassing hug all in two syllables.
'I-' I settle. 'I can't wait to see you again.'
'Soon, Celeste. I'm coming to find you.'
The link cuts off. I tell myself he needs to focus. I tell myself that he's probably with a group of warriors and that he needs to give them orders. Jacob's probably there; he'll need to tell him as well and they'll have to decide how they're going to come get me. Us. I look to Lycer.
Xavier will let him be a part of the pack, right? Yeah, of course he will. He won't make me send my best friend back out to the woods. But. . . Will Lycer even want to be a part of the pack? He's been a rogue for most of his life. And before. . . Before Malum, he seemed so happy. He was content being a rogue, living his life in the tree tops. At least, that's how it always seemed to me.
"You okay, Celestial?"
I nod several times over. "Yeah. Yeah." A smile breaks out on my face. "We're going home, Lycer." A giggle bursts over my lips. I grab his arms. "Can you believe it?"
He gives a sheepish smile, the corner of his lips twitching downward. Gentle grabbing onto my arms, he nods. "Let's keep going, yeah?"