“Oh, you don’t, my Lord?” Justice mimicked in his best British accent that wasn’t all that good. He saw Wick shaking his head disbelievingly, his smile so bright and broad it challenged the stars.
“Shut up, you.”
Justice smirked at how hard Wick pronounced his Ts. “Come shut me up.”
“I’ll wait until you come out.”
“You’re my protector, what if something gets me in the water.”
Wick propped himself up on one elbow and sniffed the air. “You’re safe, my love. Nothing around for miles.”
Justice finished his swim and joined Wick in his comfortable position on a thick patch of fallen leaves from the tall oak tree, his body inclined on the slight slope while he lay gazing at the clear sky. “You want to shift back to your animal? I didn’t expect the temperature to drop this much. Feels about forty-five.”
“Is that normal for Nevada in late fall?” Wick turned in to Justice’s heat, soaking up his warmth instead of shifting, and he was glad to let him do it.
Justice yawned, wrapping Wick up tight. “I’m not sure. Remember, I don’t live here.”
“Mmm. Yes, I remember. Tell me all about Maine and the White Mountain Forest, again.” Wick snuggled up like he’d just asked Justice to tell him a bedtime story.
“I guess we have a little time before we have to head back.” Justice loved to talk about his home. Because he was Siberian, he and his pack preferred to live in cooler climates, and snow was a must for them. He couldn’t wait to see Wick’s gorgeous tiger in his element. As he thought of the scenic parks and towering snow-capped mountains, his voice drifted off and sleep claimed a few moments later.
“Ahhhh! Justice! Help me! The sun!”
Justice lurched awake so fast he didn’t know where he was or what he was doing there. They were still laying on the lake’s bank; the Nevada sun was up high over the water, and toasty on his back. Scrambling at the desperate sound of his mate’s cries, Justice used his body to cover Wick’s balled-up form as he hid from the dangerous rays.
“I’m gonna die!”
Justice couldn’t handle hearing that. He shifted to his wolf, desperate to protect his mate. He was trying to ensure every inch of Wick’s sensitive, pale skin was covered when he realized Wick’s body was barely warm. Sure, the sun was beaming down on them, but Wick wasn’t bursting into flames.
“Shh. Calm down. Wick, please, calm down before you make my wolf do something crazy like drag you into the lake. Please… easy… Easy,” Justice crooned as Wick’s body finally stopped trying to climb inside of him. His wolf whined. “Listen, baby. I have you fully covered, nothing can touch you.”
“Justice, get me out of here!”
Justice hissed at the feeling of Wick’s nails digging into his underbelly. “Wick, calm yourself.”
“I can’t think. I can’t… someone’s coming!”
It was his pack. His brothers were charging up the mountain, reacting instinctively and immediately at the feeling of Justice’s fear.
“We’re coming, Justice, hang on.”
It was Alek, and it was far too late to stop them, so he didn’t try, he had to focus on Wick. The terror and dread he was feeling manifested inside Justice and threatened to eliminate his rational thought. “I’ll never let anything happen to you. I don’t think the sun will—”
“What?! No.” Wick cut him off his fear ramping back up. “I can take dusk sun, for a couple minutes at most. I will burn in full sun, Beloved, please.”
Justice hadn’t feared death since he grieved for his mom. But right now, he was petrified of it and he knew he had to take back control. “Wick.” Justice pushed love and trust at his mate, hoping Wick could hear what he had to say. “Stick your hand out from under me and try.”
Justice lay there practically suffocating Wick’s trembling body, but he wouldn’t move until he felt safe. Justice thought for a second Wick wouldn’t trust him, but after a few more minutes, he could feel one of Wick’s hands untangle from the long hair on his belly and reach out from under him. “That’s it, baby. Trust your mate.”
He hadn’t felt such fear since he was a boy and he’d gotten lost on one of his numerous, father-forbidden adventures into the Forest of Dean. He’d been lost for days. Wandering helplessly at night and buried under the earth during the day. The Royal Court and his father had to initiate an emergency search and rescue. But as Justice flooded Wick’s mind with trust and confidence, he very slowly reached his hand out from underneath Justice’s heavy body. He slammed his eyes shut, half expecting his hand to explode… but… nothing happened. It was like his mate said… barely warm. Wick’s body temperature was typically about seventy-four, because of his age, sometimes lower. So when he woke and felt the sun on his face, his regularly cool skin was warm. Warm enough that it scared the hell out of him. Too scared to even think of shifting.