The Alpha's Concubine (Historical Shifter Romance) by Claudia King

Author:Claudia King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical / Fantasy / Romance
Publisher: Claudia King
Published: 2015-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

—27—

Netya's Mentor

Netya awoke in her own tent the following morning. Caspian must have carried her back after she fell asleep curled up next to him. She stretched contentedly, squirming in her furs as she recalled their night together. Of the men she had been with over the past year, he was the first one to have elevated their lovemaking to something beyond what she understood of it so far. Were there peaks of intimacy that rose even higher than those Caspian had shared with her? If she found a mate some day, a person she truly loved, would they take her to further places still?

Netya rolled over, propping an arm beneath her cheek. Had she even experienced love yet? Was it the sense of duty she felt to Khelt, and the longing she had to make him open his heart to her? If he would only share that part of himself, and claim her as his mate properly, she might be able to love him.

But Caspian had been so honest with her since the moment they met. He saw her as she truly was, not a concubine or a girl from a rival tribe, but simply as Netya. It filled her with joy to picture the small symbol he had made that meant her name. Such a tiny gesture, but one that touched her heart more than any grand gift. Was the way she felt about Caspian love? And if it was, how would she ever allow it to grow? She was bound to Khelt, at least until she bore him an heir, and that was unlikely to happen for as long as she continued taking Adel's herbs. Perhaps once her dwindling supply ran out she should simply stop and allow nature to take its course, have Khelt's child, and then allow her heart to roam where it wished.

She sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She did not especially want to become a mother, she knew that now. There was too much she longed to do and experience in her life before raising children. She wanted to travel and see the North People, visit the distant mountains, attend one of the great gatherings of packs the Moon People spoke of. Most of all she desired a role she could call her own, whether it was as a hunter, seer, or something else.

How did it seem that love was a delicate thread lost within an impossible tangle of pathways spreading out before her? She could see glimpses of it, touch and tug at it, but following it would lead her into the wilderness, where all other paths collapsed and nothing was certain.

If Fern had been there Netya would have talked it over with her friend, but the other girl was absent from their tent that morning. Either she had been out all night as her wolf, or had found her way to the bed of one of their friends.

Netya got up and rekindled the fire with some borrowed embers from the central hearth, then made her way down to the river to bathe while it was still quiet.

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