Taming the Queen of Beasts
Chapter 200 - Fishing For The Past

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*****

AARYN

They'd slept in and laid around for almost an hour—something neither of them could remember doing for years. When hunger pushed them out of the furs, Aaryn tossed Elreth an apple and a strip of dried beef. "Why don't we go fishing for dinner?" he said. 

It was getting a little late, but he suspected that since the sun didn't hit the water here for another couple hours, they might still have some success.

Elreth bit into the apple, nodding. "Sounds perfect."

Now they'd been out there for over an hour, lazing on the rocks, their lines in the water. There were already three small fish gutted and hanging off a stick in the water, but Aaryn knew they'd need more.

Elreth lay on her back on the flat rock, one arm over her eyes, her hand with the fishing line stretched towards the water, but she hadn't spoken in several minutes. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep. 

Being out here with her kept reminding him of their days as adolescents, before either of them had real responsibility. Things like camping trips, late night bonfires with friends, walks in the forest because they didn't have anything else to do… This felt like that, only better.

He sat up carefully so he wouldn't make noise, in case she was asleep, and pulled in his line, checking the bait. He could see the fish under the surface. They were still feeding though they were slowing. He should be able to get a least a couple more before they stopped until evening. Perhaps a different bait would tempt them more?

He was hunched over the hook, weaving a worm onto it, when something warm and giggling landed on his back and a hand pulled his chin around.

Elreth wrapped herself around his back and kissed him from over his shoulder.

Forgetting the fish, he let the line drop and turned to press her back onto the boulder and silence her giggles with his kiss…

***** 

ELRETH

She'd been laying there, almost ready to doze, but watching him out from under her arm. 

For several minutes she'd wallowed in memories. Seeing him hunched over like that, no shirt on, frowning at his bait reminded her of one of the camping trips they'd gone on with friends when she was only sixteen. 

Two of their friends had joined the plan at the last minute and, unprepared, there hadn't been enough food to keep them going for the weekend. 

Aaryn's first concern had been for her. He muttered about what Reth would say if she came home tired and hungry. He'd found an old fishing line in his bag and scraped the hook to remove the rust, then he'd hunted for worms for over an hour so he could fish in the morning.

No one else had been too concerned. But Elreth had followed him that evening, as the sun went down, to the lake nearby. He hadn't known she was following—something she still did to him on occasion, just to hone her tracking skills—so she'd been able to watch him settle himself on the bank, work the bait onto the hook, then throw the line in.

When she'd finally joined him, he'd seemed pleased when she sat down, but neither of them spoke. 

They'd sat there while he caught a dozen fish, cleaned them, and prepared a sapling branch to carry them back.

"Thank you," she'd said as he gathered everything together in the near-dark.

He'd blinked, seeming surprised. "For what?"

"For doing this." She gestured at the fish. "I know it's for me."

He'd snorted. "It's actually more for your dad. He'll kill me if you don't get fed for two days."

She'd grinned, but deep in her gut, she'd known he was covering. 

He'd always taken care of her—and he always would. It was one of the reasons he was her best friend. She didn't trust anyone the way she trusted him.

She'd fallen in step with him and they'd returned to the camp where their friends sat around a fire, celebrating him as their Alpha hunter when they saw all the fish he unloaded.

Elreth blinked back to the present and found she was smiling. Aaryn was still curled over his bait, muttering something to himself about finicky fish.

At least he wasn't muttering about her father, she supposed. 

She watched as the muscles on his back flexed and moved under his skin with every tiny movement of his hands and arms, and her mouth went dry. She saw the way he frowned at the water, measuring his chances and making adjustments to what he was doing with the bait.

It was such a little thing, but he was so… capable. So strong. So intelligent. So willing to put his own needs aside to meet hers. He always had been. She'd taken it for granted for years.

She wouldn't do that again. 

She'd suddenly needed to be close to him. To let him know how much she appreciated him. How excited she was for their future.

But she also couldn't resist seeing how close she could get without him noticing. Focused was he was on his task, if she didn't make a noise, or let her shadow fall over him…

Less than a minute later she was crouched behind him on the rock, and he hadn't noticed her yet. 

She toyed with the idea of tackling him, but she was worried she might accidentally push the hook into his unsuspecting fingers. So instead, she just sighed and sat down directly behind him, wrapping herself around him from the back and pulling his chin around so she could kiss him from over his shoulder. 

She didn't expect him to drop the bait and turn, pressing her down into the rock, sighing her name. But she wasn't upset about it. Not one bit. 

Thank the Creator for her gorgeous, handsome, capable mate. Thank Him from the bottom of her heart.