The Lycan King's Fate Calling novel Chapter 1066

Crystal's POV:

When the sex was over, Rufus embraced me and fell back asleep. I reached out and gently felt his forehead. It wasn't as hot as before. It looked like licking was quite helpful. How fortunate that we hadn't dissolved our bond as mates yet. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't just sever it without Rufus ' consent. And I knew that he would never agree to do so, especially not under the circumstances.

I helped him lie back and covered his body with his coat. I spent a few moments staring at his beautiful face, and before I knew it, I was kissing him. I poured all of my longing into that single kiss.

"I'm blessed to see you again, my love, after five long years," I murmured as I pressed my forehead against his and enjoyed the warmth between our bodies.

I knew that once Rufus woke up, everything would get back to its proper track. I would have to continue pretending that I didn't love him.

I sighed ruefully at the thought, and then sat up. My body felt sore all over, but I endured the discomfort as I put on my clothes. I needed to scavenge for whatever useful herbs that I might find.

A waterfall was raging just outside the cave, blanketing the immediate surroundings. I couldn't even see the top of the mountain through the mist. It was a good thing that Rufus and I had fallen into the water, or he could have died.

I followed the current, which led to a smooth path downstream. On the other side of the water was a dense forest. Without a moment's hesitation, I took off my shoes and swam across the stream.

The woods itself wasn't large, but it was abundant in various exotic plants. Some of them, I had never seen before. More importantly, I was able to find the herbs that I needed.

I picked a handful of them, and gathered a few fruits as well. On my way back, I stumbled across a patch of edible wild mushrooms. These would make an excellent soup.

I returned to the cave and set aside my bounty before looking for some stones, and then proceeded to mash the herbs into a paste. This was generously applied to Rufus' wounds. I didn't have any bandages with me, so I tore up a bit of my slip and used it to bind his injuries.

The next step would be to clean his body. I took the remaining strips of cloth and soaked them in the small lake just beside the cave. While there, I also caught a couple of fish. They would make a great addition to the soup.

I wiped Rufus' body down, feeling a little relieved at this small semblance of normalcy. But then I remembered the black thorns. After making sure that Rufus was still fast asleep, I hurriedly checked his back. The black thorns hadn't emerged, thank heavens.

I finally let out a long sigh of true relief.

It was soon shattered, however. Without warning, Rufus started shivering, cold sweat beading on his forehead. I took off whatever clothes I could spare and put them over him. I then lit up a fire, but it didn't seem to be of much use. Rufus' body kept growing cold.

I tried rubbing his arms and neck, but it didn't do much help, either. His temperature continued to fall. At this rate, his life would be in danger.

Left with no choice, I took off my remaining clothes and held Rufus, sharing my body heat with him.

Gradually, he stopped shaking, and I could feel his temperature slowly go up. I tightened my arms around him and kissed his face and lips. I hadn't held him like this in a long time, with neither reserve nor worry about anything in the outside world. The wind and snow continued to fall outside the cave, but I couldn't care less. All that mattered at that moment was the precious little joy between my arms.

I raised my hand and softly traced his eyebrows and nose. A bittersweet feeling swelled in my chest. "I have no idea what happened to you," I mumbled, "but I really wanted to be there for you. You were always so strong and powerful. How could you let those bastard vampires hurt you like this? What happened, Rufus? I... I really miss you so much. You're all I've been thinking about these past five years."