The Lycan King's Fate Calling

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.

I couldn't even see the top of the mountain through the mist. It was a good thing that Rufus and I had

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

them, I had never seen before. More importantly, I was able to find

and gathered a few fruits as well. On my way back, I stumbled across

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

the remaining strips of cloth and soaked them in the small lake just beside the cave. While

the black thorns. After making sure that Rufus was still fast asleep, I hurriedly checked his back. The black thorns hadn't emerged,

finally let out a long sigh

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