Cornel never doubted Hambu’s words, and when he saw firsthand how the princess was conjuring in a place where no one could conjure, it simply delighted and inspired him even more.

And only Urum was the youngest of all the men present. He was supposed to be twenty-nine this year, but he was also the most combat-savvy, because since he came of age, Marcel had been training him and taking him on missions with him, treating him like a younger brother. He had an analytical mindset and always assessed the situation and possible danger in advance, knew how to prioritize correctly.

But what distinguished him was his innately invincible inner greed for women. That’s probably why he was still lonely, because it’s hard to choose from such a large number of women with whom he slept.

And if the others went because they needed to fulfill their duty to the pack and to the Alpha, then Urum was captivated by the deep brown eyes of a dark-haired girl with a "dandelion" on her head.

She was harsh with him, saw him as a rare scum, but it was this that made him even more nervous, forcing his wolf to prove himself and subdue this wild tigress.

This is exactly how he saw Nicole in his eyes. Although from time to time his consciousness tried to convince him that she was their enemy, but his masculinity was stronger than the inner voice and desperately wanted this obstinate girl, much more than he wanted anyone before meeting her.

Before leaving, Thea asked to get a warm coat for Nicole from Adeline’s saddlebag and Urum was more than happy to prove himself.

Since Adeline was still absent, they didn’t have to ask permission to rummage through her things, where there were a lot of jars and dried herbs, as if she was not a witch, but a healer.

In one of the compartments of her large and roomy bag, he found a thin coat and examined it skeptically, as if it were some kind of dubious floor rag.

- I don’t think it will help to keep warm. – he said, still holding his coat in his hands.

- It’s better than nothing. Thank you. Thea replied, taking the thing from his hands.

She returned to Nicole, who had warmed up a little by the fire, but was still shivering like an aspen leaf and threw her coat over her shoulders.

- Can’t you be more friendly with them? -Thea squeezed her shoulders and grinned. - Although, if I recall, you were very categorical with me at the beginning of our acquaintance, too. Is it your nature to keep strangers away from you?

- You don’t know when you’re going to get stabbed in the back. Therefore, I don’t need friendly relations with my enemies. - She replied coldly.

- Nikki, but are they our enemies? Look for yourself, they saved us, sheltered us and even went to accompany us, not to mention that they are all ready to fight on our side. Do enemies do that? - Thea was ready to fight in desperation to open Nicole’s eyes. – What happened in the past, let it remain in the past, but now I don’t feel that they will harm us if we treat them as well. Maybe it’s time for us all to change?

- He looks at me all the time and it just pisses me off. - she said. – And this is not a friendly look at all.

- I think you’re exaggerating. He helped you get on the horse, lit a fire for you and got a coat for you too. - Thea reminded her.

- And I think you misunderstand. He threw me on a horse because I was delaying everyone, he lit a fire for everyone, not specifically for me, and he got a coat because you asked him.

Thea couldn’t stand it and exhaled noisily, lowering her shoulders. It was too difficult, it would be easier to teach a blind person to see than Nicole to notice anything beyond her nose.

When Klaus and Adeline returned, the other men had already watered and fed the horses.

All of Adeline’s clothes were terribly rumpled, and there was a notable hickey on her neck, which she immediately tried to hide, although this did not completely negate the fact that everyone present was aware of her entertainment.

Giggling nervously like a teenager, she walked past the men under the mourners’ eyes and, with the help of Klaus, climbed on their horse to set off again while it was light.

They were moving fast enough, but still time was not on their side and it felt like many hours had passed, and they were still in the same place.

The reason for this was the endless snowy plains and the infinitely identical landscape. It was beautiful, but tiring, because everyone began to feel tired and a desire to get warm, eat and go to bed as soon as possible.

Therefore, when Thea started nodding off right on the move, pulling the reins so that the horse changed its trajectory, Carrick made the responsible decision to look for a place to sleep.

By that time, they had already gone beyond the territory of the northern lands.

It was still cold here and there was snow, but it was already noticeably warmer.

If Thea’s memory did not change, judging by what she studied in the books in her father’s library, they were now on the border of the state of Astari.

It was a fairly tiny country, populated mostly by people, but these people were not isolated like the Adamanians.

There was a large commune of Manush, an ethnic group of Gypsies. And although they were human, they were often held accountable for black magic, so they were practically no different from witches.

To be more precise, witches began to use black magic after the connection with manush, so now it was difficult to find the original sources and the differences were only in the external source data.

Despite this knowledge, Thea didn’t know much else about manush.

As a stop, they chose a small forest plantation where they could stretch the canopies.

This time, Carrick volunteered to help the girls lay out their tents, as it was a job that required physical strength. He chopped up stakes and stuck them into the frozen ground, after which he began to pull the fabric of the tent, fixing it at the very ground, thereby creating a small house.

Fur capes were laid inside the tent, which served as both a mattress and a blanket. Three tents stood in a semicircle around a small place where there was a fire crackling with damp logs.

Klaus, Cornel and Urum assumed their wolf form and went to get food, and soon their dinner was replenished with a dozen hares, which were skinned and fried, exuding an amazing aroma, from which Nicole’s stomach rumbled and she swallowed loudly when she felt her mouth filled with saliva.

Having scattered thick logs around the fire, they sat down on them and Carrick began to pass skewers with fried meat around the circle.

- Here, take this, Princess. - Cornel handed Thea her portion along with a piece of bread toasted on the fire.

It was nice to feel a feeling of warmth in the stomach, spreading a pleasant bliss after each bite, not to mention the fact that they had not eaten anything since breakfast. But Carrick’s culinary skills were really amazing. How can a man cook so delicious?

Her thoughts immediately returned to Raphael, deepening more and more. She suddenly wondered if he could cook.

She had never had to eat his cooking... But most likely, if she asked, he would just conjure her food.

Surely it would have been.

She chuckled to herself.

- It’s been a hard road today, Princess, hasn’t it? - Carrick asked, and the corners of his eyes with a squint filled with small facial wrinkles.

- In fact, it’s not as hard as walking. – she crossed eyes with Adeline and only they knew what it was like to use only two of their own legs to walk for several days until they met Nicole.

- That’s right. We werewolves are more fortunate in this regard, having four paws. - He grinned and then bit into the rabbit, gnawing off a juicy piece of meat. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

- Yes, fuck, my whole body is numb and my ass has taken the shape of a saddle from these rides on horses. - Sean whined in his own manner with artfully chosen expressions.

- You’re just too gentle for that. - Urum taunted him and for the first time heard the girl sitting three people away from him burst out with suppressed laughter.

Nicole immediately corrected herself, as if nothing had happened and continued to eat her food in silence, without looking up.

- Maybe it’s you who are as callous as an old tree? - Sean mimicked him and threw a gnawed bone at him, which Urum easily dodged.

- God, you’re in your repertoire as always... - Carrick drawled slowly and wearily.

- But how the atmosphere perked up. – Adeline joined the conversation, who shone with happiness like a bright star. How much did she need for joy – food and Klaus are nearby.

- Just someone too stubborn to get his tongue out of his mouth. – Urum threw a caustic phrase at Nicole, not even expecting any reaction from her, but the exact opposite happened.