Free Claiming His Human Wife by Sue Lyndon

the bearskin bed, laying her gently down.
    “Shh,” he soothed, rubbing her back through her hiccups.
    Rhiannon felt Edwin’s hand move down to gently rub the tender flesh on her bottom and upper thighs. “Oh, Edwin,” she said, “I’m truly sorry.”
    He leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I know you are, lass.”
    She looked up into the blue eyes offset by his dark face. “Do you forgive me?” Her voice was a broken whimper and hot tears still flowed from her burning eyes.
    “Yes, Rhiannon,” he said, “I forgive you. I know I was hard on you, but if I hadn’t come home when I did…” Edwin left that sentence unfinished and embraced Rhiannon as if he never intended to let her go.
    “No,” she said. “I deserved that punishment. I deserved the switch.”
    Edwin brushed a strand of matted hair away from her tear streaked face. “I hope I never have to use that switch on you again, Rhiannon.”
    They remained entwined upon the bearskin rug until it was time for Rhiannon to start dinner. Her backside still stung something awful, and her movements were slow. But Edwin remained inside the cabin, helping her set the table and prepare soup with the fresh herbs that now grew abundantly in the surrounding woods.
    When dinner was finished, Edwin helped Rhiannon lower herself into the chair and pushed her toward the table. His gentleness touched her heart as much as his forgiveness had, and she looked forward to falling asleep wrapped in his arms. He hadn’t taken her as he normally did after a punishment, and she doubted he would tonight. Yes, this punishment had been different, but she reminded herself yet again just how badly she’d deserved it.
    “The Holon shapeshifter is no more,” Edwin suddenly said.
    Rhiannon looked up from her soup, startled by his unexpected words. “What do you mean?”
    “I found him lurking in the woods in the form of a Crigon. Actually, he’d taken on my form and was nearing the cabin. I suspect he was going to attempt to enter the cabin posing as me, which is precisely why I planted the flaggarock.”
    “Oh, Edwin! That’s wonderful!” Rhiannon’s heart soared. It was now safe to leave the Cold Top.
    “We’ll be leaving in three days’ time to the secret passage that leads to the lands near Etrolleli and Strellia.”
    “Why three days? Why not now?” Rhiannon was impatient to reach warmer lands, and she was dying to see the Whispering Forest and the Palace of Lights.
    “After I killed the Holon shapeshifter, I meditated in the woods and made contact with my dream spirits. They advised me that an extended family of rolabears is roaming the path we must travel, but in three days’ time they will be a safe distance away.”
    Rhiannon smiled. “Very well, spirit man,” she teased. “If you say so.”
    Edwin shot her a mock warning look, but he soon joined in her laughter. Their banter was a cure for the tension between them.
    “I will help you pack the necessities. The journey to the secret path will take us three days,” said Edwin. “Once we make it off the Cold Top, it will take us another two days to reach the edge of the Whispering Forest.”
    “And the Palace of Lights?” she asked. “How long will it take to reach it?”
    “According to my dream spirits, it will take us another two days to reach the Palace of Lights.”
    Rhiannon added up the days in her head and felt a stab of annoyance, though she didn’t let it show. She would have to be patient during the seven day journey to the Palace of Lights.
    That night as they lay together on the bearskin bed, Rhiannon felt something hard and fleshy across Edwin’s back. “What’s this?” she asked, struggling to see through the glow of fire.
    “Just a scar. It will be completely healed by the morning,” replied Edwin.
    Rhiannon gasped when she saw the scarred flesh, a row of four frightening marks across Edwin’s muscular back. “I don’t understand,” she said. “You didn’t have these last