Chapter Seventy-five (Safer With Me)

Eirika woke to Arric pacing at the foot of the bed. Sitting up, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking…. This place is a fortress but I need some of my fighters… if the pack gets attacked we have a stronghold in place to keep them occupied long enough for me to get here but leaving you behind even with all the assurance that you are safe would plague me insistently. And I don't know how long I will be gone. Taking you with me would mean you would constantly be in danger… but then I would be there. And we can also use that opportunity to visit the major packs to propose allegiance. I need all this sorted before you start to show… which means we have a few weeks…."

Eirika got up and rushed into the bathroom to get ready while Arric was still thinking aloud. She rushed out a few minutes later with her hair wet and a towel wrapped around her.

"What do I wear?" she asked a tad breathless. Arric stopped pacing to hold her gaze. "I'm going to need knives, a bow, and arrows," she added.