Shades Of Green Read Online Free Page B

that the man had brains. “Good move, cousin.” The castle was north of their position. The longer he stayed in the water, the farther he would be able to go before having to stop and cool off again.
    “Now, after I shift, I want ye all tae climb back up on me. I’ll carry ye several miles south and we’ll stop in another glade and ye can work a wee bit of your magic there. Just enough for the green tae fade in a few hours. The third stop, you’ll give it your all.”
    “At the second stop we’ll have to rest. I’m afraid we used up what little we had left of today’s magic here. Our energy comes from the sun. The longer it’s dark out, the weaker we get.”
    “Well, hell. I’ll have tae find ye a place tae rest, then. Make sure the females dinnae fall, Liam.” Gaige shifted to his bear and rested his belly on the ground until his passengers climbed up onto his back and settled in.
    He wasn’t sure why, but none of the other nymphs had said a word since their rescue. He’d think they couldn’t talk if it weren’t for the fact that he’d seen one of the others talking to Thal.
    Perhaps it comes down to a matter of trust.
    Gaige frowned. Yet, if that were so, why did Thal talk to them? The thought gave him hope. Maybe she trusted them after all. Still, there was that little matter about her size.
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
    Thal almost fell asleep on the large, lumbering bear that claimed to be her mate. After managing to escape her cell and freeing the others, she was exhausted. Though she hadn’t been in captivity and starved as long as the others, just the sheer magnitude of her efforts had drained her of almost all of her energy.
    Tired, Thal felt wrinkled and gray. Her energy spent, she leaned forward and rested against the warmth of the bear’s neck, relying on the others to catch her before she fell. Worried about her kin, she hadn’t slept much the night before. It was the first time in as long as she could remember that she’d done without sleep.
    Generally nymphs didn’t worry about much. They woke, they worked and played, ate then slept, waking again the next day to restart the entire cycle of their lives. The others dozed behind her, the two little men doing their best to keep everyone from toppling off the bear as he swam down the river to wherever he decided would make a good camp for the rest of the night.
    When Gaige finally swam to the riverbank and pulled himself from the river, he knelt on the ground waiting patiently for them all to disembark his person. Once they all had their feet on the ground, he shifted his shape back into that of a man. His kilt, while around his waist as a man, usually settled somewhere around his neck as the bear, appearing as though he wore a small scarf.
    While the kilt looked large on the man, it seemed small on the bear, who was much, much larger and heavier. He was so warm, even in his human form, he actually steamed as he walked the perimeter of the glade searching for something.
    “What are you looking for?” Thul asked as she tilted her head and followed his motions.
    Thal snorted. It would be her cousin that finally decided to trust him and speak up first. Thul was most likely under the impression that Gaige would take a shine to her and give up his ideas of taking Thal for a mate.
    “She can have him, for all I care.”
    “He won’t see her, you know.” Her mother stood just to her left and behind her.
    “Why do you say that?” Thal acted as though she didn’t care, but something deep inside her did. She wasn’t sure why.
    “Because you are his mate. The shifters who mate in such a manner don’t see a female who isn’t their mate once their match has stepped into their lives.”
    “I’m searching for traps our enemies might have set.” Gaige continued to move around the outer edges of the area. He gathered pine needles up in his kilt and, carrying them to the center of the glade, dropped the pile onto the ground.
    “It’s not much of