“It’s been around for decades.” Oh my God. How old was he?

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “It’s been a really long while.”

Oh man. I was really losing it. There were so many reasons he was off limits, and age just added to the list. If only he didn’t look like he belonged on a Calvin Klein billboard.

“Almost to the top,” he said, and I was grateful for the change in subject. “See that tree up there with that big branch on the right that arches down?”

I tried to follow where he was pointing, and saw a massive tree. The bottom right branch arced down, and from here it looked like it almost touched the ground. “Sure.”

“There’s a really good look-out point there. You should be able to see the surrounding valleys. There are a few villages we could check out, or maybe you can find an old ruin or two.”

I took his word for it on the look-out spot. There didn’t even seem to be a break in the forest. I stepped forward to look closer and almost ate it. Lucas caught me just before my face planted into the ground. My breath caught as he held me.

The way he looked at me, with his aura shining down, I sensed that he wanted to say something important. The feeling was slight. If I hadn’t been able to feel his aura, then I might not have noticed the yearning in his eyes. But I did notice it.

And it took my breath away.

He gently set me on my feet in front of him. “You okay?”

I brushed myself off as I tried to pretend that nothing had happened. That I hadn’t seen the desire for something more in his eyes. But my hands were shaking. “Yeah. Fine. Sorry.”

“Do you need a break?”

“No. I’m just clumsy sometimes.” I wiped my hands on my pants one more time to get the last of the dirt off, and then motioned for him to keep going.

“Okay.” He started walking again, and I followed. This time I made sure I didn’t trip over fallen branches.

Get yourself together, Claudia. You need to work with this man. Not drool over him.

Wanting things to be different wouldn’t change them. Even if Lucas wanted to be with me, there were so many obstacles to overcome—the least of which was that he was a wolf and I was a witch. Whatever happened in these mountains, those two things didn’t mix in my world. The only reason I was getting any help from him was because Teresa was my cousin. She was the tie that bound our two groups together. And then there was that little battle we had coming…