He growled, realizing that she had tricked him around her finger, and he was not at all the kind of person who could be called a fool. And to teach the witch a lesson, he ran at her and knocked her down, knocking her down on a snow pillow, and running a wet hot tongue over her face.

- Hey! - she was laughing from tickling. – All right, get off me.

The wolf obeyed and moved a meter away.

Nicole threw a raincoat over his back, and he immediately returned to his human form.

This time, Nicole did not look away and noticed how his bones were bent, as if someone had broken them, how the wool was pulled in, simply disappearing and revealing the tanned bronze skin on his hands.

His arms, head, and part of her legs were the only things she could see, as the rest was covered with a thick cloth.

- Does it hurt? - she asked when he had completely transformed and straightened his shoulders.

- It was painful only in childhood. Now the muscles and bones are already used to it. - he replied calmly, and then glared at her with withering eyes "and why the fuck did I do that"?

Nicole burst out laughing again.

- I’m sorry, but you broke my wand. – she pointed out the obvious. –I thought it would be a great punishment for you.

Wiping a tear of joy from the corner of her eye, she saw that he looked away, smiling faintly.

- Don’t tell me we didn’t have to look for cedar, either?- suddenly a chill ran down his spine.

- That’s where you’re wrong. Cedar is mandatory, as I said earlier, but the tree itself does not matter. – she took a knife out of her bag and went to the nearest tree, under which the fallen lapnik lay.

After cutting off unnecessary twigs, she left the central trunk, peeled it from the bark and whispered something that Urum could not know, but could understand that it was a spell.

At one point, the cedar stick in her hands acquired a thick dark brown color and became firm and even.

Nicole flourished her wand in the air, reciting another spell, and a tree began to grow right in front of her. At first with a small sprout, then strengthening and becoming larger until it reached three meters, with a dense green crown studded with bright yellow pears.

- It works. – she jumped up and down with joy, plucking two fruits from a branch - Here you go.

She handed him one pear, and took another for herself, enjoying the fragrant sweetness spreading over her tongue.

- A pear tree in the winter forest? - his eyebrows furrowed in surprise. - It’s impressive!

Nicole nodded.

- Witches use the magic of nature, this is what we can do and what works best. All our forces have a living beginning. That is why it is a trivial matter to grow a tree in a couple of minutes in harsh conditions. - She lifted her chin proudly, pleased that she could make him wonder at her abilities.

- What about portals? Is magic of nature used there too? – he asked, a little puzzled by the fact that the puzzle in his head did not want to add up.

- Oh, portals are a special thing. For them we use the power of the spirit of nature. This is a kind of force of all the elements at once, if we generalize.

- In short, it’s easier to say that I realized that I didn’t understand anything. - he waved his hand at her so that she wouldn’t even try to load his brain anymore.

- That’s all... - He immediately slammed his hand over her mouth and tensed.

Nicole could feel the steely muscles of his arms as he jerked his head from side to side, studying something with his eagle gaze.

He put the index finger of his other hand to his lips, commanding her to be silent.

- We’re not alone here. – he whispered.

- Did you hear someone? - she got scared and immediately started looking for something around.

- Witches. – he muttered. – Can you open the portal, now?

- If I do this, we will definitely be noticed. Is there an easier option, can you trust me? - She swallowed nervously as she waited for his answer.

- This will be the only time you can justify my trust. Nicole, whatever you’re up to. – he said confidently.

Her agitation affected her, betraying her heavy breathing and hands that were cold with fear. She wasn’t afraid for herself, but she was afraid for Urum, and therefore her brain was working at an accelerated pace to come up with a solution for them, and it seems that she succeeded.

- Hurry up, you need to get dressed. She started rummaging through one of the bags until she found his spare clothes. – It will be strange if they see you naked next to me, then it will be harder to convince them.

- Convince them of what? – he tilted his head slightly to the side.

- Stop talking, hurry up. - she waved her hands, urging him to put something on his naked body rather than a raincoat.

Involuntarily, her eyes caught on his strong leg muscles as he put on his pants and she turned away before he noticed, but it was too late. Urum silently grinned at the innocence of her blush on her cheeks.

Of all the women he had met before, Nicole was the one who shocked him with her volatile behavior. Although everything seemed to be reflected on her face, as if it was written in an open book, but in the next moment she could make him think about the correctness of his impression of her.

And so he couldn’t help but wonder how much of her kindness to him would last before she went berserk again. He still could not rationally assess the risks of meeting with a crowd of witches, but decided to trust Nicole unconditionally this time. At the same time, it will become the endpoint between them, which still keeps them in limbo.

He didn’t want to make a mistake about her.

He liked her.