Chapter 293: Carriage Trouble
Riven did not know when he fell asleep, but only knew that he was woken up. His back ached from being curled up on the plush seat, and his neck was stiff, thanks to the terrible angle he’d dozed off in. He hadn’t even realised he’d fallen asleep until the sudden, violent jolt nearly knocked him clean onto the floorboards.
"Ah—what the hell..." he muttered, pressing a palm to his forehead.
He leaned to look out the window and called, voice raspy with drowsiness, "What happened?"
The driver’s voice floated back, sounding as bewildered as Riven felt. "My Lord, I’m not entirely sure... We must have struck something hard. The wheel’s cracked."
Riven groaned, then swung the door open and climbed out into the cold mountain air. He stretched his arms over his head, feeling his joints pop. He looked like he was in a war... Which... Technically, he was, but not actually fighting it.
As he did, his gaze travelled over the road—a narrow path hugging the shoulder of the steep cliffs, with jagged rock and patches of barely alive vegetation.
Riven crouched near the broken wheel, squinting at the splintered wood as if he actually knew what he was doing. He didn’t. But it made him feel slightly less helpless to pretend. He poked the cracked spoke, then rose and dusted off his trousers.
Two of the wolf guards were clustered around the driver, murmuring ideas back and forth. They were big men, taller and broader than Riven by a head. He knew they could shift and carry him if it came down to it—but they would rather not touch the Alpha’s mate or the madman Soren’s love.
He sighed, stepping back to take a better look at the road ahead. They’d been travelling two hours already, and by his estimate, they need another two hours to reach. If they didn’t get moving soon, it would become quite late.
Riven rubbed his temples. He considered shifting to his wolf form and simply jogging the rest of the way, but the thought alone made his muscles throb. He was still worn out, no thanks to Ronan’s extremely thorough attention the night before.