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“Listen, jackass,” I hissed. “Since you’re so interested in my alpha wolf, maybe you should know something. She’s really fucking hungry, and I think she may be in the mood for some vampire flesh. I may have to let her take a few nibbles if you don’t cut the shit and let this healer help Wyatt to make sure he makes a full recovery. Got it?”

The other alphas said nothing, only staring at me as a very disheveled and annoyed Von led me and the healer out of the room. I’d assumed Von would try and put up another fight, but I was pleasantly surprised when Wyatt was wheeled into the luxurious mating chamber. The healer and her assistants laid him on the massive bed and started working on him.

The last thing I saw before I fell asleep at his side was the awful wounds he’d suffered. All of them inflicted on him as he’d tried to save me.

Chapter 30

Wyatt

Paws hissed over the grass as I ran. At first, I was confused, unsure where I was or why I was running. Then the scents of the forest told me I was in the Eastern Wilds, far from any houses or roads. The sky was the dark purple of dusk, the sun just slipping beneath the horizon.

There was something wrong, though. I was running faster than I ever had before. Then I realized I was racing toward Kira’s screaming in the distance.

Realizing it was her voice echoing through the air, I moved even faster. My feet became blurred as I sprinted toward the sound of her cries. They were like nothing I’d ever heard—heartrending, broken, panicked screams of horror. Searching desperately, I found a cave I recognized and slid to a stop as her voice echoed from within.

I remembered this cave. I’d found her in this cave twelve years ago. The memories flooded back. Why would she be in there? Before I could overthink it, I rushed into the mouth of the cavern.

The first thing I noticed was the blood. It was all over. Smeared on the walls, puddled on the stone floor, and everywhere in between. Kira was still screaming. Deeper in the cave. I ran, heedless of whatever danger awaited me in the darkness. All I could think of was getting to Kira.

My eyes snapped open, and I took a shuddering breath. Disoriented, I glanced around the strange room. Cold sweat slicked my skin, and my breathing came in ragged gasps. The room was dark, but the moonlight drifted in, revealing I was on a huge bed, twice the size of a typical bed.

A strip of warmth across my stomach drew my eyes down. An arm lay across my midsection. Kira lay beside me, deep asleep with her arm stretched across me.

Bewildered, I tried to remember how I’d gotten there. I remembered Von telling all of us that Kira was out in the jungle, awaiting rescue. Then we’d all been sent out to find her. There’d been even more terrible creatures than the last time we’d gone out. Mika and I had ended up together, fighting off vampires as we rushed toward Kira’s scent. After that, my recollection got hazy.

Closing my eyes, I tried to remember. There were some flashes of a pond—I thought I could recall seeing Kira out there. I nodded to myself as the events returned. The feral wolves had attacked us. The last thing I remembered was one of the ferals tearing a hunk of flesh from my side before I fell into the water. There was a flash of agony, then nothing.

The water had burned like lava as it hit my skin. Wolfsbane. It must have been. A quick glance showed some red smears on my skin where the burns had been. They were faded and no longer hurt. Beside the bed, I saw a tray that held a half dozen jars of medicine and ointment.

Turning to check on Kira, I didn’t see any injuries on her face or hands. I gently lifted the blanket, surprised to find she had no injuries on the rest of her body, either—at least what I could see.

Kira’s eyes blinked open, awoken by my movements. She scooted closer to me, pressing against my shirtless chest. That was unusual. Usually, we put up a pretty big fight before any touching happened.

“Um, I’m sorry I woke you up,” I said.

“It’s fine,” she murmured. “I’m just glad you’re alive and don’t look like you’re about to die anymore.”

She wrapped a second arm around me and smiled sleepily. Her curves pressed against me, and the way she looked had me half-turned on already. There was a stirring between my legs, and I decided to distract myself.

“What exactly happened? I think I blacked out when I hit the water.”

Kira yawned and said, “It was bad. You were badly wounded before you even slipped into the water. Then the wolfsbane got into your wounds, and you went totally under.” She hesitated and licked her lips. “I…uh…lost control of my wolf. I shifted and jumped out to drag you to shore.”

“You shifted?” I asked, dumbfounded.

For twelve years, she’d never allowed her other side out. She’d fought tooth and nail with her inner wolf for so long that it had almost become part of her personality. Never giving a single inch, not wanting to allow what had happened back then to happen again. It had been a secret held between the two of us since that night. She’d driven her wolf back, harshly enough that I’d wondered if she might be causing irreparable harm to her psyche. Letting the wolf out couldn’t have been easy.

I touched her arm, barely brushing my fingers across her skin. “Are you okay?”

Kira snorted a laugh and pushed herself up to sit next to me. “Am I okay? Seriously? Wyatt, you’re the one who almost died out there. Speaking of, let me see your wounds. I had to twist Von’s arm to let the lead healer work on you.”