Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
She didn’t hesitate.
Lowering her head, she whimpered and trotted into me. Her sand-coarse tongue ran over my cheek as she collapsed over my knees, wriggling as close as she could get. Her black nose sniffed Natim’s legs dangling over my arm, then, with easy acceptance, she nudged the fawn in kinship before rolling onto her back and presenting her soft white belly to me.
I smiled and looked up, needing Darro to see her regret.
He stood watching me, but he didn’t smile, his lips thin and jaw clenched. His hands rested on the horned heads of the two wolves who sat meekly either side him, remorse glowing in their intelligent gaze. The silver ring around Darro’s gaze had gone, replaced by familiar smoke.
The wolves licked his waist, their guilt feathering through my awareness along with their pained hope to earn Darro’s forgiveness.
He scratched behind their fluffy ears absentmindedly, his attention firmly on me, his face churning with questions.
I had the same ones.
Yet another moment when we’d been torn apart.
Another warning we needed to heed.
Syn whined and nudged my hand.
Tearing my eyes off Darro and away from all the things he made me feel, I dove my fingers into her warmth, feeding her every ounce of love and gratefulness I had.
She purred louder as my fingers moved up to her throat.
I froze as I touched a stiff strip of leather.
Fear unravelled as I followed the thin leather all the way around her thick ruff. It cut through her dense fur until the loop ended in a broken leash just over her shoulders.
Syn’s emotions collided and jumbled, not giving me a clear picture. Her memories were full of missing me, snarling at the fire for taking me, then racing to find me, only to be grabbed by her pack and collared, keeping her from leaving.
I stiffened.
Why would the Nhil restrain her? She’d never been leashed before.
Darro shifted to stand over me, his arms crossed.
“They used her,” he said quietly, his voice tight. “They used her to find you.”
The unease within me sprang into white-hot panic. “The hunters.” I soared to my feet, making Natim grunt and Syn halt her happy purring. “They’re here.”
Darro’s gaze snapped to the small forest and the wolf cave beyond. “We have to go. Before Salak kills—”
A piercing wolf howl sliced through the new night, followed by a savage roar.
A mortal scream tore apart the stars.
“Too late.” Darro broke into a run, heading toward the trees.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
. Darro .
I CRASHED THROUGH THE GRASS, following the sounds of carnage.
Wolves snapping and men shouting.
Shadows bled through my legs, granting speed, taking my weight, and allowing me to run like quicksilver.
It hurt to leave Runa behind. To run without a word after everything that’d just happened.
That kiss.
I wanted more.
I wanted everything.
I ran faster, my feet barely skimming the earth.
I ached to go back to her.
To hide her somewhere the hunters couldn’t find her; to turn my back on everything so we might finally know the mystery of us. But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if Salak or any of the wolves got hurt.
Anger boiled in my blood as mortals and wolves suddenly appeared before me in a blur of speed.
I slammed to a stop, grass swaying in my haste as I glowered at the unfolding war.
Nhil males stabbed their fire-hardened spears at giant horned wolves, missing their marks thanks to the swiftness of paws. Fangs glinted and tails whipped, but the wolves didn’t attack. They merely held their ground, warning the Nhil that to come any closer was suicide.
Kivva, the pale-skinned male who’d attacked me and kept me from saving Runa as Aktor hurt her, yelled something in Firenese, raising the same staff he’d hit me around the head with. He dived forward, swinging the bulbous end directly at Salak, feathers fluttering around the top.
Salak ducked and snapped at the air, his teeth coming whisker-close to snatching the weapon from the Nhil hunter’s hands.
I panted, trying to get my breath, my eyes flying over the writhing predators. Salak’s patience was almost finished, his snarls growing louder with hate, his huge bulk bristling.
A sharp bark brought his pack to his side.
The wolves stopped taunting the Nhil and fell in line with Salak, flanking their alpha and blocking the way to the cave and pups within. Salak dug his claws into the dirt, lowering his heavily horned head, his tail flicking with fury and fangs dripping with spit.
The Nhil hunters didn’t move. The wolves didn’t move. Each side assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the other.
Salak’s ear twitched toward me.
He knew I’d arrived, yet he didn’t tear his eyes off the Nhil trespassers. A couple of females had come but the majority who held spears with white-fisted hands were males.
I didn’t rush forward, watching from the outskirts as my shadows weaved around my legs.