Chapter Twenty
I didn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes it was all that I could see. The two of them tangled together, hands roaming and lips entwined. His eyes meeting mine like I was intruding, like I was the mistake.
The nausea that twisted my stomach boiled into a rage that left a thin sheet of frost over every surface in my room. I tossed and turned but there was no relief to be found from the images that coiled and twisted.
My mind continued what I had run from. How she would cling to him, his hands would skate over her back before cupping her ass and hiking her up until her legs wrapped around his waist. He would push her up against the wall and press himself into her as I tried not to claw my eyes out.
By the time the light streamed through my window, the anger had simmered down to something colder. Quieter. Numb.
The knock on my door came as the sun clawed over the distant treetops. Hard, sharp and short. I didn't need to ask who it was. Only one person would knock like that, with complete confidence and ownership.
The second last person I wanted to see.
I dragged my feet to the door, not needing to add another layer of ice to my mask. Everything inside me was too cold already.
"You're coming with me," he said when I opened the door. He was already dressed for patrol, a pair of loose, dark green cargo pants and a tight t-shirt that nearly matched. The usual shadow on his jaw was longer now, his hair rumpled instead of neatly combed.
He looked at me with a maddening calm, just waiting.
"And if I say no?" I asked, my voice flat.
His lips tilted into a barely there smirk. "Well my guards can't keep up with you so I guess I'll have to keep chasing you myself."
I hated the lack of bite in his words, the way admiration rounded the usual firmness of his tone.
I wanted to retort, to shove his calm back in his rugged face and say something to make him feel the hurt that I had felt. Instead my face stayed cold and I shoved the door closed again.
Ice spread across the door where my hand pressed against it. Lacy swirls of delicate frost curled in intricate patterns and I yanked away.
I had more control than this.
My focus stayed on my breathing as I got dressed. Getting to be outdoors even if it was with him was still a better option than staying cooped up in this room where everything still reeked of pine.
"I didn't expect you to agree," Dax said when the door opened again.
I walked past him, not bothering to give an answer. I could feel him following behind me but he didn't try to speak again.
Two guards were waiting outside but even their heavy presence couldn't take away from the lightness that the fresh air brought. The freshness of the forest, sweet watery scent of dew covering the grass, the whiff of distant deer.
Being away from the oppressive heat of Dax's scent was freedom.
The four of us fell into step as we entered the forest and started towards the pack boundaries.
I kept to Dax's left, the scuffle of dirt and snap of twigs the only sound between us.
He hadn't said much since we left, not that I expected him to. Still, every now and then I could feel the tingling heat of his eyes on me. It was measured and wary, cautious like trying to determine how you would approach a wild animal.
"You've built a bit of a reputation," he said, his voice breaking through the terse silence.
I shot him a sideward glance with a blank face. "I have?"
He smirked but there was no cockiness to it, just that odd mix of almost admiration again.
"Between leaving my guards in the dust and putting another on their back with a frozen hand, I'm having a hard time trying to find anyone who wants to be on your detail.
Everyone's too scared to get on your bad side. "
I shrugged as the bubble of pride quickly popped at the icy chill in my chest. "They should be."
"I can see why not many want to brave it." Dax was watching me, studying.
"Seems to be your favourite place."
"Yeah, well, I can have poor judgement."
That one landed deeper than I wanted to admit. It burrowed into the ice numbing my heart. I didn't reply. I didn't trust myself to.
We reached the border and split up to shift. I ducked behind a tree away from the men when something hit my nose.
Freshly stripped bark. Sap. A subtle blend of herbs.
I froze. I recognised that smell. Wrong. Out of place.
"Dax!" I shouted but it was already too late.
Shadows lunged from the underbrush.
The shift took over and I dropped onto all fours, diving into the fray from pure adrenaline.
I fell into step with the large, midnight wolf as we moved like one entity. We circled in a dance, watching each other's backs as the rogues crouched low and took taunting nips at our feet.
A mangy grey reared to their back feet. Their jaw came towards me. I swiped, my claws catching under their ribs. They crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood.
Snarling growls and the metallic tang of blood filled the air.
Another lunged at Dax and he snapped back, catching the wolf with a nasty bite.
A whined growl echoed in my ears.
Dax's attack had left his side open and another wolf had taken the chance. Claws dug into Dax's side. Blood spurted.
I saw red.
My wolf surged. The rogue didn't have a chance. Claws and teeth tore and shredded through each attacker until the forest went still. Bitter copper filled my mouth, dripping from my muzzle as I panted.
Snap.
I whirled, hackles raised, nose scrunched, teeth bared in a deadly, blood snarl. Dax was behind me and no one else was getting past.
The guards held up their hands, eyes dropped to the ground in submissive respect.
The red curling at the edges of my vision started to fade. Instincts dropped to the background when I could finally think again, could look around at the gore and bloodshed that littered the forest floor.
I took a step back, letting the guards rush in to assess Dax's injuries as I moved back behind a tree to shift. Dried blood covered my skin, itching against my clothes as I joined the weathered group.
Dax had limped to a stand and swatted the men away, insisting on walking even when every step had him fighting a wince.
I didn't give him the choice.
I dipped under his shoulder, pulling his arm around mine as my other supported his back, careful not to touch the gaping wound that seeped through where his shirt was tied tightly around his torso.
He didn't argue.
Dax leaned against me, his weight a solid, bloody warmth at my side.
"You always fight like that?" he muttered, his voice hoarse with pain.
"Only when someone's being a dumbass."
He huffed something close to a laugh and stumbled. My hand gripped his arm to steady him.
"Thought you were supposed to be watching my back," Dax teased but it was strained.
"I was. You were too busy leaking all over the forest floor."
This time he actually laughed, a low, rolling, rumbly sound that vibrated through me. It was warm and comforting and I wanted to hear it again.
"You saved my life."
My heart stilled as flashes of the red, bloodlusting rage flooded my mind.
"I would have done it for anyone." I had to brush it aside, to pretend it wasn't a big deal. Anything else would have acknowledged how my instincts went feral at a threat to him. After everything, all the pain I had pushed aside, I still put my life on the line at the thought of losing him.
It was too much to think about.
The edge of the forest appeared, trees fading to open grass. My hand loosened on Dax's arm and dropped back down to my side but he didn't let go. His finger still curled around my shoulder, body still leaned into mine.
In the distance, the two guards that had been with us ran back with a healer in tow.
Dax left go of my shoulder and stepped to the side. But then the backs of his fingers brushed against mine, then caught. His grip was weak, almost trembling, but the look in his eyes wasn't.
For a second, everything blurred. It was just blood and breath and him.
Someone shouted his name and the spell shattered. I let go and he was gone, limping towards help.
The walk back towards the house had never felt so incredibly long. Solitude had always been peaceful and welcomed but this felt cold, isolating.
My room was quiet. Too quiet.
I dropped my boots and stripped off my blood stained shirt, flinging it towards the basket in the corner.
The day echoed in my mind. The gut wrenching panic when I heard Dax get injured, the inhuman protective rage that took over. The way his body leaned against mine in a dizzying heat. How he moved to me, reaching for me like it was instinct.
I flopped onto the bed as my temples pulsed and my eyelids drooped from the lack of adrenaline.
That was when I saw it.
A piece of paper neatly folded and placed in the centre of my pillow.
I stared, my brows furrowing as I reached for it and then stopped.
My heart stalled. Just once. Then pounded hard.
I cautiously stood as I looked around the room. No unusual smells, no strange sounds. But in the corner of my eye was a light flutter of my curtain. The window was open just a crack, like someone had closed it a bit too hard in a rush.
I reached for the note and gave it a cursory sniff before opening it.
The handwriting was rough and jagged. I didn't recognise it.
Oooh it's so fun getting to write Dax and Kiera scenes!
Were you surprised at how protective Keira was at Dax?
Who do you think left the note? Any theories on 'next time'?
Thank you so much for reading!