28.Not. Another. Word.
"Stay close," he murmurs, finally turning toward me as he extinguishes the light.
Darkness swallows us again. His hand finds mine in the dark, fingers interlacing with a firmness that sends a shiver through me. Then his other hand is at my waist, pulling me against his side. His fingers spread across my ribs, thumb brushing just under—
"Duck," he says, his breath warm against my ear.
I do, and his hand slides up to my shoulder, guiding me through the low doorway. His chest against my back as we navigate the tight space. His hand sliding down to my hip when we turn.
"The step," he warns.
My foot finds it, and we continue. The air grows warmer as we approach the main chamber. I can hear the stranger's labored breathing echoing off the walls.
His hand tightens on my hip. A warning maybe. Or something else.
When we enter the small encaved room once more, I can hear a growling where the other wolf sits. But he pulls me in the other direction, positioning me next to a wall.
"Search on your right side on the wall," he tells me. "There should be a light switch."
I fumble along the rough surface, hyperaware of him standing close behind me. My fingers find it. Click.
A very dim light goes on, barely enough to see by.I turn back to the room and can finally make out the stranger now. His clothes are torn, blood staining various parts of his body, dirt caked into wounds that look infected.
The stranger's gaze moves between us again, slower this time, calculating. A knowing look crosses his bloodied face, and his growling gets even louder.
"You wanna keep growling at my Communicator or sit still so I can look at your wounds?" He asks, his voice carrying a clear warning.
"You have a problem," the stranger replies, his voice carrying a mix of disbelief and dark amusement.
"There's nothing—"
"Don't." The other wolf cuts him off with a pained laugh, shaking his head slowly, like he can't believe what he's seeing. "Your eyes are betraying you."
His whole body goes rigid before he positions himself firmly between us, letting out a low, threatening growl.
"Pale blue eyes me—"
The next movement is so fast I barely catch it—one second he's in front of me, the next he has his hand around the stranger's throat.
"Keep your mouth shut," he says, his tone deadly.
"Fuck you." The words barely escape the stranger's throat.
This wolf has some guts, provoking him like this.
His fingers dig deeper. "Want to try that again?" he asks the stranger, but the wolf doesn't back down.
"Can't believe you actually b—"
"I said shut up."
The stranger's eyes are defiant even as he struggles for air. He tries again. "She should know what you—"
"Not. Another. Word."
But the stranger won't quit. As soon as the grip loosens slightly, he gasps out, "Our kind doesn't—"
This time the grip is brutal, making the stranger's eyes water.
"Shut your mouth, understood?"
The stranger relents and nods shortly, barely able to manage even that small movement.
He finally steps back, and the stranger doubles over, breathing loudly, wheezing.
"What is going on?" I ask, trying to figure out what just happened. What is he not telling me? What kind of secrets is he keeping? Again.
But he doesn't answer. Instead, he crouches beside the injured wolf with the medical supplies and starts to patch him up. Pained growls follow each movement.
"A little more careful," the stranger bites out through clenched teeth.
"You gonna shut up?" he asks, pressing particularly hard on a wound.
"Yes." The word is grumbled, reluctant. Then nothing more.
But I catch the way they keep looking at each other. The way the stranger's eyes dart to me, then back to him with something like disbelief.
Whatever secret they're keeping, it has something to do with me.And with whatever "problem" his eyes are supposedly betraying.