“Your wound is going to open back up, and I’ll have saved your life for nothing,” Kai hisses, his voice urgent and agitated.
I draw back the bowstring, pulling it taut as my stitches do the same, threatening to tear. Pain sears through my abdomen and along my ribs but I bite my tongue, ignoring it.
I smile slightly as I say, “Sorry to ruin your handiwork, partner.”
“Pae, don’t you dare—”
I fire.
The arrow finds its mark in the chest of the closest wolf, burying deep into that shiny, silver fur. The other wolves are charging towards us before their friend even hits the ground. I already have another arrow ready, nocked and aimed at a brown blur bounding closer. A shooting pain skitters along my abdomen as I fire the arrow, hitting the wolf in its hind leg.
Two of the beasts have separated from the others to circle around us, and I feel Kai’s back press against mine as he faces them. I ignore the limping wolf I shot and turn my attention towards the one that is now bounding towards me. I try to slow my panicked breathing before loosing an arrow at the creature. I curse when it misses, sailing past the beast’s ear and sinking into the ground behind it.
Kai’s back is no longer pressed against my own, leaving me clueless as to what is going on behind me. All I hear are snarls and the swipe of a sword against skin and bone. But I don’t have time to turn towards the scene at my back because I now have a snarling beast of my own before me. Its red-tinted fur shimmers almost as brightly as its bared, white teeth. It comes to a halt no more than two yards away from me and crouches, creeping closer. It’s massive and menacing and looking at me like I’m it’s next meal.
I can feel my wound bleeding, and the pain is brutal. If I pull back my bowstring one more time, I’ll likely rip my stitches if they haven’t done so already. But I have no other weapon, no power, no strength to fight.
The wolf slinks forward, growling as it plays with its food.
What do I do. What do I do. What do I do.
I pull back my bowstring—
The wolf pounces.
It’s a large, strong leap that sends it flying towards me with its jaw open and razor-sharp teeth displayed, ready to rip me to shreds.
Impulsively, instinctively, I rip the arrow from my bow and grip the shaft in my fist before thrusting the metal tip upwards to meet the wolf in the air. The arrow sinks deep into its heart, spraying me with hot blood before it falls to the ground with a thud.
I’m panting, still trying to process what just happened when I hear a grunt coming from behind me. I spin just in time to see Kai drag the blade of his sword down a wolf’s side, splitting it open with one easy motion. He turns swiftly to the other beast crawling towards him, already suffering from a brutal stab wound, though it still advances with a growl.
When the wolf launches towards him in one final attempt sink its teeth into his flesh, Kai sweeps his blade upwards in a high arc. The sword slices the creature across the chest with ease, and when it hits the ground, Kai grips the hilt with both hands and drives the tip of the blade down into the wolf’s side.
He stands there for a moment, looking every bit the killer he was raised to be. Then he yanks the sword out, wiping the bloody blade on the fur of the dead animal beneath him. He begins turning around as he says, “You still alive back there?”
I inhale sharply when he turns, displaying the deep bite on his shoulder. Blood oozes from the imprint of jagged teeth, trailing down his arm and over his fingers in rivulets. His eyes find mine before widening when they find something over my shoulder.
“Duck,” he orders, and I don’t hesitate before dropping into a crouch. In a flash, he pulls a throwing star from his pocket and sends it sailing through the air where my head was only a moment before. I hear something heavy hit the ground with a thud and turn to see the wolf I had shot in the leg only a few feet behind me, creeping in for the kill. Only now, it’s lying dead on the ground with a throwing star protruding from its eye.
I stand slowly to my feet as I breathe, “You’re right. We do make a great team.”
He looks away from me, shaking his head with a dry laugh. “Yeah, except for the fact that you don’t listen to orders.”
“Orders?” I scoff, “I’m not one of your soldiers, Kai.”
“You’re right, you aren’t.” He strides towards me, and the sight of him so bloody is suddenly intimidating. But I force myself to stand my ground when he halts before me, close enough now for me to see his smoky eyes turn to ice. “My soldiers don’t mean anything to me. They are expendable and easy to replace.” His chest heaves, his eyes locked with mine. “So, yes, Gray. You aren’t one of my soldiers.”
I open my mouth, but no words come out of it. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply, only opening them again when he is back to his cool and collected self. All traces of the frantic, ruffled male are gone. I can sense him shifting back into his cocky, casual self as he attempts to lighten the mood.
Spinning slowly, he takes in the carnage around us and simply says, “Well, looks like we won’t be going hungry tonight.”
I play along, but my voice is weak. “Good to know that we didn’t survive a wolf attack only to die of hunger.”
His eyes darken as they snap to where my wound lies bleeding beneath my clothes. “Your stitches. Did they—”
I lift my tank and peek under the folds of the bloody bandage. Relief floods me when I see the thread still pulling my skin together. The excursion of the fight only stretched the stitches, causing the wound to bleed but thankfully not tear. I suppose I would be in a much worse state if they had.
“No,” I breathe, “they didn’t tear.”
He runs a hand through his hair before sheathing his sword, but I don’t miss the slight wince the action causes due to his torn shoulder. I point to the stump behind him and say, “Sit.”
Now I’m the one giving orders.
He humors me, smirking as he sits down before I come to stand over him yet again. “You’re covered in blood,” he remarks far too casually.
“And you’re dripping blood. But, lucky for you,” I smile sweetly, “I can make just the right salve for this.”
He blows out a breath, shaking his head at the sky. “Of course you can. You and your salves will be the death of me.”
“You know,” I mutter, examining the bite closely, “I’m beginning to think that you enjoy getting hurt, if only so you can have my hands all over you.”
He lets out a low laugh. I can practically feel his gaze gliding over me as he says, “Oh, I’m not making you do anything, darling. You can leave me to bleed out if you must. Because I only want your hands all over me if you want them to be.”
My eyes snap to his gray ones already pinned on me.
I am playing a very dangerous game.
Walking on a sharp blade and hoping I don’t get cut. Playing with fire and hoping I don’t get burned. Swimming in a dangerous current and hoping I don’t drown.
He is dangerous.
And even with that one thought echoing in my mind, I hold his gaze and put my hands on him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kai