Desmire leashed his rage for my safety at the sight of the blade against my throat. The king still had his hate-filled gaze on the dragon and the queen muttered to herself, watching me. No one moved or talked.
“Let her go!” Dris and Emrys jumped into the water behind us, having joined the scene stealthily. However, they both stopped their movements when they saw the knife at my throat.
A small gasp bubbled from me at the prick of pain from the solider pressing his weapon into my flesh, proving he would harm me. Warm liquid ran down my throat. I was afraid to breathe or move. This man was really going to kill me.
My eyes met the queen’s. For some reason it was her eyes I wanted to see while dying . . . to know one part of her—even if she had tried to kill me—cared. I could see it in her face now, and I wished I knew what she was thinking.
The knife at my throat was suddenly gone. The soldier’s fingers gripped my dress as he was dragged away from me. His grasp spun me around as he was lifted off his feet. Standing in the river, with the soldier in his clawed grip, stood Rune.
In werewolf form.
Chapter Forty-One
My legs gave out. Not even the water’s chill could shake me from my stupor. I stared at the large beast standing a few feet away.
Rune roared at the soldier. His sharp white canines glistened in the moonlight, and his bulging muscles held the larger soldier with ease. His three scars were visible on his wolf-like face as he snarled. He was every bit the beast right now while the man hid inside somewhere.
With no warning and no thought of forgiveness or surrender for the soldier, Rune’s snout opened wide and snapped the soldier’s head off with his razor-sharp teeth. The armored body sank into the river, weighed down as a stone. The head floated down the river like a fallen leaf instead of the fear-stricken expression on a skull.
Blood coated the general’s pointed teeth as he snarled. He stood on two feet, black hair covering his bulging muscles, and pointed ears shifting in different directions, listening to the crowd around us. I sat in the water unafraid. I had no reason for that gut feeling, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.
Desmire growled, and I remembered everyone came for my safety.
“It’s OK, everyone. I’m OK,” I whispered, knowing everyone around me heard my words as I rose slowly.
Rune bared his teeth in a menacing way as he watched me. He took one step toward me, then another. I heard the collective gasp from my friends as Rune turned toward them and snarled again ferociously. Any normal person would collapse to the ground in fear, but not me.
I didn’t back down but challenged him. I refused to move. His crinkled snout smoothed. Rune was in there somewhere. I believed it.
“Sapphira, move slowly toward us now,” the king said, stretching his hand in my direction. Whatever he had done earlier was gone. He was now a concerned king for the human who was going to save his daughter.
Rune didn’t trust him, either. I shook my head while looking at Rune. With confident steps in the river, I closed the distance between me and the beast. His muscles flexed, like he was fighting the urge to rip me in two like the soldier he’d broken earlier. A metal clinking sound broke the silence and I saw the broken shackles and chains on Rune’s wrists.
“Sapphira!” someone shouted just as Rune grabbed me with his furry, human-like hands with sharp claws . . . not paws. I shook hard as he cradled me in one furry arm and took off in a powerful sprint away from the river. My fingers and legs gripped his long, muscled torso as best as I could, but I was being carried like a ragdoll. All my joints shook like they were going to snap with every movement Rune made toward wherever he was taking me. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me intentionally, but he was not being gentle in his current state.
A tree branch smacked into my head and I passed out in Rune’s jostling hold.
***
Warm . . . safe . . . protected . . . until the pain of my injuries woke me from my temporary coma.
I had to have a concussion or some sort of fracture in my skull from the two times I’d been knocked out. I peeked through closed eyes and didn’t see any torches, only the moonlight shining brightly on the rugged stone floor of a cave. As I tried to get up, a large furry arm tightened around my torso.
The breath in my lungs stilled as I saw a massive werewolf arm holding me tight, the other one curled across my chest, like he was holding onto his favorite possession. My head lifted to see if he was awake. However, the beast’s eyes were closed, a low rumble of his breaths passing through his parted snout.
I should try to crawl out into the night and find my way back to the palace where people were probably searching for me. I thought about the hate between the king and Desmire, but Rune awoke.
“Rune.” I trembled, reaching my hand up to lightly caress his arm in a soothing manner, one that hopefully showed him I wasn’t a threat. I doubted he’d bring me here and hold me like this if he thought I was going to hurt him.
Was he fully an animal now, acting as a predator would? Or was Rune still the dominant species in there, fully in control but the essence of the werewolf core coming out with the full moon?
Rune huffed and turned his head back to where it was before, closing his eyes restfully. I watched him, feeling his deep breaths against my back since we sat against the wall of the cave with me in his lap, his caging arms around me. Obviously he would not be up for letting me leave tonight. Thankfully, I was comfortable against his large furry body despite the situation. I drifted off with his moving chest as he inhaled and exhaled.
I let myself fall asleep, deciding I’d deal with all the new things that occurred tomorrow.
***
A groan woke me up from my deep sleep. I was face to face with Rune’s Fae lips.
