I stared at Paz, who beamed with pride.
“What did you do?” I demanded.
A wild grin stretched over his face. His eyes shined as he lifted a small branch. “Hey, this walking stick came in handy after all! A quick poke in the eye and that big guy turned into a wuss.”
Adrenaline pounded through my system. I took a few breaths as the dizzying terror melted away.
I couldn’t rip my gaze from Paz. It felt like he’d disappear if I looked away—and in the last few minutes, that reality had been dangerously close to fruition.
Overwhelmed by a surge of emotion, I snatched Paz into a tight embrace. My feelers smoldered with saturated bursts of color: fear, relief, love.
I felt Paz’s racing heartbeat against my chest. My pace rivalled his own. My nostrils flared as I buried my nose in his head-fur, sucking in the warm scent of it.
Paz let out a breathy laugh. “Hey, Kur’tok? This is nice, but you’re kinda crushing me.”
I eased my hold on him, but I still wasn’t willing to release him. I wouldn’t ever be.
“You fool,” I muttered. “Why did you come here? You could’ve gotten killed.”
“I’ma fool? I was looking for you!” Paz argued. “You’re the one who threw a big baby tantrum and ran away. Do you know how insanely worried I was?”
My chest tightened. He wasthatconcerned?
I growled. “Still, you didn’t need to—”
“Oh, cut it out,” Paz said. “Are you a red-flag possessive alpha male or not?”
His words made no sense. “What?”
Paz sighed in exasperation. “Never mind. Just... get it through your head that I’m here for you, okay? I’m not about to run away when you’re in danger.”
I snorted. “Well, you should. It was stupid to stay.”
“Then I’m stupid.” Paz grinned. “But so are you.”
“How?” I grumbled.
“Let’s see... you ran off like a baby man instead of actuallytalkingto me, then got yourself bloodied and bruised saving a human who was supposed to be your dinner. Sounds pretty dumb to me.”
I scowled at him and muttered, “My feelings about you being a meal have changed.”
Paz’s expression softened. He reached up and brushed his fingers gently across my face. “My feelings about you haven’t,” he murmured.
A shiver ran down my spine. What did that mean? The way he said it sounded so rich and meaningful, but I must’ve read too far into it.
Paz pulled his hand away, frowning at the blood. “We can have that conversation later. You’re really hurt, Kur’tok.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted.
Paz put his hands on his hips. “Well, I’m friends with a doctor, and if he saw your injuries, he’d flip. So yeah, you arenotfine.”
I grumbled but didn’t argue. After I’d almost lost him, I was done arguing with Paz. From now on, he could have whatever he wanted as long as he stayed by my side.
I rose with a heavy grunt. Now that the adrenaline left my system, I felt the aftermath of that battle. Stinging pain prickled on my face and back, and my muscles screamed from exertion. But it was all worth it knowing Paz was alive and well.
“Hey, Haz’rull, you okay?” Paz called.
I’d forgotten about them. As Paz caught up with my underling, I slowly approached the two.
