“What about him?”
A searing flash of anger nearly made me swipe Kaskian across his smug face, but I restrained myself.
“You don’t deserve him,” I said.
“And you do?” Kaskian barked a laugh. He muttered under his breath, “I heard what you did the other day. It won’t air, but we all know. You nearly killed the bachelor’s twin.”
I didn’t flinch, but I came close.
“You’re delusional if you think Saffron could love you after that,” Kaskian declared.
The jab stung—because in the back of my mind, I believed him. Saffron told me otherwise, but what I’d done was terrible. Kaskian’s words dug out my doubts and put them on a pedestal.
He smirked when I didn’t respond. “You think so, too. You just won’t admit it.”
“You’re wrong!” Poppy cried.
We both faced him in shock. The wolf stood firm. His fur bristled, and his tail rose high like a white flag.
“Saffron loves Rorik,” Poppy insisted. “I can see it in the way he looks at him.”
His words were so sincere they hurt. Poppy’s belief in Saffron’s love scattered my doubts.
Kaskian rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake. It’s a game show. Get over yourself.”
But Poppy refused to back down. “It’s not just a show. It’s helped so many people find their fated mates. If you approach it with honesty, you’ll get something real out of it.”
I watched irritation spread over Kaskian’s face the longer Poppy talked. I saw him lift off the ground with one paw, and the muscles in his other shoulder tensed.
Cold fear seeped through me as I recognized that subtle motion. Kaskian was about to strike Poppy to silence him.
I flung myself at the grizzly and sank my fangs into his forearm. Kaskian roared. He didn’t pull his punches; he swatted me across the face with his full strength.
My eyes welled from the pain, but I bit down through it. I threw my weight into my attack, dragging Kaskian away from Poppy. I could take the hits. The little wolf couldn’t.
Jerking my head, I swung Kaskian downslope, but it wasn’t easy. He dug his claws into the ground and dropped his center of gravity to resist me. As I slowly dragged him away, Kaskian had enough reach to box the side of my head.
My ears rang and my muzzle smarted. Blood trickled down my brow. Still, I didn’t let go of Kaskian’s forearm. I’d hold onto him as long as it took for Poppy to escape.
But when I glanced at the top of the hillock, Poppy hadn’t moved. His belly was pressed to the ground, and his previously bristling fur was flat. He stared out at nothing with wide, distant eyes.
Kaskian snarled, then sank his own thick fangs into my scruff. I dropped sideways to the ground, trying to dislodge him, but he held tight as we slid down the hillock into the brush.
Poppy was still frozen at the crest. Even from my distance, I saw him trembling.
Why isn’t he running away?
A sudden heavy blow to the face caught me off guard. I grunted as I fell awkwardly beneath Kaskian, who held the high ground. He reared up on his hind legs, casting a shadow over me. His smug grin was gone. He was pissed.
“You should’ve stayed out of my way when you had the chance,” Kaskian bit out.
My gaze flicked to Poppy. He hadn’t budged an inch, but that was fine. I was Kaskian’s real target, and he finally got what he wanted: a bear fight. As long as Poppy stayed out of the way, he’d be safe from the grizzly’s wrath.
Kaskian raised a huge paw armed with five black blades.
I resisted the urge to laugh. If he thoughtthatwas threatening, he’d never last a day under the tundra clan’s alpha leadership.
There was time to react, but instead of fighting back, I spent it watching Poppy—wondering and worrying about my friend’s strange behavior.
