“What thefuckwere you thinking?” His voice cracked with the force of it. Karl flinging himself into a raging river was the most senseless thing he’d ever seen. And as he’d spent the last few days with a wolf pack, he’d seen a whole sea of senseless.
“You don’t just—justdiveinto a fucking river like that—”
Karl opened one eye. “Is it alive?”
Leonblinked. “What?”
“The pup.”
Somehow, he’d forgotten. Leon turned, half-expecting to see a corpse. But the scrap of fur was still breathing, its side rising in weak, shallow pants. It was cold, though. Too cold. Leon gathered it into his arms, pressing it close to his chest. It didn’t protest, didn’t even move.
As soon as he had it in his arms, heknew. It was a shifter.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he breathed, as he rubbed it gently, trying to warm it.
Karl didn’t move. His eyes were closed again, his face pale.
Leon stared at him. “How in the name of all that’s holy could you tell?”
Karl didn’t answer.
The blood on Karl’s face came from somewhere high in his scalp. It had clumped his hair and streaked down his temple, diluted by river water. But the real damage was lower. His thigh was torn open, blood welling steadily from a gash that looked as though it had been made by jagged rock or submerged debris. And Karl’s breathing was far too shallow.
“You might have internal injuries,” Leon muttered. “You might be drowning from the inside. I don’t even have a fucking shirt to tear up for bandages.”
“Wouldn’t let you rip mine, anyway,” Karl said between ragged breaths.
Leon barked a laugh. It came out too sharp, too high, andkeptcoming, ricocheting between relief and fury and something else he didn’t want to name.
“You’re such a jerk,” he gasped, still holding the pup tight. “A fucking noble, suicidal jerk—what if I hadn’t seen you go in? What if I’d been five seconds slower—what if you hadn’t hit the tree—what if—”
“Leon,” Karl said, and it wasn’t loud, but it cut through the spiralin his head.
Leon shut up, but the twist in his chest that had been there since he first saw Karl go into the water didn’t go away. With no medical supplies, no clothing, and no way of getting evac, he did the only thing he could.
“Don’t go getting ideas about a rerun of earlier. I’m just keeping you warm,” he said as he lay down next to Karl, put his arm very gently across his stomach, and moved in as close as he could, sharing body heat. He held the little pup between them so it got the benefit of their combined warmth. It hadn’t stirred.
“This doesn’t mean I like you,” Leon said.
Karl gave a grunt of what might’ve been laughter.
They lay there in the mud and rain, shivering, hearts still pounding, pressed close like it meant something, even though it didn’t.
“Think my ribs are busted,” Karl said, which might explain his breathing. “Is it okay?”
“It’s alive, at least. And warming up a bit. But for the love of God, how could you tell it was a shifter?”
Karl sucked in a sharp breath, then tensed all over, eyes screwing even closer shut. He stayed like that for an uncomfortably long time before breathing out very slowly and shallowly.
“Fuck.”He drew a few more careful breaths and then opened his eyes and looked at Leon. It was disconcerting seeing those brown eyes dark with pain, so different from a few hours ago. Leon pressed even closer against him, wanting to give as much comfort as he could. “It’s a fucking shifter?”
Leon couldn’t help it. He laughed. He laughed so hard that he thought he was probably hysterical. “You risked your life for an ordinary wolf pup that was likely already drowned?”
“Knew it wasn’t drowned,” Karl said, and he sounded sotired. “It was on top of a log, but it was just a matter of time.”
“And it was worth getting this badly hurt over a wild animal that might not make it anyway?” Leon didn’t dislike other creatures, but he did believe in nature taking its course. And from what he’d gathered about Karl so far, he hadn’t pegged him as soft-hearted. Protective, yeah, but at heart, he was a fighter.
“Didn’t want anyone else dying on my watch.”
