His paw lifted slowly, claws dragging free of Karik's flesh but not tearing. Not killing.
Karik lay there in the dirt, gasping, and Daska stepped back. Slowly. Deliberately. His gaze never left Karik's face, and the message was clear.
You live because I allow it.
The pack erupted.
Howls and cheers and shouts in a dozen languages, the sound crashing over me like a wave. Warriors surged forward, surrounding Daska, and I couldn't see him anymore. My knees gave out and hit the ground, but Megan was there, her arms around me, her voice close and steady.
"He's alive. Ellie, he's alive."
I was crying. I didn't know when I'd started, but the sobs were tearing out of me now, ugly and desperate, and I couldn't stop shaking. My shoulder ached. My ribs burned. The bond was still too hot, too tight, and I couldn't tell what was his pain and what was mine.
The crowd shifted, and Daska pushed through.
Still in bear form. Still covered in blood. One eye was swollen shut, and there was a deep gash across his ribs. The thick fur matted with blood, both his and wolf, hid the rest of his wounds, but he looked at me with those deep brown eyes and the bond glowed with warmth inside me as I felt his satisfaction. He had protected me, his mate. He had done what he needed to do and now I was safe.
I lunged for him, wrapping my arms as far round him as I could, burying my face into his thick fur, my tears adding to the blood. I was sobbing too hard to speak, but I needed to touch him, needed to feel him solid and real beneath my hands. Then he was human again and his arms were around me, and his mouth was on mine. His hands were shaking as they cupped my face, his kiss desperate and claiming, and through the bond I felt his relief crash into me like a tidal wave.
Alive. We're both alive.
He pulled back just enough to press his forehead to mine, his breath ragged against my lips.
"Safe," he managed, his voice rough. "You're safe."
"Don't…" My voice broke. "Don't ever do that again."
His thumb brushed across my cheek, wiping away tears mixed with his blood. "I would do it again," he said quietly. "Every time. For you."
"Daska."
A shadow fell across us. I looked up to find Karik standing a few feet away, in human form now, one hand pressed to his throat where Daska's claws had been. His wolves flankedhim, tense and ready, but Karik's eyes were locked on me with something that looked almost like respect mixed with the fury.
"She's yours," he said coldly. Blood trickled between his fingers. "I acknowledge the mating."
Daska's arms tightened around me, pulling me closer against his chest. I felt the rumble of a growl building in his throat, but he didn't shift. Didn't attack. Just held me and waited.
Karik's gaze slid to Rivik, who'd moved to stand beside us. "Your pack harbors strong warriors, Rivik. Stronger than I gave you credit for." He spat blood into the dirt. "The healer fights like a demon."
"The healer fights for his mate," Rivik said evenly. "As any mate would.”
I couldn’t help it. My eyes flicked to where Nathan had stood the entire time, watching impassively as always. I wondered if it had been Megan, would he have fought as bravely. Something told me he wouldn’t have, and for the first time in two years, I silently thanked fate than Nathan had rejected me back in that hotel room.
Karik gave Rivik another cold look, then his eyes were on me. What I saw in them turned my body cold. That wasn’t the look of a man who accepted he’d lost. That was a man who knew he had to retreat… for now. He shifted, and turned away, leading his pack slowly back up the valley. His wolves followed, but they weren’t happy. I looked over at Rivik who was watching them leave. His eyes never left Karik, and I knew he was thinking the same thing as I was.
This isn't over.
CHAPTER 28
ELLIE
Daska's breathing was slow and steady beneath my cheek, each exhale a gentle rumble through the thick fur pressed against my face. His massive bear form curled around me like a living fortress, one enormous paw resting across my hip, anchoring me in place. I didn't move. Didn't want to. If I lay still enough, maybe I could pretend this moment would last forever.
The memory of the fight slammed into me without warning.
So much blood. Daska's roar splitting the air as claws raked across his side. The wet sound of impact, over and over, until I couldn't tell whose blood was whose anymore.
I almost lost him.
