Fuck. He had to get out of there before disaster struck.
“Ely, you okay?” one of them yelled.
“Yes!”
The beast within thrashed at his unending pain as Nate stumbled for the narrow pathway between the looming buildings. He tried to flash, but he couldn’t summon the ability.
“Nate!”
Hades, not now! He couldn’t speak to her, not in this state when he couldn’t lift a fucking finger to save his sorry ass. He lurched forward, and the buildings swayed, or maybe that was him. He slammed a palm on the brick wall, fighting to stay upright, and tried to flash again. Nothing. Trying and failing to summon his ability hiked his agony and shredded his mind. Sweat dampened his brow as he shuffled along the pathway.
“Would you wait one darn minute!” Ely called after him.
He cut her a look over his shoulder and met her scowl.
“I don’t have time for this, Ely—” He stumbled, crashing into a dumpster. Slender, strong arms came around him, her sweet warmth enclosing him. Hell.
“I smell blood. You’re hurt!” she breathed, her anger at him apparently forgotten.
“Dammit, Ely! Leave. Now!” he growled.
“That temper’s not going to work on me,” she shot back. “I’ve dealt with muleheaded males before, butyoujust might be the worst of the lot!”
“I’m fine—”
“And I was born yesterday!”
“Ely?” a low male called out.
She glanced over her shoulder. Her grip tightened around him, and she dematerialized thebothof them. Shit! With his strength waning and dizziness determined to steal his consciousness, there was nothing he could do.
Nate groaned as they reformed, agony eviscerating him as his molecules resettled. The beast slammed again at his mind shields, sensing him weakening. Breathing hard, and that fucking hurt, too, he braced a hand on the wooden wall. They were on the porch of his cabin in the Adirondacks. And she still held him like some invalid.Fuck.
“Go,” he pushed through clenched teeth. “Before your friends follow you here.”
“I’m not leaving you alone when you’re hurt. None of the warriors have followed, or I would have sensed them.”
She stared, waiting him out. Growling, Nate opened the door with his mind and shuffled inside. The wooden panel shut behind him, blocking out the brutal cold. Dizziness blurred his thoughts. He stumbled toward the couch and clutched the back with one hand so he didn’t drop on his ass. She hurried over, her anxious gaze scanning him.
“Ely, please, go.”
Those pretty copper eyes came back to his. “I don’t know what terrifies me more, that you’re hurt or the fact you used,please,” she retorted, pushing his coat apart.
Before she saw his wound, he cuffed her wrists, stopping her. “I’m not in my best shape for this,laika,” he drawled through his pain, his voice raspy. “You might have to climb up and ride me while I hold on to the couch—”
“Nate, shut up.” Color rushed across her expressive face as more dizziness swamped him. He released her wrists to grab the backrest again. Hell, he couldn’t even enjoy provoking her. But he had to get her to leave.
He firmed his expression to inflexible. “Here’s the thing,laika. We can fuck, but that’s all it will be. You should mate someone just like you, have angelic young who look like you, and live a happy life.”
“That crap’s not going to work, either,” she retorted, calling him out on his shit. “Before your butt hits the floor, let’s get you to bed.” She slipped her arm around his waist and turned them toward the bedroom.
This female...“No.” Teeth clenched, he pushed away from her, shuffled to the tall kitchen cupboard, opened the door, and stumbled inside.
“Nate, what exactly are you looking for in a closet?”
“A broom to paddle your ass,” he muttered in frustration, slapping his palm on the back wall.
“In this state, it’ll be a miracle if you can lift a broom, let alone paddle anything,” she shot back, “much less me.”
