“I—I have no idea. Am I not supposed to?” My voice wavered between curious and confused.
Heavy footsteps drew our attention. Lochlainn’s dogs barked out orders, their voices leaden with frustration. Seems they were the hounds, and I was the hunted fox.
Panic flooded my system, I stiffened. They were about to pass the alley.
Shit, shit, shit!
I was definitely about to be caught.
Three men stormed into view, boots stomping like toddlers in a traveling tantrum. Two of them glanced right down the alley.Right at us.
My breathing hitched.
But they didn’t stop. Just kept moving past, too focused on the chase to question what theyhadn’tseen.
What the hell was going on? How did they not—? I turned back to the man in front of me. His face was still serious, bordering on apathetic. Somehow, he’d literally cloaked us in invisibility. Maybe it was some form of Craft, or a completely insane—yet admittedly impressive—ability.
He slowly leaned in, invading my personal space. Then audibly sniffed my head.
Um. Ew.
I squirmed, pressing back against the building wall. Not out of fear, though I really should’ve been afraid of him, but because the thought of beingscentedwas revolting.
“Stop that!” I snapped.
A low, guttural sound rumbled from his chest as his eyes widened.
“Whatareyou?” he asked.
Ohhhhh.Okay, so the sniff-happy, tree of a man must be a creature of some kind. The Ossory wolves had that whole scent thing going on too. So maybe he was something like that. Hopefully. Otherwise, this was red-flag behavior. Though I had a poor track record in the past for being color blind towards flags.
I shook my head, too thrown off to form words at the moment.
His gaze narrowed.
Slowly, he lifted a hand with two fingers extended, reaching toward my throat. I flinched as he pressed them just under my chin, trailing downward to rest against the side of my neck. Large fingers gently brushed my choker, right over my vein.
The motion wasn’t choking or threatening, it was as if he were checking my pulse.
He pressed his eyes shut, and his brows knitted together in concentration.
Um . . . what’s happening?
I was clearly fine. No open wounds, no need of medical assistance. Was he seriously checking my vitals right now? This was so bizarre. Speaking of bizarre, why wasn’t I pushing him away?
My body was a statue. All I could hear, all I couldfeel,was the throbbing rhythm of my heartbeat getting louder.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It was speaking in a language I didn’t understand. Buthedid. As if it were telling him my story.
Something electrified in the air between us. A crackling energy I couldn’t explain.
His brows shot up, lifting unbelievably high. When his eyes snapped open, they pinned me in place. The serious lines of his features transformed to shock. Then, amusement.
“Fascinating,” he breathed.
The corner of his lip ticked up into a dark, sideways grin. A deep chuckle followed.
