I wanted to slap myself as soon as the thought crossed my mind. He’d know exactly how to twist the knife jabbed inside me. I couldn’t allow myself to be that dependent on him.
Living in uneasy peace I could handle.
Not this.
I took a step back.
He dispatched the boy and creeped to me still on all fours. The growl in his throat dared me to run. That escape wasn’t possible.
I swallowed the rock lodged in my throat, closing my eyes. I took a few deep breaths and imagined being rooted to the swamp.
I was his mate.
Whether he wanted me or not.
There wasn’t a point in running. I wouldn’t get anywhere. That was more comforting than it should have been.
When I opened my eyes, he stood on two legs, watching me with curiosity. I glanced down and saw exactly how much blood coated me.
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and guided me to the water’s edge.
“I upset you,” I reminded him. “You should be snapping at me.”
He kneeled with me to wash my hands and arms. Not that it helped, I was covered. He helped me pull the soaked shirt over my head. I took off my boots and pants, sinking into the water.
He followed me in, using his hands to wash the blood away. “You know, you could just go naked. I’ll murder any man who looks at you.”
The sudden promise broke through the awkward state I was in, making me laugh. He leaned back, guiding me to float with him in the water.
It made the truth crystal clear.
When I tried to shield myself, so did he. When I calmed down, so did he. That didn’t mean anything good for two people who were unhealed. We fed each other’s chaos.
I reached back to cup his face. He leaned into my hand, his purr vibrating against my back.
We were doomed to destroy each other.
Chapter 24:
Iwalkedalongthedry parts of land, setting up hunting traps. My food stores would run out sooner rather than later, but it wouldn’t be my first time living off of foraging and hunting. The water rippled on my right as Rot swam out of sight below the surface.
The water showed him going around the corner. Scouting the area, I was slowly heading into. He’d been shooing alligators away from me as I did this, even after I said he didn’t need to.
Pain shot up my ankle, and I dropped to my hands and knees as the sudden pain made me buckle. I forced myself to breathe through it and adjusted so I could check my ankle. There was nothing there except the healing cuts from the bus wreck.
It felt like countless blades were digging into the bone.
Matching pain clasped around my wrist, and I screamed in agony.
I held up my shaking hand, yanking my long sleeves back. My wrist was perfectly fine. What was happening?
It was hard to think around the pain, and it took two seconds too long for the answer to slam into me. The reason I couldn’t see the cause was because it wasn’t happening to me.
Panic overrode the pain, and I stumbled to my feet, running in the direction he disappeared in. I didn’t have to go far. Just around the bend, Rot’s hand and foot were in bear traps as four of the boys came behind him with a giant cage.
“Anchor it down,” Gale yelled from the front. He’d been the bait.
“Stop!” I screamed. Terror I didn’t understand went through me. “What are you doing?”
