“You certainly didn’tsoundokay,” he snaps, alreadytrying to pull me backward, away from Taren, away from anything that might hurt me again. “We’re done here.”
I plant my feet and shake my head, refusing to let him move me. I turn my attention back to the alpha, whose breathing is slowing as the last threads of my power settle inside her. She braces an arm on the mattress, lifting herself with effort.
“I thought I was in hell,” she croaks.
“Nope,” I say gently, “but I’m sure it was close.”
I check her eyes. No oily black threads, no more Malrik rot eating through her. The air is clearer now, too, the oppressive weight of dark magic gone.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“Like I could sleep for a week,” she mutters. She squints around the room as if trying to recognize it. “How long have I been here? The last thing I remember is Cade yelling at me.”
He lifts a shoulder. “That was over two weeks ago.”
She kicks the blanket off her lower half and jumps out of bed, but the moment her feet touch the floor, she collapses. “My pack. They’re…”
“They’re as okay as they can be,” Cade says, moving to help her up. “What Rowan did, though, assured that they wouldn’t get worse. You’ll tell them that when you return.”
Taren’s gaze finds mine again, steady and clearer than before. “Thank you,” she whispers, voice trembling at the edges. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t want to attack you, but he?—”
I reach across the mattress to take her hand, squeezing it gently. “You don’t need to explain. I know.”
We hold each other’s stare for a long, quiet beat until her lids start to droop under the weight of exhaustion.
“I need to get home,” she murmurs thickly. “And I hate to ask more of you, but can you arrange for that to happen for some time tomorrow? I don’t want to show up like this.”
Cade lifts her easily and settles her back into the bed. “As long as you’ll stay until we’ve had time for us to talk about the council, I’ll see that you’re returned safely.”
She nods, or tries to, but her head drops back onto the pillow before the motion is complete. Within seconds, she’s unconscious again.
I pull the blanket over her shoulders, tucking it around her like armor she desperately deserves.
One less victim for Malrik to claim. One less wound festering in the wolves. One small piece of rightness returned.
You did well, Wolf says as I give Taren a final once over.
Wedid well, I remind her, because I don’t know that I would have calmed down enough to do any of that without her.
Cade drags me out of the room so quickly my feet barely touch the floor. The door slams shut behind us, and before I can take a breath, my back hits the wall. His hands are everywhere—my arms, my face, my shoulders—as if he expects to find pieces of me missing.
“How badly are you hurt?” His voice is a low, feral growl, threaded with fear so raw it steals my breath.
“I’m—”
“If you sayfine, I’m going to lock you underground somewhere farfrom here.”
Oh. He’s not just upset. Cade is shaken to his core, and it makes my stomach tighten.
I cup his face with both hands, forcing his wild gaze to meet mine. “I don’t know what happened while I was siphoning, what you saw, or what it looked like. But look at me. Right now. Not me from five minutes ago. Me. Standing here in the hallway. I’m whole. I swear it.”
“Your veins turned black, Rowan.” The words come through clenched teeth, pain sharpening every syllable. “You screamed so loud I thought…” His voice breaks, just barely. “And I couldn’t touch you. Your skin was on fire.”
Guilt hits me like a punch to the sternum. This next part is the worst, because yes, I may have improvised earlier.
“I was wrong about expelling the energy,” I admit softly, “and I think next time will be?—”
“There will be nonext time.” His snarl reverberates down the hall.
