Page 70 of Wolfsbane

“Water’s warm,” she said with a gentle smile.

My eyes dropped. “Thank you.”

Viktor took my hand and led me around the stone path to the big metal washbasin.

I should’ve done something with it. Or with myself.

All I could do was stand there until he guided me over.

While I sat next to the edge of the tub, Viktor used a cloth to clean the mud off my legs and arms. It’d splashed everywhere, but I was having a hard time caring. Better to deal with some mud than have the pack’s homes burn down.

If it were left to me, though, I’d have crawled to bed completely covered in it. Probably wouldn’t have gotten up for days.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I looked down at Viktor. He shouldn’t have to keep me together. Not when⁠—

“I’ll fix it,” I whispered, my throat squeezing tight as tears returned to my eyes.

He frowned at me. “Fix it?”

“Your wolf. I won’t . . . I won’t keep him from you. Steal him forever. I’ll figure this out.”

Viktor shook his head. “You haven’t stolen anything.”

A sob escaped my throat, tears streamed down my cheeks, and Viktor wet a new cloth to wipe the speckles of mud off my face and catch them all at once. When he’d gotten enough of the dirt off me, he shimmied my gym shorts off and I lifted my hips to make it easier, sinking back into the steaming tub of water.

He rinsed himself off with far less care before he climbed in behind me. Shaking, I let him pull me back into the curve of his arms. His fingers curled around my elbow as I turned into him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight, even when my ribcage jumped and spasmed from my crying.

“I’m not upset,” he whispered against the top of my head. “I’m not disappointed. I’m just worried about you.”

Great. I’d made him worry.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffled.

His arms around me tightened. “You have no reason to be sorry.”

He took a long, deep breath, and with my cheek pressed against his chest, it was natural to follow suit. I inhaled, but mine shook, and I let it out with a pitiful, wet sob.

He breathed again, and so did I.

After a few times, it was easier, and I drifted off there in that warm water, tucked between his legs and cradled in his arms.

CHAPTER 39

Viktor

When we got out of the bath, I ran into the first new problem: the clothes Daire had been wearing, and to a lesser extent mine as well, were caked in thick mud from the events of the night.

From burying Ermengarde.

Funny, I’d thought I wanted to kill her for revenge. Suddenly, I wished I’d killed her just to save him the pain of having done it himself.

Maybe he’d be angry with me if it had been me, but I liked that idea better than him being angry with himself. He’d done nothing wrong, only tried to defend the pack⁠—

No.

Me.

He’d been trying to defend me. And now he was miserable about it.