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“Not today, boy.” Lane grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I tore free of him because fuck that. “Well, you look alive, so that’s good. Now, who stabbed you?”
“The hunter,” I said. I stumbled to my feet and nearly lost my balance as the world pitched.
“Easy, Killian,” he ordered, holding onto my elbow. “You’re going too fast.”
“Not fast enough.” I waved him off. “I need to call Joey. My last bounty… she was the hunter. She… fuck, my head.”
I folded over as the splitting pain in my head increased. Unclear memories flashed through my head.
A knife in my stomach.
Purple eyes.
My wedding picture.
Fuck, it was all so chaotic.
“Give it the day to come back,” Lane ordered. “Magic isn’t always instant. Focus on the other thing. How do you feel?”
How did I feel?
Empty. I felt fucking empty like a canyon had been carved out of my soul.
“Hollow,” I whispered. Nothing else could describe the dead feeling inside me. “Where is he?”
“You know how to call him,” he replied. “And remember, when you’re done with the spell, take the string off your wrist. It’ll reverse instantly.”
Rotating my wrist, I studied the thin black string wrapped around it. There was no start or end. It was simply there by magic.
Blowing out an unsteady breath, I straightened up and whistled a three-note tune—quiet and melodic. It wouldn’t carry far, but it didn’t need to. Minutes passed and I strained to fucking listen. My deadened senses were fucking frustrating. The forest rustled, and shadows moved. From between two trees, a wolf stepped out. His dark fur was damn near indistinguishable from the shadows. Long legs, rough fur, and midnight eyes.
Lane had done this spell for me half a dozen times before, but the sight of my wolf outside of my body never ceased to fucking amaze me.
The look he leveled on me was unimpressed by the choice I’d made.
“You’re a liability,” I said quietly as I approached my wolf. He quipped a quick growl. “I know, but you’re safer this way. I’m fucking safer this way. She can’t control you now, and she can’t stop me.”
Another deep growl.
“Stop that, you furry fuck.” Reaching out, I ran a hand through his soft scruff. His head turned into my arm, eyes shutting. “You stay out of sight, understand? Lane is going to set up a fucking perimeter to keep things other than food out. It’ll deter any pack member that ends up in this direction. If you get hurt like this, I won’t know. If you die… no fucking dying, got it?”
No fucking dying because there was no bringing him back. I couldn’t do a life without my wolf. That emptiness inside without him was fucking excruciating, but it was a burden I had to bear if I planned to beat the hunter.
“Go hide,” I ordered. “I’ll call for you soon.”
Again with that unimpressed look. Shit. Even my wolf was fucking sassy. Chuffing, he turned and disappeared into the woods.
One problem down. I hated being without my wolf, but I knew it was the right move. This way the hunter wouldn’t be able to control either of us. That little secret would be the best weapon I could ever fucking have.
And that left me to deal with Sadie fucking Grimm.
Chapter 92
Genevieve
What were you supposed to do when your husband didn’t want to live anymore? That question relentlessly taunted me in the back of my mind. I toyed with the sleeves of my sweater as Killian drove us back home from his appointment with David. There was so much information—so much to learn about how Killian’s brain worked. My heart hurt for him. I thought I knew him, but the man next to me felt like a stranger—familiar but a stranger. Undoubtedly, I wasn’t going anywhere, but I was still worried. What if he did?
“You haven’t said a word since we left David’s,” Killian began quietly. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours, princess?”
