I’ve f*cked, sure. Fought. Bled. But I’ve never…mated.Never let anyone that far in. Neverwantedto.
Now I’m remembering the exact pattern of freckles across her shoulders. The sound she makes when I kiss just under her jaw. The way her body curls around mine like it wasmeantto.
And it’s driving meinsane.
I catch myself scanning the trees again, sniffing the air, ears pricked like an animal. I want to blame instinct. I want to say it’s because we’re in enemy territory.
But the truth is simpler.
I’m protective.
Ofher.
And I don’t know what the hell to do about it.
She shoots me a sideways glance. “You’re twitchier than usual.”
“Too quiet.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“That’s when it’s worst.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re like a feral dog guarding a bone.”
I grin. “Only because someone might try to steal it.”
She goes still for half a beat. Then says, “I’m not something you can own, Kragna.”
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
She exhales, but it’s not annoyed. More like… relieved.
And that makes something loosen in my chest.
I ride beside her the rest of the way, quiet but alert, cataloging every scent and sound. Every change in the wind. Every shift in her scent—when she’s tense, when she’s distracted, when she glances at me and her breath speeds up just a little.
By the time the outskirts of Rizzo’s camp come into view, I’m half out of my mind.
I want her again.
Not just her body.
Her.
The way she grips the reins with calloused hands. The scar on her hip she tries to hide. The way she doesn’t flinch when I bare my teeth at the world.
I don’t know what that means.
But gods help anyone who tries to take her from me now.
Because I’m not letting go.
Not ever.
