I couldn’t reason past the screaming instinct that there was a threat. He tried to take me by the shoulders, and the second he laid his hands on me, my control shattered.
My fist connected with his jaw, and his head snapped back.
Seeing him hurt, my berserker surged again.
When he dared to right himself and reach for me, I struck him once more. “Don’t come near me! I’ll hurt you!”
Even in the fog of pain, I made out the curve of his smile. “I’m not afraid of you, Sigrid.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
BASTIAN
Sigrid’s berserker was killing her.
Berserkers were meant to be unleashed, not contained, and it seemed hers was beyond reason, willing to tear open the very vessel that contained her in order to be free of her bonds.
I didn’t understand how, but I could feel what churned within Sigrid, was experiencing an echo of her agony, and it nearly took me to my knees. How was she still standing?
She was a danger both to herself and the men around us, so I’d all but dragged her to the low stone building that lay between the maze and the gardens, an outbuilding used for the guards to warm themselves in the winter. She fought me every step of the way, but was so weakened by pain that I still managed to shove her into the hut.
The men were confused, and I couldn’t blame them. One minute Sigrid had been valiantly fighting at our sides, and thenext, she was punching me, snarling like she’d become a feral beast.
With Sigrid inside, I moved to pull the door closed behind us. “Get the wounded who can be moved into the castle, and send for any healers who aren’t already here. Do not open this door. No matter what you think you hear.”
Elric looked like he wanted to argue, but I slammed the heavy door shut and barred it before anyone could protest.
Sigrid was mine.
If the creature within her needed an outlet, I would be it.
I’d no sooner closed the door than she took another swing at me. My eyes were still adjusting to the dim light of the dark hut, but I managed to dodge her.
She shook with rage, clenching her fists like she was trying to master it. She clawed at the collar around her neck, to no avail.
“Get the fuck out before I kill you!”
She swung again, and I stepped out of her way, chuckling even though nothing about this was funny. “Either you’re more injured than you realize, or you don’t actually want to kill me. Which is it, wife?” I stepped around the room, keeping my back to the wall, and she stalked me like a predator, her eyes alight with interest now.
The pain abated as she recognized this game of ours, this endless push and pull of baiting her into giving me more.
I’ll take everything you need to give.
“We both know you don’t want to kill me. You and your lovely beast only want satisfaction. Let me give it to you.”
She tilted her head, her smile deliciously fierce. “As though you could satisfy us both, Prince.”
She slammed me back into the wall, making dust fall from the roof. Suddenly her hands were on my throat, cutting off my ability to breathe. I grabbed the back of her head and pulled herto me, flipping our positions so her back was against the wall and she couldn’t stop me from kissing her.
The second our mouths met, she loosened her hold on my throat, groaning like she was the one who’d been deprived air. She kissed me back as though it was the only thing tethering her to herself, letting her hands roam down my body as her lips slanted over mine, grabbing my ass and pulling me harder against her.
I felt just as frenzied, equally desperate to touch every part of her.
We almost died.
I’d never been so sure I was about to meet my end. But that terror had nothing on the moments I’d been sure my wife was about to meet hers.
“They almost killed you.” I blurted between frantic kisses.
