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BISHOP
We ranthe rest of the day, all through the night, and reached the small one-story cabin on the outskirts of Kelna by midmorning. The village leader had said we could have the cabin again tonight as a rest stop on our way home, and I could only pray he’d let us stay until Audrey’s heat was over.
I’d heard about heat fever. It was part of our basic education all pack children had to take, although I’d never seen it firsthand. That was Nova’s area of expertise, as well as Wilder’s and anyone Wilder employed. But I hadn’t thought it would be so bad.
Audrey huddled in Cyrus’s embrace, shivering and sweating and whimpering and panting. Her eyes had cracked open periodically during our mad dash back here, but they were always glassy and unfocused, and I wasn’t sure if she was even conscious.
Cyrus marched up the wooden steps leading to the wide porch and the cabin’s door, and I hurried ahead of him and opened the door so he wouldn’t have to adjust his hold on her.
He’d refused to hand her off, and while she wasn’t much heavier than two of our packs combined, she’d soaked her shirt with sweat, along with the front of his shirt, and had blanketed him in her scent. A scent that had me partially hard despite trying to keep my distance and staying downwind. It had been difficult enough for me to concentrate on getting back here as fast as possible and not letting my wolf succumb to her arousal. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for Cyrus.
With a nod of thanks, he carried her straight into the bathroom, and I dropped my pack and Audrey’s just inside the door then glanced back at Knox.
He’d stayed a good fifty feet away from her the entire run and now stood at the bottom of the steps, glaring at the inside of the small cabin as if he were furious with it… or actually thinking about entering.
His frustration and anger seethed through our twin bond along with a stomach-churning fear, and I was shocked Cyrus’s collar on his wolf still held.
Even bolstered with my power, Knox’s wolf was a force of nature and one whose mate right now was in trouble. It was a miracle his human half was still lucid.
His hands clenched into fists, but I couldn’t tell if that was just his anger or him working up the nerve to follow Cyrus inside.
The cabin wasn’t very big, but the main room was open and had good-sized windows that let in a lot of light. He could probably last a few hours, maybe even a little more before his claustrophobia forced him back outside.
But that would have been on a good day, and today wasn’t a good day.
With a snarl, he dropped Cyrus’s pack on the deck and retreated deeper into the glade surrounding the cabin.
Bishop,Cyrus called, jerking my attention back to the immediate problem.We need to bring down her temperature enough for you to explain what’s happening.
I hurried into the bathroom to find her sitting on the floor propped up against the wall. Water poured from the tap into the stone tub that was big enough for her but not for me or my brothers, and Cyrus had already pulled off her soaked shirt.
Her breathing had turned short and shallow and her fingers clenched the front of his shirt. With a soft moan, she strained her neck forward, her lips seeking his.
“Help me get her pants off,” he said, his voice gruff and his expression pained.
I hurried to help and undid the tie keeping her pants on as he grabbed her around the waist and lifted. The movement made her whimper, and she leaned into him, her mouth brushing along his collarbone just above his shirt.
A growl rumbled in Cyrus’s chest, low, barely audible, and we both pretended it hadn’t happened. Quickly, I pulled her pants below her ass and Cyrus set her back down then retreated out of reach before I’d even gotten her pants down her legs to her boots.
“I need to let Rafe know we’re back early and that we’ll be staying a few days.” His gaze swept down her body and the muscles in his jaw flexed. “Let me know what you need.”
“She’s going to need fluids and something easy to eat. At least until I can get the fever under control,” I told him as I unlaced her boots and pulled them off.
Audrey tipped her head back and groaned, her hands sliding to her breasts to play with her nipples.
My half-hard cock stood up to full attention despite my worry for her, and Cyrus grunted and left. The next few days were going to be difficult for all of us and I didn’t begrudge Cyrus retreating.
He might not think of Audrey as a potential mate, but I knew he was concerned about her — and not just because she and Knox were bound to each other. He’d been furious to learn she’d hidden her blistered feet from us because that meant he hadn’t known she’d been in pain, and he’d been protectively watching her from a distance since he’d learned she had absolutely no survival skills.
I quickly unwrapped the bandage around her calf and checked the three scars and dozens of stitches that marked where the grimalkin had slashed her. The elixir had done its job and she’d been healed in record time. We were going to have to pull the stitches out soon, but after I’d gotten her lucid enough to understand what needed to happen and to relieve some of the pressure of her heat building in her body.
I unwrapped her feet — also healed — and set her in the tub. Audrey cried out when the cool water touched her too-hot flesh and clutched at my arms. Her shivering turned violent, and her breath short and sharp between her chattering teeth.
“It’s okay,” I cooed, wrapping an arm around her to keep her head out of the water. “It’s going to be okay.”
I didn’t want to tell her that her body was going crazy, and she was going to beg for sex, never being fully satisfied until her heat was over.
She’d been a virgin three days ago and had blushed when she knew we’d been able to scent her arousal. Sure, she hadn’t been a naive teenager, but she was still shy and inexperienced.
