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Instead of launching into another whirlwind explanation, Micha bowed his head and raised one knee. The position would have been comical—he almost looked like a man proposing—but the thick tension in the air displaced any desire to laugh. Loren wanted to pull her hair out instead.
“I failed you,” he said mournfully. “You entrusted your mate to us, and I—”
“You left her,” McGoven interjected. “Alone in enemy territory, to the mercy ofthugs.”
“W-what?” Wide-eyed, Micha gaped at Loren. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t youdaretalk to her,” McGoven bellowed. “Don’t you evenlookat her. You left her alone in enemy territory. Do you know what they were going to do to her? I couldsmelltheir intentions. They planned to violate her in every way you can imagine. They wanted her to suffer. Should I go into detail?”
Micha flinched, but so did Loren. The inside of her thigh ached as if remembering that harsh, groping touch. She didn’t think she could bear to have him elaborate.
Thankfully, in the end, McGoven released a harsh breath and cocked his head. “Why the hell are you here?”
Micha warily met his stare. Then he placed his left hand over his heart and sucked in a steadying breath. “I came to pledge myself to you. You can kill me. Have mercy. It’s up to you. I accept your judgment—” He lowered his head, as if awaiting the bite of an executioner’s blade. “For failing to protect your mate, I deserve whatever punishment you see fit. Even death.”
“What?” McGoven looked confused. A black eyebrow twitched, threatening to disappear beneath a wayward strand of hair. The odd display seemed to diminish some of his anger—for now.
“That’s an old law,” he said finally. “I doubt that evenLukkawould force you to obey it. Integrity wasn’t his forte, from what I remember.” His voice held so much derision Loren was surprised he didn’t spit on the ground afterward.
Micha shrugged. “Sometimes, old ways are the best. My father was a member of the Oleron pack. It was how things were done there.”
McGoven nodded. “There, maybe. Not here. Get up. I don’t want anything from you. I’m sure your buddy Kyle had no shred of remorse, and neither should you.”
“But—” Micha glanced in Loren’s direction. “Kyle’s not always right,” he said, fumbling over the words. “And if you want to kill me, it’s within your right. I won’t even fight back—”
“Enough.” McGoven scoffed, lowering his hands to his sides. “I’m sure you were just following orders—” Rather than sympathetic, he sounded mocking. “Though,whereis your friend Kyle? Did he come to‘submit himself for my judgment,’as well?”
He seemed to eagerly scan the horizon.
The corner of Micha’s mouth twitched. “Kyle isn’t… Let’s just say that I decided to face you alone after my own questions led me nowhere.”
He gingerly fingered the bruise on his jaw. “Even Lukka doesn’t know I left—but I just couldn’t donothing.You entrusted your mate to us, and we failed.”
Mate, Loren shivered as he said the word, and so did Officer McGoven. She couldn’t name the emotion in his expression. Whatever it was, made something inside her twist into knots.
“Get up,” McGoven said to Micha. “Get back to your pack. You don’t owe me a damn thing, and I don’t want to see you around here again.”
Micha seemed to hesitate. “But—”
“Go.” Without another word, McGoven turned toward the house, and Loren followed him without him having to say a word. It just seemed natural—when he moved, so did she.
He didn’t acknowledge her, but when he deliberately headed toward the path instead of cutting through the uneven field, she had a feeling that it had something to do with the way that she limped. Her ankle throbbed, and she practically hopped by the time they reached the front porch—but when she turned to stare over the darkening fields, a lone figure remained there, watching them from a distance.
27
Loren staggered to the couch the moment they entered the house. She could sense McGoven watching her, but all he did was crouch and prop her foot on his knee.
“It’s not broken,” he declared, though a purplish bruise discolored the skin. “But it’s probably best if you don’t walk on it for a while.”
He reached for the med kit Sonia had left almost three days ago and withdrew a length of bandage. Carefully, he wrapped the foot from heel to toe. When he finished, she expected him to release her. Instead, he stared at her filthy toes, still cupping her heel in his palm.
She observed him in return, allowing her gaze to travel from that messy tangle of dark hair, down his chest, to the legs hidden beneath the bulky sweatpants.
And the blood pooling beneath him on the floor.
“You’re bleeding!”
Freeing her foot, she sank down beside him and reached for the hem of his pant leg before he could stop her. His hand fell over her arm anyway, but not as a restraint. His fingers settled against her skin with a softness that made her pulse race. Focusing beyond him felt like wading through quicksand. The smell of his blood helped put her priorities in order, though. Gingerly, she pulled back the damp material to reveal a gash in his calf several inches long.
