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“Sleep, sweetheart, just rest,” he breathed into my hair as I began to relax against him. “Everything else can wait. I’ve got you.”
Chapter Twelve
Cordelia
I’llbebackforthem, Cordelia…
I jolted awake, a spike of terror running through me before the strong arms surrounding me pulled me in tighter.
“Still got you, sweetheart,” Noah murmured, pressing a kiss to my hair. “You’re safe.”
I buried my face against his bare chest for a long moment, forcing myself to take a few deep, calming breaths before pulling back and looking up into his dazzling blue eyes.
“Sorry,” I murmured, sure that I had stirred enough in my dreams to keep him from sleeping well.
He tutted softly at me before leaning down to press a soft kiss to my lips. “How are you feeling?”
He held my gaze, weighing my mood and tension levels. I could feel him reaching for me down our bond, and I readily let him in with a small smile.
“I’m shaky, but fine,” I breathed honestly. “As you can tell for yourself. We do need to get moving though.”
He winked at me and nodded, releasing me and helping me sit up with him. The pack were mostly still sleeping, the sky above us only just beginning to lighten as the first birds announced the start of a new day. The air was still, with only a light breeze wafting the treetops high above, and the scent of spring flowers blossomed around us as the forest began to wake from its own slumber.
Glancing around, I took stock of my pack, happy to see that they had settled in one cohesive, protective group to rest. I could feel the fragility of the pack bonds, the decay that had seeped into the net that connected us all together, but I was confident that it could quickly strengthen now that the spells had been broken. Mina had controlled the magic, even though my mother’s power had been behind it, so her death would have shattered all the spells she had woven.
The thought of Mina had me searching for Liam and Zeke, my heart aching for their loss. I had never known any love from or for my mother, and any attempt to ask about my father only had me punished, but I knew how close these guys were to Donn. He had been their Alpha, raised them almost single handed, and taught them everything, and losing him so suddenly alongside the brutal betrayal of their mother must have been more painful than I could even imagine.
Liam lay sleeping nearby, close to my feet, a small frown on his face and tension in his shoulders even as he rested. Zeke, however, I couldn’t spot. I began to nibble anxiously on my bottom lip as I considered where he might have gone, gripping Noah’s hand tightly to grab his attention.
“Tell me Zeke wouldn’t have gone after her,” I whispered urgently, my eyes wide as I looked at him. “Please tell me he hasn’t run off to get revenge and get himself killed.”
Noah reached out to cup my cheek. “Woah, breathe sweetheart. I seriously doubt that. He might be an idiot, but he’s not suicidal.”
I huffed out a tight breath, forcing myself to nod even as my insides twisted with worry.
“He’s probably just gone to hunt for some food, ok?” Noah murmured reassuringly, and his calm belief in his own words helped me relax a little. “I’ll go track him down, ok?”
I nodded again, wrapping my hands around his neck and tugging him down for a grateful kiss. It became a little more heated than I had planned, seeing as we’d hardly had much time to reconnect and our bond was throbbing between us, but his grin as I pulled back settled my nerves more than anything else could have.
“Remind me to do things for you more often, yeh?” he said with a smirk before climbing to his feet, the muscles in his back rolling as he walked away, the pack tattoo on his shoulder blade making a shiver of need run through me as he disappeared into the forest.
I was pulled out of my aroused stupor as Liam made a soft sound, groaning a little as he stirred slightly and cracked his eyes open. Our gazes caught, and I held my breath as I waited for him to speak, but my face fell into a frown at his wince of pain when he pushed up to sitting.
Crawling over to him without thought, I reached for the makeshift bandage that had been placed on his shoulder wound, unwinding it and scowling at the damage. It had improved, already beginning to close with his speedy shifter healing, but the edges were a little too inflamed for my liking. I placed a palm flat on his chest and found him running a little warmer than usual.
“Princess,” he said softly, a husky thread of need in his voice as I pressed close.
I raised my palms to his face, ignoring him and focusing on what he needed medically. Looking into his eyes, I was pleased to see his vision was focused and clear, his colour slightly pale but mostly normal.
“I think there’s a little infection in your wound,” I murmured, inspecting it again and making him hiss in pain. “You can probably fight it off yourself but I’m going to make you a poultice to help when we stop again.”
He raised a hand, gently tucking a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “Princess.”
His tone was firmer this time, and my mouth instinctively opened to snap back against the subtle command. The turmoil and plea in his gaze broke something inside me though, and I immediately backed down, heaving a sigh as I dropped my hands and face away from him.
His fingers pushed into my hair in the next second and he deliberately tipped my head back until I was looking into his dark eyes. Our bond thrummed, and the desire to close the distance between our lips was hard to resist. I didn’t do it though. As much as I wanted to trust him, to just throw myself back into his arms, we had a lot to set straight first.
“I missed you, beautiful girl,” he murmured, smoothing his thumb over my cheekbone.
