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“I’m sorry,” I told his wolf, who glared at me. “I had to.”
His growl was terrible. I raised one hand and stroked his cheek, until his eyes darkened once more, and it was Nathaniel I was talking to. He didn’t look any happier.
“Pull anything like that again,” he said, his voice soft in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “And I’ll tie you up and leave you in my house whileIsearch for the lab.”
I pushed at his chest, but his arms were clamped around mine. I knew I’d terrified him, but I needed to nip this bullshit in the bud before it bloomed.
“Don’t threaten me,” I said, my voice just as soft. “It won’t get you what you want.”
“It’s not a threat. I’m the werewolf Alpha. People of all power levels owe me a favor. If I wanted, I could keep you away from danger.”
I punched him in the gut. If it hurt, he didn’t let me know. His eyes had gone wolf again.
“You ever try to keep me from doing what I was born to do, and I willleaveyou. Do you understand me?”
“When I saw you sucked under, when you threw that rock at me, I thought I’d lost you too. I nearly rampaged, Evie. Something I haven’t done for over seventy years.”
“You’d never do that.”
He bared his teeth in a sharp smile. “The moment I met you, no one else mattered.”
I didn’t believe that. He shook his head at me. “You truly don’t understand. You’re the other half of my soul. My wolf isyours.”
If he’d continued with the threats, I would have ramped up our power struggle. But the desolation and terror in his eyes made me suck in a steadying breath. As I got a handle on my own fear and fury, his wolf seemed to calm.
“Where you go, I go,” Nathaniel said. “Do you think I’d continue to live without you?”
“We haven’t, um, mated,” I said. “Your wolf would survive.”
He shook his head at me. “My wolf has no consideration for the formalities of it all. He was yours the moment he saw you. And so was I.”
I’d done him a disservice by taking his fate into my own hands. If Nathaniel had done that to me, I’d be ripping him a new one.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I’m a hypocrite.”
His eyes widened.
I huffed out a breath. “You have a point. I shouldn’t have set the ward. Honestly, I could’ve used you down there. And I would’ve hated it if you’d left me like that. It’s going to take me a while to get used to compromising. But I’ll work on it. I promise.”
Nathaniel pondered me for a long moment. Then he lowered his head and brushed his mouth over mine. “That’s all I ask,” he said against my lips. “I found which direction Kyla is in. Let’s head for the armory, grab the sword, and get out of here.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He loosened his arms long enough for me to take a step back. His eyes darkened. “You’re hurt.”
I raised my hand to my bruised face. My fingers slid through yellow goo, and I swallowed, barely suppressing the urge to gag. It smelled like rotten meat.
“I can’t believe you hugged me,” I muttered.
He just smiled. “You definitely need a shower.”
“Now there’s an understatement.” I hauled the backpack off my back, pulled out the map, and handed it to him. I knew where my strengths lay, and I was bad at directions at the best of times. I’d fallen through the floor to a lower level, made it up these stairs, and I was assuming we were still close to the dungeons. But this castle made no sense half the time.
Nathaniel’s brow creased in thought as he studied the map. The expression was so cute on him, I wanted to jump him. He slowly lifted his head and raised one eyebrow, likely scenting that interest.
Shoving my hands on to my hips, I gave him my hard stare. “Mind your business.”
