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“Put Salak’s to shame,” I murmured, rigid beside Kiu.
I shot to my feet, raking both hands through my hair. My fingers tangled on a dried leaf. I tugged on it, throwing it to the cave floor. “Halcyodon,” I whispered, slamming to a stop.
Halcyodon.
The word didn’t exist before.
But now, it did.
It danced through my mind. A memory I’d lost. A memory that was suddenly mine again.
My chest swelled, and my skin burned with life.
Finally.
Something.
Storming to Runa’s side, I slammed to my knees beside her and snatched her hand. I squeezed her fingers. “I remembered.” My lips stretched into a manic smile. “I actually remembered something.”
She leaned forward, her amber eyes glowing with a sudden golden ring. It looked like an eclipse. Like the sun hid behind her gaze, blotted out by forgetfulness but still burning deep and bright inside. “What? What did you remember?” Her beaming smile made her the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Her joy for me made my heart trip.
I couldn’t help myself.
Tugging her fingers, I pulled her into me.
My free hand cradled her jaw as I tipped her head back and pressed my lips to hers.
Everything stopped.
My breath.
My heart.
All that existed was the soft warmth of her mouth, the sweetest puff of her surprise on my cheek, and the sudden rip-burning agony in my moon mark.
She shuddered in my hold.
Her lips shifted beneath mine.
My body hardened and heart pounded.
A groan echoed in my chest as I dragged her closer, wanting to crawl inside her.
My tongue licked at the seam of her mouth and—
Teeth suddenly sank into my forearm.
My eyes flew wide as my hand cradling Runa’s jaw was ripped away. Kiu stood over us, her massive height even more impressive with us kneeling before her. Pups whimpered at being displaced, and Natim cowered by Runa’s leg.
The wolf snarled, her yellow eyes locked on me while her body swayed toward Runa as if protecting her from me.
I frowned and shifted backward. Holding up my hands in surrender, I glanced at the pinpricks of blood her fangs had drawn on my arm. “Kiu, you know I’d never hurt her.”
The wolf mother merely huffed under her carrion breath.
Runa hesitantly reached out and ran her hand over Kiu’s powerful shoulder. “It’s okay, Kiu.” Her voice was feather soft and hitched in a way that made my maleness twitch for so much more. “He wasn’t hurting me.”
A few wriggling pups whimpered and rolled toward Kiu, searching for her comforting heat. She stopped snarling and glanced at her brood, a war in her eyes about where she was needed most.
“Go to them,” Runa urged. “I’m fine.”
For a heartbeat, Kiu looked as if she’d disobey and launch herself at my throat, but then Natim bleated and headbutted her leg and she prowled back to her nest, sitting down but not lying. Her horns scraped the cave wall as she yawned and tipped her head back, her savage stare not leaving mine.
Runa didn’t move.
Tension sprang between us that wasn’t there before.
My mouth stung from kissing her, and I stroked my bottom lip with my thumb.
Runa sucked in a breath, her fingers straying to her thigh. They came away with a streak of crimson. “My mark bled.” She sighed and raised her chin. “Did yours?”
Dropping my hand from my lips, I touched my thigh. I flinched as I grazed the moon-shaped smudge, glaring at the streak of blood left behind.
I met her gaze. “A little.”
“What does it mean?” she breathed.
I exhaled heavily. “No idea.”
Natim nuzzled his wolfling littermates out of the way as Kiu finally lay back down with a grunt. Runa watched the family all while my mind raced and heart pounded.
She looked as empty, lost, and afraid as I felt.
The awkward stiffness between us was more than I could bear.
I didn’t risk touching her, but I did lean forward, searching for the prickles and heat that always danced over my skin whenever we were close. “I remembered the name of the beast you saw that night.” I tried to recapture the magic of before. “It’s called a Halcyodon, and you didn’t dream it.”
Runa shivered, rubbing her arms. “You saw it too?”
“Not while walking. I saw it when—” How could I tell her I’d seen it when I sank into death after her lynx bit me and the fevers pushed me deep? I’d only just said it wasn’t a dream, yet for me...it had been. “The word is from our shared language. The one you told me we shouldn’t know.”
Runa bit her bottom lip, making my mouth water to kiss her again. “I know. It means harmony...tranquillity.” She curled over her knees.
“I think that’s why you saw it that night,” I whispered. “After a lifetime of feeling so lost and alone, you paused and saw beauty. You were tranquil for the first time and summoned the very creature that embodies the word.”
