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“They aren’t my wolves. They are their own creature,” he said calmly. “Just like the deer was hers. Her death provided life to so many others.”
I hugged myself. “Do you...do you eat like the wolves do?” I did my best to hide my cringe, picturing him with his mouth red and teeth tearing at still-warm flesh.
He stiffened but nodded. “I know no other way. Salak brought me back to life with blood. That is what they eat, so that is what I eat.”
“But you just said it yourself. You are not one of them.”
“No, but their way has kept me alive.” Moving closer, he lowered his hands. “You felt something...back there. What was it?” His eyes searched mine. “You tensed then shuddered, almost as if you relived the kill. How can you know she had a fawn?”
How much could I tell him without sounding mentally unwell? I’d been able to hide my sensitivity amongst the Nhil thanks to Niya, but here...what was I supposed to eat? Could I survive until tomorrow before soothing the snarling starvation in my stomach?
I have no choice.
I wouldn’t eat that deer.
I wouldn’t step into that glen again or see what the wolves had done.
“You can tell me, Runa.”
Runa.
A full-body shiver worked through me.
My name on his lips made me feel not so alone, not so lost. Each time he used it, I felt closer to him, tethered with tiny strings that were becoming harder and harder to undo.
Giving me a gentle smile, the stranger ran his knuckles along my chin. He’d done that before. The beginnings of a habit, and the burst of heat that always seemed to spring when he touched me soothed the aching in my heart.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.” His knuckles kissed my cheekbone, barely there but oh-so sensitive. His touch made me hum and burn. I no longer feared retribution smiting me from the sky. How could anything that felt this right be wrong?
His smoky-grey gaze locked with mine, soft and worried. “Whatever you’re hiding, you can tell me. I want your truth, just like I’ll give you mine.”
My shoulders sagged; honesty surged onto my tongue. He wasn’t Nhil. He saw me in ways that the Nhil didn’t. If I couldn’t be truthful with him, who could I be?
“I felt her spirit,” I murmured.
He dropped his hand slowly, giving me space by taking that wonderful connection away. “Felt her spirit? As in...you grieved her death?”
“No...” I shook my head. “I felt her death. As if I was her.” Stepping away, I swallowed hard. “It’s the same whenever meat is served. The first time I tried, I almost gagged on the tingling lifeforce retained in its body. The second time, I felt it even before I’d placed the meat on my tongue. This time, I felt it just by standing near her carcass.”
He scowled. “Yet you wear their furs as if they’re your own.”
I hung my head. “I’m aware that seems contradictory, but the Nhil custom is to wear clothing, and...I ignore the tingles of the previous wearer when I first slip them on.” I raised my chin. “It doesn’t mean I’m unaware...just unwilling to be bare amongst a clan of clothed.”
He didn’t speak for a moment, his jaw working as he gnawed on his bottom lip. Finally, his nostrils flared, and the darkish tones of his skin flickered with another licking shadow. Tipping his head back, he yipped like a wolf. Sharp and savage, summoning and sudden.
I tripped backward. “You called them. Why?” I scanned the dense undergrowth, searching for a tiny orphaned deer. “I don’t want them to find the fawn. I don’t think I could stomach watching them tear it apart—”
The stranger moved toward me, his handsome face stern but understanding. “If you’re determined to find the deer’s offspring, we’ll need help. Their noses are much keener than ours.”
“But if they find it—”
“They’ll protect it.”
“Why? Why would they go against nature and not eat it?”
“Because I’m going to ask them not to.” He crossed his arms, his head cocking to the side. “They’re here.”
My nape prickled as three enormous wolves prowled from the undergrowth. Their spiral horns were different lengths but all as sharp as their fangs. I didn’t move as the three pelted predators moved toward the stranger, their glowing yellow eyes fixed on him.
Stroking the muzzle of the closest one, the stranger said, “We’re searching for a fawn. It will smell similar to the deer you just hunted. Find it but don’t hurt it. It’s not to be eaten, do you understand?”
The wolf turned its head as if mulling over the stranger’s words. It didn’t respond, or at least not in a language I could understand, but with a soft huff, it leapt forward and disappeared into the forest.
The other two followed, leaving as silently as they’d appeared.
