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He hadn’t liked doing that, it wasn’t in his nature to threaten a woman, but it had been necessary. There was no way he was going to let her ride back into that canyon with the threat of more snakepeople lurking around, and he’d let her know that in the only way the circumstances had allowed, with a raised voice and a firm hand.
The truth of the matter was, he was falling for her, the same way Tanner had fallen for her at Rosie’s. Already, Logan felt more protective toward the strange, secretive woman than he’d ever felt toward anyone or anything in his entire life.
But why had she wanted to go back into the canyon?
What had she lost back there?
If he was going to get any answers out of her, he would first need to patch things up between them. Like most alphas, he was not much good when it came to apologies, but he decided to give it a try. Without standing up, he moved a little closer to where the woman was sitting.
“Looks like Tanner is going to pull through,” he said by way of an icebreaker.
The woman flinched as if woken from a dream. Her glittering eyes shot in his direction, but Logan saw no recognition in those turquoise depths—only fear. For a moment, he actually thought she was going to bolt away from him, but then the fear subsided a little, and she let out a tiny, trembling sigh.
“What?”
“Tanner,” Logan said cautiously. “He’s going to pull through, ma’am. He just needs some more rest.”
The woman’s expression suddenly shifted from fearful to sultry.
“Good,” she purred. “I’ll be needing both of you.”
Then, just as quickly as it had vanished, the fear returned to her eyes, and she drew back a little, seemingly surprised by what she had just said.
Logan was surprised too. It was as if the woman had been momentarily possessed. Now she was trembling, and beads of sweat studded her brow, glistening like sequins in the firelight.
“Ma’am… are you okay?”
“Fine!” she blurted. “Just fine!”
But she clearly wasn’t fine. Something was wrong with her. Venom, perhaps? If the snakeman had grazed her with his fangs…
No. Even half a drop of snakeman venom would be enough to kill a beta like her.
Her wound then. The one on her arm. If that had become infected, it could bring on a fever, which would explain her odd behavior, her pallor, and her sweat.
“Miss Duffy, about that scratch on your arm… maybe you should let me—”
“It’s fine!” she snarled, pulling back. “Don’t touch me! Stay away!”
Logan lifted his hands palms out to show he meant her no harm, and he backed away a few feet too.
Damn. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe the woman was simply afraid of him. He’d certainly given her reason to be. Earlier, outside the canyon, he’d used the full force of his alpha voice on her. That was enough to make some grown men brown their britches, but she’d stood her ground. He’d threatened to spank her too. Hell. Why had he done that? Now she probably thought he was no better than rotten bastard Blaylocke, or whatever his real name was.
Logan backed farther away from her, giving her some space, and he turned his eyes toward the fire again, letting the flames hypnotize him for a little while.
After a few minutes, he heard the woman stirring. She had risen, and was moving off into the shadows.
“Ma’am?”
“I’m just going to relieve myself, Mr. Summerhill. Is that alright with you?”
“Just asking,” he muttered under his breath.
He circled around the fire to check on Tanner. The alpha’s complexion wasn’t quite so pale anymore, and his breathing had steadied. When Logan pressed two fingers to his wrist, he felt that his pulse had quickened as well. He was recovering even more quickly than expected. That was good.
The sudden sound of galloping hoofbeats roused Logan to attention.
He whirled around just in time to catch a shadowy glimpse of the Duffy woman astride her gray mare riding off into the darkness. He already knew where she was going. She was heading back to that canyon to get whatever it was she’d lost back there.
