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“He made it to the road,” the guard sighed heavily. “If he hadn’t…”
I stared at him, waiting for a prognosis.
“The healers should get to him in time, Alpha.”
I pursed my lips, incensed at the cowardice of the attack, but my next concern was for Mirielle, who stood a few feet away. She stood back uncertainly, as if she wasn’t sure if she should approach. But our fight was the last thing on my mind right now. She had just saved me from certain death.
“Miri,” I called, rising to my feet to gesture her forward. “Come to me.”
Glancing over her shoulder again as if she expected the assailants to return, she did as I requested, the concern in her eyes tangible.
“Are you all right?” she breathed. “What happened?”
“The goddamn Order of Souls happened!” I sputtered, dusting off my naked body. Calliver produced a blanket and a pair of pants, which I haphazardly made it into as I spoke. “They were lurking, waiting for us. They must have followed us from the castle. What a relief that you weren’t with us.”
She stared at me, stunned, and I shook my head.
“I should have listened to you about coming to the city,” I went on miserably. “I couldn’t have known they’d be so damn brazen.”
She continued to stare at me, and I stepped closer to her, pulling her against my chest. “You don’t need to worry, Mirielle. This doesn’t change anything. I will still protect you. Always.”
Suddenly, I pulled back to look at her. “Areyouhurt? How did you manage to ward them off?”
“I must have startled them,” she breathed shakily.
I embraced her tightly again and kissed the top of her head, but released her almost as quickly as I collected her in my arms. I sniffed the air around her, wrinkling my nose in disgust.
“You’re rank with dark magic, Mirielle,” I told her warily. She balked and hung her head as I stared at her suspiciously. “How close did you get to them?”
“Not very,” she mumbled.
“You must have gotten pretty damn close if you smell like one of them,” I insisted. “You put yourself in danger!”
“I didn’t do much,” she insisted, but I didn’t believe her.
My chest tightened with adoration for her. She had risked so much to save me, and she wasn’t even admitting to it.
“Come on, Alpha,” Calliver urged. “We should get you back to the castle before they return with more.”
“I agree,” I said, accepting Mirielle’s arm to lead me up the incline to where the SUV waited. Again, I caught the whiff of dark magic in her hair and was impressed with how much she had done to save me.
Nestled in the back of the vehicle, Calliver raced back toward the castle with one eye on the rear-view mirror.
I turned to her with an apology in my eyes.
“I shouldn’t have said what I did back on the beach,” I began, but she held up a hand quickly, shaking her head.
“Let’s not do this right now,” she insisted. “Let’s get you to the infirmary and have the healers check you out.”
“Why? Are you worried I have brain damage and what I’m going to say isn’t true?” I teased.
She didn’t smile, the passing streetlights allowing me to catch full snatches of her solemn expression as we moved through the city.
I took her hand and squeezed softly. “You must have been terrified, Little Mouse.”
She visibly swallowed but said nothing, her lids hiding the brilliance of her vivid eyes.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone, but in hindsight, it’s probably a good thing that I did. I never would have forgiven myself if they had attacked the car with you in it.”
