en's

ten, my warriors had warned me against using it. Said it was cur

ed. It hit me like lightning to the spine, sharp, raw, and fam

I was already moving, veering off the trail as I pushed thro

hispered inside me..." G

was

t...it grew stronger as I climbed the ridge. There, hidden behind a wall

ng else stopped. There she was...collapsed on the dusty floor, curled into her

breathing was weak, her skin dripping with sweat, her body shaking with fever. And yet...e

rom my lungs. Damn, she was beautiful. Even with everything that was

d with tears. Lips cracked but still shaking with determination. And her scent..

er hands were still clinging over her belly, and though he

she whispered. "Not

t you to capt

elf my cousin. Now it all made sense to me, she belonged to him. That was his scent beneath h

ot here to

e state, but her body still betrayed her ... .her knees still shaking. I moved on instinc

y arms, her fists hitting against my chest like

than be dragge

teady. "I'm not taking you back to him." She blinked, her

r. But there was Something about her...something wrong and right all at o

weight in my arms. "But I need to move now. You have a fever and it's bu

pack, no. They would ask questions. They would sense that something was

estern side. It was isolated, enough to shield one, hidden under a canopy of stars and silence. I lai

heck her pulse. I sat across the room that night, watching her sleep, w

ut pity. But I was lying. There was something between us...som

way her lips parted as if she was calling out ... not for help, bu

trying to figure out if I wanted to claim her or kill every da

orm she brought int

sn't going to let he