The rogues had retreated. The forest was quiet now - the only sounds the wind rushing through the trees, birds singing and my own harsh breathing alongside Finn's vibrating rage.
The adrenaline vanished, leaving a hollow ache that felt like my bones were being ground into glass. My jaw felt like it was being reset with a sledgehammer as my canines shortened. My obsidian claws slid back under my skin, leaving my fingertips raw and bleeding. I stumbled, the world spinning as the 'Alpha high' evaporated.
As I crashed towards the ground, I felt the comforting strength of Finn's muscular arms around me and my heart fluttered. He placed me gently down, resting my head in his lap.
"First shifts take the most out of you" his tone was still angry, but there was an underlying gentleness to it.
"I'm sorry," I breathed, his scent beginning to cloud my senses once again, bathing me in cool cedar and falling rain.
"I know you didn't mean to, but it was still not OK. You should never use Alpha command on your mate." He shifted and began to stroke my hair gently. The enforcer smoothly flipped back into mate mode. It was strange. Mere hours ago we had been strangers and yet... there was no where I would rather be in this moment than in his lap with him stroking my hair. "You didn't just stop me from fighting, Selina. You severed my soul. Don't ever use your blood to muzzle me again."
"I didn't do it on purpose. I'll try not to do it again, but you need to promise me you will not treat me like a child. I'm not a trophy to be guarded; I'm the person Kaelin is trying to kill."
"I can promise not to treat you like a child. I can't promise I won't put my life before yours, to be your protector. Your hound as you put it." There was a slight echo of hurt in that last part.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I don't know what came over me. I..."
"We need to move," Elias suddenly piped up, that sickly yellow smell of fear radiating from him once again.
"He's right," Finn agreed. He lifted me to my feet but I was unsteady. Suddenly, I was swept off the ground and placed over his shoulder.
The rest of the walk was a blur of forest. The scent of pine, imminent rain, wildlife. The sounds of animals scurrying to find shelter. Finn's heartbeat thumping like a war drum next to mine. The last slivers of sunlight crept through the gaps in the trees, the sky a beautiful blend of purple and amber hues. Suddenly Finn stopped.
"There," he pointed towards a cave. "We can shelter there whilst we clean up and work out our next move." He started moving again, Elias trailing behind us.
He carried me inside, leaning me against a wall while he pulled a blanket from the bag to lay out on the floor. I laid on it as the scent and sound of freshly falling rain enveloped my senses, calming me despite the storm we were facing.
"Where is Elias?" I asked Finn.
"He's checking the perimeter and setting up a protective barrier," he explained as he removed his shirt. He leaned over to rummage through the bag, looking for food and medical supplies. As he leaned over, I noticed the scars on his back - criss-crossing white lines that shimmered in the light.
"Those scars on your back.... I thought you healed Finn?" I asked quietly.
"Not from an Alpha's silver whip. Kaelin doesn't just punish his hounds; he carves his authority into our marrow. Silver-laced whips leave scars that the wolf can't lick away. It's a permanent reminder of whose leash we wear. Wolves cannot tolerate silver - as you must have noticed when you pulled that bolt from Elias' shoulder. It causes our skin to burn, prevents healing. That is why it is used by hunters to kill us."
I froze, remembering the bubbling wound on Elias' shoulder. My aversion to silver suddenly explained. Why Karina had told me never to touch it with my bare skin.
"Will you not be punished for sparing me if he catches us?" I questioned. I couldn't bare the thought of being the cause of his pain.
He looked at me knowingly.
"Like I told you my love, I would give my life for you without hesitation." Warmth pooled in the depths of my soul and I desperately wanted him to just take me into his arms there and then. Instead, he took my hands, delicately cleaning the bloody ends of my fingers. "Your wolf will heal you now you have connected, so don't worry. The pain will be gone soon." He kissed my knuckles. His lips were warm against my raw skin, a sharp contrast to the damp chill of the cave.
For a second, the 'Static' in my head purred, a low, contented sound that made me want to forget the war waiting outside the cave mouth. It made my stomach flip with joy. I didn't even know a few hours ago I could be capable of feeling like this. This whole mate bond thing is surreal - such a strong connection to someone you don't even know. It's a lot to take in. Mere hours ago I was a lonely human. Now I was a powerful wolf, heir to a pack, with a mate, a very handsome mate I might add, who would give anything, including his life, to protect me. It was surreal to say the least.
Elias emerged then interrupting my train of thought.
"The perimeter is secure. The barriers are in place." he announced, collapsing in a heap.
Finn began to build a small fire in the centre of the cave. Suddenly a chill ran through me. That uninvited intrusion once again reverberating in my mind. Malakai's voice didn't just speak; it slid into my mind like a cold blade. It left a trail of frost behind my eyes, making the warmth Finn had just ignited turn into a block of lead in my stomach.
He's playing the martyr, isn't he? He's keeping a secret from you. Ask him about the night the palace fell. Ask him whose scent was on the blade that pierced your mother's heart....
I froze. Could it be true? Could the man my soul had joined with, that fate had chosen for me, be the very same that murdered the mother I never knew?