“Blake, don’t.”
He clenches one of his fists, and his knuckles whiten. He closes his eyes. When he opens them again, the wolf is stronger than ever. A slow, feral grin spreads across his lips. “Run.”
Adrenaline surges through me. “No.” I fight the tremble in my legs. I step closer and he straightens. “I’m not doing that with you again. Get a hold of yourself.”
His breathing deepens. His essence floods me, dark and primal. That shadow of him wraps around my soul. It’s all-consuming. Suffocating. Sweat beads on my brow. Dots dance across my vision. He growls.Hunt.
“Blake.Stop it.”
Every muscle in his body is taut. My skin is clammy. The feeling... It almost feels like when he used the Àithne on me, but stronger. It provokes the wildness inside me.Hunt. Claim. Bite.I push back the fever that rises. I stand on tiptoes and grab his face with both hands. He snarls, and his breath mingles with mine.Hunt.
“Get a hold of yourself!”
A scream builds inside me. A need to be free. I feel like the moment before a storm breaks.
I shove him through the bond. I can’t explain how I do it, but I take that shadowy part of him and push it back. His eyes flicker. The shadow inside me loosens its grip. A crease forms between his eyebrows. I feel his emotions start to settle. A low, rough noise escapes him as he turns away from me. He bites his arm.
“Blake! What are you. . .?”
His relief crashes through me with such ferocity that I barely notice the sensation of teeth sinking into my flesh. He releases a soft moan that courses through me.Wolves like to bite,Callum had told me. He takes a couple of deep breaths. He raises his head. His own blood stains his lips. He blinks, and his eyes shift back to normal.
We’re both breathing hard. He glances at the open case on the altar. He nods at the roll of gauze. “Would you mind?” His voice is rougher than usual.
Shaken, I head to the case and take the roll of gauze. I stand on my tiptoes, and brush the tops of his shoulders. “I. . .I won’t be able to do it properly unless you kneel down. You’re too tall.”
Slowly, he lowers himself to his knees. Covered in blood, and breathing hard in front of the altar, he looks like a fallen god begging for repentance.
I touch one of his shoulders, and feel his muscle knotted beneath. I wind the fabric around his upper arm and shoulder. A heavy, smothering silence falls upon us. It’s weighted. Uncomfortable. His breathing is still fast. Blood spreads across the gauze, though it’s already slowing. It’s as black as ink in the darkness.
Finally, I tuck in the end of the gauze. “Done.”
“Thank you.” He clears his throat, then stands.
The door bursts open. Blake’s hand moves to his stolen dagger, and I spin around.
Duncan stands in the doorway, breathless. His cheeks are flushed, and his shirt is stained with blood. “I’ve come with a message from the king.” Blake unsheathes his weapon, and walks toward him. Duncan raises his arms, eyes widening. “Thenewking.”
I grab Blake’s bicep, and he halts beside me. “Callum?” I breathe.
“Yes, Callum.” He looks between Blake and me warily. “Callum is king. He’s on his way to Madadh-allaidh to join Lochlan and his army. He says you’re to come. Immediately.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Duncan stands in the doorway. The wind blows his blue kilt against his thighs, and the night spills onto the flagstones before him. His shirt is bloody, and some of his blond hair has escaped its knot. There’s a bruise forming over his eye, and I wonder if Blake gave it to him, or one of Alexander’s men.
Callum is king.
Relief bursts in my chest, but it’s quickly stifled. Duncan was my prison warden when I was kept in a cell. He held a blade to my throat. He could be lying. It’s hard to believe Callum would send Duncan to find me, rather than come and get me himself.
Do as he says.I push back Callum’s voice, and the feelings those words provoke.
Beside me, Blake’s hand is curled around the hilt of his dagger. His arm is pressed against mine. He’s still shirtless, his skin is pale and clammy, and we’re both covered in blood. Duncan looks between us warily.
“I’m not lying,” he says. “Callum sent me.”
“The Borderlands men?” asks Blake.
“They rode away after Alexander left.”
