Bonds of Hercules (Villains of Lore, #2)(7)

I crept closer, ignoring the pain in my leg.

Alexis held her hands to her chest and closed her eyes like she was concentrating.

She disappeared from the clearing.

Crack.

Lightning flashed.

Alexis rematerialized on the tree line in a cloud of smoke, a foot away from me, looking shocked.

Not only had she leapt a short distance—highly dangerous because of the increased odds of slamming into objects—but she’d leapt directly to me.

“You could have decapitated yourself on a tree!” I lunged for her, snow crunching.

Alexis threw herself backward, grimacing when she backed into a tree. Leaping while injured was also extremely dangerous. She’d exacerbated the hemorrhaging.

“Let me help you.”

Alexis moved away.

I stalked after her.

“Alexis, you shouldn’t leap when you’re injured. You could have hurt yourself!” Augustus shouted from the clearing.

He sprinted toward us with Patro and Achilles on his heels.

Alexis looked back and forth between the approaching men and the deeper woods with wild eyes, like she was debating her options.

She wouldn’t.

When injured, Spartans didn’t leap multiple times in a row because the odds of blood loss, permanent damage, and severe dismemberment were high. We were born with an innate sense of self-preservation.

Alexis took a deep breath.

Yes, she fucking would.

On instinct, I threw myself at her, my hand grabbing her bicep.

Crack.

The two of us were alone.

We were standing in a field of green grass.

The May temperature was mild. Shining softly, the sun was setting in a pink haze.

A hundred feet away, barbed wire fenced in a forest. A sign proclaimed in red letters, “Spartan Federation Militarized Protected Zone, Titans Beware.”

She’d taken us back to Montana, where we’d found her living under a fucking tarp.

“Do you have no sense of self-preservation?” I yelled in horror.

Alexis yanked out of my grip.

Stumbling, she ripped off her blood-soaked gloves and stared down at her trembling fingers. “Drex,” she mouthed silently.

Is there a faint glow coming from her hands?

She wiped it off and it looked normal.

“Leaping twice in a row? What were you thinking? Are you trying to kill yourself?” I snarled.

Her gaze shuttered.

Eyelashes coated in ice, wild curls frozen to her flushed face, she swayed on her feet like she was going to pass out as blood poured from her leg.

Rage and fear mixed inside my chest in a toxic combination.

“Look at me,” I demanded.

She turned away.

Dark thoughts mixed with helpless emotions. My aggression was chasing her away. I was known as the hunter of my generation for a reason—I knew when it was time to switch tactics.

I need to pretend to be a nice man.

With a deep breath, I lowered my voice and relaxed my posture. “Please … let me help you.”

The setting sun cast streaks of pink across her stubborn expression.

I pulled off my helmet and dropped it to show her I wasn’t a threat (I was). “We need to create a tourniquet around your leg and tie off your wound. You’re losing a lot of blood.”

Slowly, I unbuckled my armpit holsters and dropped my weapons onto the grass. I tugged off my black hunting shirt and handed the fabric over to her.

“Tie this around your leg.”

Alexis stared at it.

“Here—let me help.” I dropped to my knees.

The pads of my fingers grazed across her calf—awareness tingled up my arm, and I swallowed a guttural groan. Shifting to hide the inappropriate bulge in my pants, I wrapped the shirt around the top of her calf.

Keep it together. She’s fucking injured, you animal. As gently as possible, I tied it off in a knot.

“Thanks,” Alexis whispered hoarsely.

Water melted off her eyelashes and dripped onto my cheek—she was looking down at me with a strange expression.

Badump-Badump-Badump. My heart was in my throat.

It was the first word she’d said to me in months.

Moisture blurred my vision—I blinked it away.

Tie her up. Grab her quickly; she’s not expecting it. Throw her over your shoulder and leap away. Chain her to your side.

I swallowed thickly.

No. Give her a choice.

I forced my shoulders to relax.

“Let’s … get you back to the base so we can bandage you up properly.” I stood up to my full height and offered her my hand. “I’ll leap us back.”

Be the good guy.

Her expression became guarded.

Fuck, I should have grabbed her.

“Why—not?” My neck tensed and I tried not to bare my teeth like a predator.

I expected silence.

Alexis’s head whipped around, her two-colored eyes boring through me with intensity.

Blood dripped down her cheeks from where she’d cut herself on tree branches—curls stuck out in every direction—her face twisted with dark emotions.

“You betrayed me.”

Shaking my head, I held out my arm for her to take. “No—I married you.”

Alexis’s voice was cold as ice. “Was it worth hurting me … just for your p-powers? Did you get everything you wanted?”