He, on the other hand, looks just as annoyingly attractive as always.
I shake the thought from my head, running a hand through my tangled hair as I struggle to form words. Meanwhile, Kai is content to watch me squirm as I try to come up with something to break the heavy silence that has fallen between us.
My eyes drop to his bandaged wound and words tumble out of my mouth. “So, I’m assuming Braxton did this to you?”
Kai chuckles as he runs a hand through his own hair, only causing the messy, black waves to tumble over his brow again. “You should see what I did to him.” He says the words so casually that I would think he was kidding if I didn’t know what he was capable of.
“Yeah, well.” I look away, about to say something that will likely piss the prince off when he holds up a hand, quieting me.
“Don’t. Move.”
I scoff. “What, is there another mosquito on my—”
His hand clamps over my mouth before he whirls me around by the waist, pinning me against his solid frame. I’m stunned for heartbeat before I contemplate biting the fingers covering my lips. But something about the way his breathing quickens makes me pause my plotting to escape his hold. And with his chest pressed against my back, I can feel his heart hammering quickly. Too quickly.
I spot movement in my peripheral, my eyes snapping to the large, looming shape now stalking towards us through the wall of trees. Silver fur gleams in the sunlight, shifting with every move of the powerful body beneath. Glowing yellow eyes lock with mine as the beast halts, eying us from afar.
Wolf.
No. Wolves.
My eyes scan the trees, finding four more massive bodies covered in fur, all ranging in color. The five of them watch us, half covered by the surrounding pine trees as they size up their next meal with hungry eyes.
My heart is thumping against my ribcage, my breathing shallow and quick. It’s a good thing Kai’s hand is still covering my mouth, because I nearly yelp at the sudden feel of his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “You never seem to listen, do you?”
I reach up slowly, keeping my eyes trained on the wolves as I grab his wrist and pull his hand away from my mouth. “Technically, I did listen. I talked, not moved,” I whisper back, my voice sharp.
I can feel his mouth smiling against my ear. “Smartass.”
“So, what’s the plan? What are we doing?” My voice is urgent as I eye the wolves.
“There is no we,” he says softly, releasing his hold to step slowly around until he’s standing in front of me. “You are still injured,” he murmurs, “and I’m not risking you tearing my stitches open.”
Absolutely not.
I step to his side, irritated. “What happened to us being partners?”
“Well, we won’t be partners for much longer if you insist on getting yourself killed,” he mutters, silently drawing the sword from its sheath at his side.
“And you’re just going to take on five wolves by yourself? I don’t think so,” I whisper harshly. There is no way in hell I’m letting him fight on his own. My pride and paranoia won’t allow that.
“Then you clearly underestimate me, Gray.”
Slowly, so slowly, I pull the bow from my back, watching the wolves as I do. They don’t make a move, though they’ve sunk closer to the ground, ready to pounce and bound toward us.
I nock an arrow.
“Your wound is going to open back up, and I’ll have saved your life for nothing,” Kai hisses, his voice urgent and agitated.
I draw back the bowstring, pulling it taut as my stitches do the same, threatening to tear. Pain sears through my abdomen and along my ribs but I bite my tongue, ignoring it.
I smile slightly as I say, “Sorry to ruin your handiwork, partner.”
“Pae, don’t you dare—”
I fire.
The arrow finds its mark in the chest of the closest wolf, burying deep into that shiny, silver fur. The other wolves are charging towards us before their friend even hits the ground. I already have another arrow ready, nocked and aimed at a brown blur bounding closer. A shooting pain skitters along my abdomen as I fire the arrow, hitting the wolf in its hind leg.
Two of the beasts have separated from the others to circle around us, and I feel Kai’s back press against mine as he faces them. I ignore the limping wolf I shot and turn my attention towards the one that is now bounding towards me. I try to slow my panicked breathing before loosing an arrow at the creature. I curse when it misses, sailing past the beast’s ear and sinking into the ground behind it.
Kai’s back is no longer pressed against my own, leaving me clueless as to what is going on behind me. All I hear are snarls and the swipe of a sword against skin and bone. But I don’t have time to turn towards the scene at my back because I now have a snarling beast of my own before me. Its red-tinted fur shimmers almost as brightly as its bared, white teeth. It comes to a halt no more than two yards away from me and crouches, creeping closer. It’s massive and menacing and looking at me like I’m it’s next meal.
I can feel my wound bleeding, and the pain is brutal. If I pull back my bowstring one more time, I’ll likely rip my stitches if they haven’t done so already. But I have no other weapon, no power, no strength to fight.
The wolf slinks forward, growling as it plays with its food.
What do I do. What do I do. What do I do.
I pull back my bowstring—
The wolf pounces.
It’s a large, strong leap that sends it flying towards me with its jaw open and razor-sharp teeth displayed, ready to rip me to shreds.
Impulsively, instinctively, I rip the arrow from my bow and grip the shaft in my fist before thrusting the metal tip upwards to meet the wolf in the air. The arrow sinks deep into its heart, spraying me with hot blood before it falls to the ground with a thud.
I’m panting, still trying to process what just happened when I hear a grunt coming from behind me. I spin just in time to see Kai drag the blade of his sword down a wolf’s side, splitting it open with one easy motion. He turns swiftly to the other beast crawling towards him, already suffering from a brutal stab wound, though it still advances with a growl.
When the wolf launches towards him in one final attempt sink its teeth into his flesh, Kai sweeps his blade upwards in a high arc. The sword slices the creature across the chest with ease, and when it hits the ground, Kai grips the hilt with both hands and drives the tip of the blade down into the wolf’s side.
He stands there for a moment, looking every bit the killer he was raised to be. Then he yanks the sword out, wiping the bloody blade on the fur of the dead animal beneath him. He begins turning around as he says, “You still alive back there?”
I inhale sharply when he turns, displaying the deep bite on his shoulder. Blood oozes from the imprint of jagged teeth, trailing down his arm and over his fingers in rivulets. His eyes find mine before widening when they find something over my shoulder.
“Duck,” he orders, and I don’t hesitate before dropping into a crouch. In a flash, he pulls a throwing star from his pocket and sends it sailing through the air where my head was only a moment before. I hear something heavy hit the ground with a thud and turn to see the wolf I had shot in the leg only a few feet behind me, creeping in for the kill. Only now, it’s lying dead on the ground with a throwing star protruding from its eye.