Page 49 of Cursed Magic

“The queen told me she’d handle the situation.” Raven’s voice was strained. “I didn’t know this would happen. You must see that.”

“Did she tell you not to alert me and the pack?” he challenged.

Hey, it’s going to be okay,Briar linked and ran a hand through my tangled hair.Kendric and Raven’s disagreement isn’t your fault.

If I weren’t feeling so awful, I’d laugh. My sister knew me better than I knew myself.

I took another big mouthful, knowing it’d be my last. My wolf settled, and the strange new warm feeling within me began to pulse throughout my body.

Get some rest. You’re going to need it when you wake up and I get hold of you.

Warm, firm lips pressed against my forehead, I heard the door open and shut, and then the room became silent. I peeked out. Both Kendric’s huge, looming figure and Raven’s tall, slender frame were gone. They must have taken their argument somewhere else, and I hated that I couldn’t have Raven’s back like she’d had ours.

“Ember…” Ryker mumbled and groaned.

Instinctively, I found his hand and squeezed, ignoring the sharp pain that traveled up my arm. “I’m right here. We’re safe for now.” The buzz of our connection sprang up between us, releasing some of the worry that had settled on my shoulders. When he had been near death, it became almost too faint to feel.

He moved, and I looked over and saw that he’d turnedhis face in my direction. I wanted to stare into his eyes and rejoice that he seemed better off than I’d feared, but the world turned too quickly for me to maintain eye contact.

“Stay beside me, please.”

“Always” left my lips before I even processed what I’d said.

But before I could, sleep overtook me.

Something tugged at my consciousness, and I became aware of a soft sound—a steady and strong heartbeat. My eyes fluttered open to find Ryker watching me, his expression intent yet tender. The warmth of his gaze sent a different kind of pulse through me, tingling beneath my skin. My wolf edged forward.

He exhaled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “How are you feeling?”

The intimate touch had my face warming, and I managed a weak smile. “Like I got hit by three trucks and dragged for miles. I’m exhausted.” I yawned, unable to hold it back. However, when I lifted my head, it gave only a twinge of discomfort. “How about you?”

An amused glint sparked the golden tinges in his hazel eyes. “Well, if you got hit by three trucks, then I’m going to say two. There’s no way you’ll outheal me, lil rebel.”

Before I could protest, he pulled me gently into his arms.

“Your injuries.” My gaze flicked to his stomach. The bandage had been changed and was stark white again, and his arms seemed to have been cleaned and had already scabbed over, which shouldn’t have been possible even with wolf-shifter healing.

“Don’t worry. I’m truly feeling a lot better than last night.”

Without a good reason not to, my body moved in sync with his as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He nestled my head against his shoulder, and I breathed in his scent, earthy and warm. We stayed that way, our closeness soothing and charged at once.

His chest rumbled. “I never thought I’d get to hold you like this.”

The room spun again, though not from blood loss and pain this time. “I really didn’t think we’d make it out of there.”

“But we did.” He leaned his head against mine.

I’ll be in there with breakfast for you two soon,Briar linked.I’m assuming you both need your bandages changed and another protein drink.

My stomach grumbled at the thought. However, something more substantial would be nice.How about a steak?

A steak?Her shock blasted through our connection.I don’t think that’s wise since you struggled with drinking a quarter of the protein mixture I made for you last night.

Mixture is right.I wanted to vomit just thinking about the awfulness, but to her credit, I did feel much better. “Briar is making us something to eat. Do you want a steak?”

His brows lifted comically. “Fuck yeah. My mouth is already drooling just thinking about it.”

Make that two steaks, please.Normally, I was the one in the kitchen cooking and baking. Wistfulness took me by surprise. In all the chaos, I had barely gotten to bake except for some brownies while we were at the vampire mansion, something I’d done daily until the night of the ceremony.

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