Page 410 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 20

Boris peered into the pit trap, searching for the brooch he'd used as bait to lure Igor in. Blasted boy, he'd managed to drag it into the hole with him. Thankfully, Boris was much taller than the boy, so he hooked his legs around the nearest tree and lowered himself over the lip of the hole. He'd have to move Igor's unconscious body to the side to get to it, though.

Boris rolled the boy onto his side…only to find it wasn't Igor at all, but some girl he'd never seen before.

He'd caught an innocent in his trap. Worse, she was bleeding from the blow to the head that had knocked her out.

Only one thing to do, then. Boris climbed down into the hole, grabbed the brooch and the girl, then laid them on the lip before hauling himself out, too.

What to do with her? He could hardly take her to the nearest healer – he had no idea who or where they might be, even if the healer didn't faint in terror at the sight of him.

He should take her to his cave, lay her down beside the fire, and wait for her to wake up.

And what if she didn't? He'd seen men take head wounds in war, from which they never recovered. Never woke…

No, she would wake, beside his fire, and he'd make sure she got home safely.

Somehow without letting her see him.

Boris sighed. What were her family thinking, letting this slip of a girl wander alone in the woods?

---