Page 62 of Sold Wolf Slave

I reached out, turning her head so she was looking at me again. I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I know this is bad. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. But staying isn’t going to help your sister. The only thing that will happen if you stick around is that you’ll get dragged back into slavery or killed, neither of which is remotely helpful to Morgan.”

She blinked up at me, and I could see the tears filling her eyes. Howls sounded somewhere in the streets beyond, dozens of paws pounding the cobblestone. The hunt for us had begun.

“Please,” I said. “I can’t lose you.”

A single tear began falling down her cheek as she looked behind me down the street, as if hoping that Morgan would magically appear. Her shoulders slumped, and she took a deep, shaking breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, and another handful of tears spilled down her face. Finally, she nodded. Without a word, she turned and stepped through the portal.

The instant she disappeared, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. Kendra was safe.

Another round of howls and calls echoed behind us. Without wasting any time, Nolan, Chris, and I stepped through the portal. That same squeezing sensation that had happened last time slammed into me. I could barely breathe as I flew through the dark colors all around me.

I stumbled out onto the grass, a beautiful blue sky overhead with puffs of white clouds. Birdsong twittered through the air, and a soft, cool breeze blew through the clearing.

Nolan and Chris stumbled out after me, both panting, Nolan looking slightly queasy. Kendra stood a few feet away, barely noticing us, her gaze locked slightly overhead. She stared back where we had emerged. Her jaw worked as pain and guilt flooded her eyes. She was acting like she’d just been rendered mute.

“It’s gone,” she murmured. “The portal isn’t there anymore.”

Chris stepped forward, holding out his hand as if testing the air. “How can you be sure?”

“I can’t sense any magic,” she said. “It was there just after we got out, and now…”

She stopped talking, as if something had lodged in her throat. She looked like she might collapse to the ground. I pulled her against my chest, holding her as I stroked her hair. I leaned my head on hers, trying to give her some semblance of comfort as she wrapped her arms around me and soft sobs began.

“It’s okay,” I muttered to her. “It’s going to be okay.”

She buried her face in my shoulder, crying as her nails dug into my skin. I felt like she might collapse at any moment without me there.

“I failed her,” she wailed.

“No, you didn’t,” I insisted, stroking her hair as I held her against me. “She would have wanted you out of there. She wanted you safe.”

“But she’s still in there,” she sobbed, the cries masking her words so they came out almost garbled. “She’s the one who should be out here, not me. She doesn’t deserve any of what’s happened to her. It’s all my fault.”

“We’ll get her,” I said. “I promise. For the moment, I’m just glad you’re okay.” I took a deep breath, unsure how to say this next bit but knowing I had to. “I can’t tell you how angry I was when I found out Ronan had taken you. I went nearly insane.”

She stopped crying and glanced up at me, her eyes glistening with tears, both for Morgan and because of something else that I couldn’t quite discern.

“You came after me instead of leaving,” she said. “You risked the mission for me.”

“Of course I did,” I replied. “I don’t care what it is. I will put you over any mission.” I took a deep breath, knowing I needed to tell her, knowing she needed to know before any more time had passed. I couldn’t keep it in any longer.

“I know we haven’t known one another for long,” I said. “But I love you.”

She blinked, some of the tears subsiding as she looked at me. “What?”

“I love you,” I repeated. “And I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to get your sister back. Not for any mission. For you.”

A dozen emotions seemed to spread across Kendra’s face at once as she stared up at me, her eyes glittering. I waited, breathless, to see how she would react. Without a word, she pulled my face to hers. Her lips brushed against mine, lingering there for a long moment.

“I love you, too,” she said, then nuzzled against me.

Despite everything, a wave of relief and delight washed over me at those four simple words. We had a lot of work to do; everyone knew it. But at least one good thing had happened from this nightmare.

I took her chin, tilted it up toward mine, and pressed my lips to hers again.

The next kiss was deeper, more intimate. Her hands wrapped around my neck as mine slipped to the small of her back, pressing her against me. For a moment, just for the length of that kiss, nothing else mattered. Everything else could wait. Just for the moment.

Chapter 23 - Kendra

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