Page 80 of To Hunt A Wolf
Levi appears, breathless and with a hard gleam in his eye. He nods for me to follow him away from what’s left of the fight. Reluctantly, I do.
We haul ass through the gorge, increasing our speed only when the rest of our ranks finish with the enemy behind us and catch up.
I do a quick count as I run.
We’ve lost two more.
As much as I want another chance for vengeance, I find myself hoping we don’t run into any more soldiers. Every life lost is another life I feel responsible for losing.
Thiago wanted this.
He planned for it.
But I gave him the opportunity to make it happen.
At nightfall, we finally stop to rest.
We’re deep in the mountains now. My wolf senses are alert for threats, but aside from that first attack in the gorge, we’ve met no one else. Up here, the air is colder. A crisp scent of pine and dirt. My wolf enjoys it—or she would if we weren’t here because Thiago was hell-bent on killing us all.
The others gather around as Levi takes his human form again. “We’ll rest in this system of caves,” he tells them. “Start again in the morning.”
“Jadick will worry,” one of the men says.
Grey.
I’ve managed to keep my distance from the asshole all day, but now, I want to take a bite out of his jugular. My temper still rages beneath the surface, and I have nowhere to put it. He seems as good a place as any.
“Jadick will worry more if we’re reckless,” Levi says. “We still have men out there patrolling to make sure we aren’t followed. I won’t leave them behind.”
Grey doesn’t argue.
I force myself to relax.
“Burnett, Grey, take first watch,” Levi adds. “Wake me to relieve you.”
Returning to wolf form, the two men begin climbing for the high ground to take up their positions. The others disburse as well, breaking off into groups of two or three and disappearing into the shallow caves we’ve found lining this ridge.
Still in wolf form, I wait, watching Levi.
He looks back at me with exhaustion lining his expression. The shadows have gathered, making it hard to see details, but this close, I can’t ignore his naked body. Even my wolf finds his human appearance attractive.
It’s a weird sensation.
Finally, the silence stretches too long, and I wonder if I’ve mistaken his interest. When I turn to go, he stops me.
“Will you stay with me?”
I try to think of a reason to refuse him, but in the end, I follow him into the darkness of an unclaimed cave.
Inside, the shadows are thick, the darkness so complete it takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust.
Levi remains human.
He ducks out again, leaving me alone so long I give in and lie down. My eyelids begin to droop, and by the time he returns, I’m fighting sleep.
I watch with lazy focus as he goes to work building a fire. When the flames are crackling, he approaches me and holds out a patchwork of leaves someone has strung together with vines.
“For you to sleep more comfortably,” he explains.
