Page 36 of The Hero Within
With his amulet he could keep the warg trapped within him, but she didn't like how on edge he seemed.
"It's the battle rush," Colton muttered, kneeling on her bedroll and tugging the leather straps through the loops. "Give him a few minutes to get his head clear."
"And you?"
Colton pushed to his feet, tossing her bedroll toward her. "It's nothing I can't handle. We've got to get moving. Killing half their pack is enough to drive them to retreat for the moment, but they'll start following us again soon. The mother's injured, but I daresay she's brewing some serious revenge theories. They're vindictive creatures. If we can make it out of their territory, then we might be safe. They won't leave their usual haunts. Too many other predators out there, and she took a beating tonight. Might make her wary."
"That's not necessarily reassuring." She attached her bedroll to her backpack and slung the straps over her shoulders.
"It's not meant to be."
Hours trickled by.Eden staggered forward, putting one foot after the other. She could vaguely remember falling asleep when they first set up camp, but now her body ached as if she'd only managed to snatch twenty minutes or so before the shadow cats attacked.
And the second the sun started to rise, a thick oppressive heat began to make everything sticky.
Going to be a scorcher by the feel of it. Eden paused at the top of the trail and tipped her water canteen to her lips. Ahead of her Colton looked like a dark blur on the landscape as he roved ahead, scouting the terrain. He'd found his hat somewhere, and his loose-hipped stride caught her eye, though she didn't know why.
Eden's eyes narrowed as he paused at the bottom of the switchback. Colton rested a hand on his thigh, bending over for a moment as if to catch his breath. Maybe she wasn't the only one feeling the lack of sleep—and he'd had none.
Something felt off.
"Edie," CJ muttered, his limp long since faded as the warg within him healed his injuries. She'd checked them out back at the camp, but despite a few faint scratches across his hip and one narrow claw mark, CJ was fine.
"Yeah?" It was so goddamn hot out here.
"I can smell blood. Thought it was shadow cat for a while, but now I'm starting to feel better I realized it’s not."
Eden's heart leapt. If it had been him, CJ would have admitted to it. Which left....
Her head turned, tracking Colton. He rested a hand against a rock and tilted his water skin to his lips. The stark outline of him stood out against the rising red-gold of the sun, but she wasn't focusing on Colton's hard body.
Eden's brows drew together. She'd known something was wrong. Sweat tracked marks down the dirt on his face. The side of his shirt was damp, but she hadn't noticed he was bleeding, thanks to the color of it and the darkness of the night.
"Son of a bitch," she snapped, as Colton's knees wobbled. "Fetch some wood. We need a fire, and I need boiling water. Now."
Ahead of her, Colton went down on one knee, splashing water from his canteen as he tried to catch it.
Chapter Nine
"Jesus Christ,let me look at it."
Blood wet Eden's fingers, leaving them tacky as she knelt at his side. Not fresh, or at least, not all of it was—but Colton's shirt was still damp enough to concern her. He had to have lost at least a pint.
"I'll heal." Colton tipped the whiskey flask up, the muscles in his throat working as Eden fussed over him. He lowered it, peering inside the mouth of the flask. "Did you drink some of my whiskey? This was full this morning, and now there's barely half left."
I threw it on the fire.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were still bleeding?" she muttered under her breath, starting to undo his shirt.
"Because we had to keep moving," Colton snapped. He looked away as he lowered the bottle. "And it's not as though I thought you'd care."
Eden recoiled sharply. He couldn't have cut her deeper if he'd tried.
All her life she'd been a healer, drawn to helping people.
She'd never turned anyone away, because that wasn't who she was.
But his claim wasn't as far-fetched as it sounded.
