Page 44 of Alpha Chained
A rush of poisoned blood gushes out, spilling over my hands. It burns as it touches me, the stink of it making me gag. But it just keeps coming, an endless stream of toxin-tainted gore until finally – blessedly – the rush begins to slow. The dark fluid brightens until it flows red again. I drop the knife and clutch at the wound with both palms, pressing down as hard as I can to staunch the flow.
“Good…” Riot pants out. “You did good.”
I only realize I’m crying when I feel the tickle of tears dripping off my chin. It’s too much…it all just feels like it’s too much to cope with. The days of torture, the fear, the terror of the escape.
I killed a man!
And now…this. Everything hits me in a rush, and I’m shaking as I try to stop the blood from streaming from the gaping wound.
“I can’t!” I choke out, fighting down a sob. “I can’t take anymore.” Hysteria threatens, and my breath starts to come in short gasps.
“Raura! Raura, listen to me.” Riot’s hoarse voice pulls me from the edge of a dark abyss that threatens to suck me into it. “You’re a fighter. You’re going to be okay.”
“I’m going to be okay,” I repeat numbly, trying to force myself to believe it.
Pull yourself together!
He’s right. I can do this. I suck in a steadying breath and straighten my shoulders, blinking quickly to clear my vision.
I can do this.
As I look into his eyes, a strange sense of calm settles, descending as quickly as the panic had hit me.
“We have to get dressed,” I tell him, and he nods when I grab the bag with my free hand, my palm still over the hole in his leg. It’s as if I’m fighting to keep his life force from seeping out. But even as I watch, I can see the color seeping back into his cheeks.
He manages a weak smile. I smile back, brushing the back of my hand across my cheek to rid myself of the tears. Unsteadily, he pushes himself up onto his palm and reaches for the bag, unzipping it and riffling through it. A minute later, he’s pulled out a plaid shirt and a faded pair of jeans. He tosses them in my direction before upending the bag and tipping out a T-shirt and sweats.
“Just my style.” He grins at me, and I’m amazed at how he’s managed to find a moment of lightness in all of this. I grin back because I must. We’ve just achieved the impossible.
We’re free!
“Dumb luck,” I say wryly. I raise my hand from his leg and see that the blood has stopped pulsing. I heave a sigh, then wriggle clumsily into the stolen clothing. It stinks of sweat and grease, but it’ll do the job. I help Riot to dress, then wait for him to lean on me as he clambers off the back of the truck and then into the passenger’s seat of the vehicle. I get behind the wheel and start the engine, throwing quick looks at him as I do.
“I’m fine.” He smiles. “You’re a miracle worker. I’ll be good as new in a minute.”
By the time we’re back on the road, he’s passed out cold.
Chapter 16
Raura
He slept fitfully for the first hour, then began to settle. Now, he’s resting peacefully. A little while ago, I tugged the bedclothes down to check the wound. It’s practically closed up already. We heal fast, but this is something else. The man’s a powerhouse. I’ve never encountered a wolf as strong as he is.
I stare down at his face, tracing the lines of it with my eyes. The stubble is darker, shadowing his square jawline and the hollows beneath his cheekbones. I want to touch him…and I almost do.
It occurs to me that I’m now perfectly comfortable feeling my way around the perfect body I’d admired from afar just a few days ago. I hadn’t thought twice about stripping him off and cleaning the blood from him with a wet washcloth after we got here. Then I took a tepid shower before returning to the bedside, wrapped in a threadbare towel. This situation has brought out a side of me I never knew existed.
“You look tired.” His voice snaps my head up just as I start to nod off in the chair I’ve pulled up next to the bed. “Where are we?” He frowns as he looks around. The motel room is small and bare, but it’s clean, and there’s no one around to bother us.
“Roadside motel,” I tell him.
His eyes widen. “Is it safe?”
“I’m pretty sure it is. The manager didn’t ask any questions when I checked us in as Mr. and Mrs. De Wolf.” My lips curl up.
“Checked in…” His eyebrows pull together. “Where did you get cash to pay?”
I nod toward the beat-up pickup truck parked right outside our door. “Caught a lucky break there. There was a wallet beneath the driver’s seat. Had a couple of hundred dollars in it.” I keep my voice casual, not wanting to dwell on the less-than-legal methods we’ve had to resort to in our desperation. “The hardest part was helping you out of the front seat. You’re heavy when you’re out of it, you know?”