Page 23 of Forgotten Fate
Elias swiftly moved to crouch next to me, patting my back to help get the remaining water out of my lungs.
“How did you get to me so fast?” I manage to gasp out with coughing fits between words.
He continued to pat my back gently. “I swam after you,” he replied.
“Bullshit,” I coughed.
“Stop talking so you can breathe,” he ordered. I managed to glare at him with the little energy I had.
“I saw you make it to the edge of the river.”
“You saw wrong,” he challenged. “I threw our packs to the edge and then swam after you. It took me a while before I could reach you and grab you.”
I looked up at him in doubt. But maybe he was right. When I saw him, he was just a spec in the distance, and my mind was in a panic.
I turned away, remembering the wolf running through the trees. Had my mind made that up as well?
“I saw something else.” My voice broke.
Elias’s expression didn’t change as he stared at me. “What?”
“It was…” I paused, feeling unsure of myself. “It was a wolf. A big one.”
His golden eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so, Princess. There are no wolves this far south.”
“Maybe not usually, but I think I saw one. I-I saw it running through the trees, and—”
“Aura.”
My breath caught in my throat as he used my name.
“There are no wolves out here. Trust me,” he said, his voice stern.
I blinked. “But…” I trailed off, realizing the size of the wolf wouldn’t even be possible. It was most likely what I had thought before – that I fell unconscious at some point, which caused me to dream again.
“Are you sure?” I asked one last time.
“I’m sure.”
I exhaled slowly, releasing any doubts to keep myself from arguing further and sounding like I was insane. “Okay. Well…thank you. For saving me.”
He said nothing as he stood and gently held my arm to help me up. His eyes slightly widened and I followed his gaze to my arms. They looked horrendous, as my sleeves had ripped to shreds. My arms were covered in scrapes, blood seeping from the wounds, and bruises were already beginning to form. “We need to get you cleaned up,” he said. “Let’s get back to our packs.”
“How far are we from them?” I asked hurriedly.
“Maybe a mile,” Elias replied.
The river tossed me around for an entire mile? I felt sick, remembering how close I could have come to death if Elias wasn’t there.
“Let’s go,” I urged. As I began to walk forward, my legs nearly gave out and I fumbled forward. Elias caught me before I could make a fool of myself and faceplant into the earth.
“You’re injured,” he stressed. “Let me carry you.”
“I’m fine,” I countered. I took another step, but my legs had other plans. “Fuck,” I muttered, embarrassed that my body was so weakened.
“Aura,” Elias said sternly. “Please.” He held out his hand for me to take.
I stared at it before reluctantly accepting, realizing we would make it to my pack near nightfall at my rate. The sensation between our touch was no different than what I had been experiencing. Elias placed an arm around my back and another under my knees and effortlessly lifted me like I weighed no more than a feather. He began walking up the riverbank in the opposite direction of the current, his dark hair still dripping wet. As he carried me, I couldn’t help but notice the visibility of the muscles in his arms under his white sleeves that were now drenched.