“Are you hurt, boy?” I cautiously felt over his soft coat, coming to a wet, sticky patch near his left hip.
He let out a soft whine as I gently probed the wound. “Ouch,” I murmured. “Looks like we’ve both been shot. You think you can make it to the cabin?”
Harley let out another whine and gave a partial wag of his tail. Poor guy was probably in pain.
Pulling myself upright, I glanced around for a log or a sturdy stick to use as a crutch. Seeing nothing on the ground, I hobbled to the nearest tree and began pulling on branches, trying to find a loose one. Finally, a dead branch snapped in my grip and broke free.
“Perfect.” Hobbling forward with my crutch, I called Harley. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”
The dog hopped forward on three legs, favoring his injured one.
“The cabin’s not far,” I promised him. “If I can do it, then so can you.”
We headed across the dark forest toward the cabin, two wounded beasts in the cold, dark night. Shivering and in pain.
As we slowly made the journey, my mind spun with all the possibilities of why Damien was doing this.
I paused a moment, resting my leg, and thought about all the texts he’d sent me. But that one in particular nagged at me the most.
Abandoning your pack was your first mistake…
My heart twisted. He was obviously pissed that I hadn’t come back for him.
Oh, but I had. If he only knew…
Was this a game of revenge? Or something else? And why had he tried to kill Annika in the first place? Had Papa’s hatred for the Popovs worn off on Damien? Had he attacked her for revenge against Alexei for firing Papa all those years ago? I had no idea what was going on inside his head or what had spurred all of this. But my gut said he was trying to punish me for leaving him.
My chest squeezed. My breath wheezed out as I imagined him as a small boy, waiting patiently for me to come back for him. In his eyes, I truly had abandoned him.
I hung my head, drawing in a ragged breath.
I’m so sorry, Damien.I came back for you, bro. I swear I did.
Harley whined.
I straightened, forcing myself to get a grip.
How had Damien survived that fire? What had really happened?
There was so many unanswered questions, and I might never get the answers.
Damien had Annika and an agenda that I could only guess at. The man who’d attacked me back there had seemed a little crazed. Demented. Which meant I would have to try to reason with a mad man.
My main goal was freeing Annika.
This wasn’t really about Annika or the Popovs anymore. It was about me. I wasn’t even sure how Annika fit into the equation yet. ButIwas the reason she’d been taken now.
My stomach heaved.
Damien had just been a boy when I’d left, so I had no idea how he’d turned out. But my mind fiercely resisted the possibility that the boy I’d once known could have turned into the monster who’d stolen Annika.
Harley whined again, licking my hand.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I just needed a moment. You ready?”
Forcing myself to move on, I hobbled toward the cabin, my heart a painful heaviness in my chest.
This changedeverything. This meant I would have to go up against my own brother to free Annika.