My steps faltered, and we nearly tripped.
“No. You have made that impossible. I have made it unnecessary.”
She didn’t say anything for the rest of the trip up to the cabin. It was old, but well built. The silhouette was barely noticeable out here if you didn’t know it existed.
“We’re here,” I said. I noticed her startle at the sound of my feet pounding against the wood steps.
“Oh, already? How is this safe?”
I shrugged not that she could tell in the darkness.
“There is never a guarantee, but it’s the furthest I could get you away from them. Colton is aware of the situation and will round up every last Cripple Creek mutt.”
I placed my finger on the pad; it beeped and let us in.
“There’s electricity out here?” she asked.
I strolled inside and headed to where I kept the lanterns stored. There was a war raging inside me. To put her down and let her be comfortable or hold her and try to fumble around with everything else.
Logic won.
“Not really. Solar and solar batteries for some basic things and security, but there aren’t lights and the wood stove is the only source of heat.”
She didn’t seem to care, or maybe it was a good answer but she was silent as I found my way to the bed.
“Sit still, I’ll grab the lanterns.”
My arms felt cold and my heart ached. Seconds away from her and it felt like I was mourning her loss again. No, it felt like I was remembering her loss.
“I thought you were dead,” I said as I walked away.
The ruffle of her body on the comforter was the only sound in the cabin. Was now the best time to pour out every last detail? What was the worst that could happen? The worst was probably that she could reject me and break me all over again.
My wolf pressured me to make this right, besides the reality.
“I went for you,” I said. One lantern came to life and I continued. “I was excited. My entire world was going to make sense with you in it. I was getting what every alpha, every wolf, ever wanted.”
I was just babbling now, but I needed to tell her. I need to word vomit every fucking feeling I’d buried so deep down I wasn’t sure that I could access let alone really remember. But here I was. My body remembered the pain of her loss all over again, and yet she was right there.
“Are you still bleeding,” I asked.
The shadows of the light told me nothing and made the blood darker. How badly hurt was she?
“I don’t know?” she said. “I, my wolf, is really trying. I can feel her when you’re near me.”
Two lanterns were lit and spreading light around us. I could focus on her now that she was safe.
“You can feel her, like how?”
The dress she’d been wearing was torn in several places. It was more shredded fabric than a dress at this point. I couldn’t stop myself from taking in every inch of exposed skin.
“Like, when you are near me she’s more motivated to get to you.”
I couldn’t help myself, my lips pulled into a smirk at the ideas running through my head. My wolf wasn’t ignoring the fact she was hurt, but damn.
“Think of all the ways we could motivate her,” I said. My cock was hard despite my brain telling me and my damn wolf we needed to take care of her.
I took a few deep breaths keeping my distance. I needed to keep my distance. I needed to take care of her.