Moon Touched (Zodiac Wolves: The Lost Pack #1)(51)

From where I lay, I could barely see Kaden fighting the other wolves. They moved so fast, all I saw were flashes of teeth, claws, and clumps of fur flying into the air, and heard the occasional growl and yelp to punctuate the silence. I tried to get up to help him, to draw in a deep breath to brace myself for the pain, but I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. My head swam when I tried to push myself up, my arm collapsing underneath me.

“Kaden,” I tried to say, but there was no sound, just me shaping my lips around his name. Was I going to die here, like this? After everything I'd been through?

Very suddenly, it was silent. I held myself perfectly still, body tensed for one of the Aries wolves to come and end it all, but a moment later, Kaden stood over me in human form. The relief that flowed through me was so strong I actually let out a sob. He was alive, and the Aries wolves weren't. Thank the gods.

He was completely nude, and at first, I tried to keep my gaze on his face. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I’d take a peek at the rest of him. Then again, if I was going to die, I might as well peek a little bit. What was he going to do, kill me? I let my eyes drop to his chest, where the hints of muscle I’d seen all through training were on full display, all in one unbroken line of perfection. Then lower, to the tiny trail of dark hair moving down his abs, down, down, down to his...

“We have to get you back to pack lands," Kaden said, and my eyes snapped back to his face. "It isn't safe here. There might be more of them out there."

I nodded, or tried to. Nothing seemed to want to move. I wished my shifter healing would kick in already, but maybe I was too injured.

Kaden leaned over and picked me up. His hands were gentle, gentler than I’d felt them yet, and I wished I could appreciate it. When he jostled me, it made everything hurt worse, and I let out a groan.

“Sorry,” Kaden said, and I frowned. That wasn’t like him at all. “Hold on tight, we’ll be there in a minute."

Then he took off in a run.





Chapter Twenty-One





The forest blurred by, dense trees cast in deep enough shadows that even if we’d been moving at a slower pace, I’d still be hard-pressed to notice any details. I couldn’t catch my breath, no matter how hard I tried. I’d thought that the agony would fade as we went on, but the sharp pains wouldn’t let me get a solid breath in. It took my lungs a few extra inhales to realize they weren’t getting the oxygen they needed, and a few moments more to finally pinpoint what was causing it. My ribs.

“I can’t breathe,” I wheezed out, trying to catch Kaden’s attention. He was intent on running, eyes focused ahead. He didn’t even seem to hear me. I was astounded by his speed. I could run this fast, but only in wolf form, but maybe this was another benefit of being the alpha. I tried to get his attention again, pounding my fist feebly against his chest, and repeated what I’d said.

Kaden finally looked down at me and shook his head once. “We’re not safe here. We have to keep going.”

Ah. We were still outside our pack lands. I still didn’t know how they marked them, or why we would be safe there, since Kaden hadn’t shared that secret just yet. Just as I opened my mouth to ask, he slowed to a trot, nostrils flaring as he caught scent of something different. I could smell the difference as well, but it didn’t smell like home to me. Not yet.

“I’m setting you down,” Kaden said, and I braced against the jostle. He’d held me so tight on the run that I’d hardly felt it, but this would hurt just as much as when he picked me up. I clenched my teeth and tried to hold in the groan, but it was no use.

Kaden crouched at my side and glanced up at my face with concern. It was the first time I’d seen the look on his face directed toward me, and I was taken aback. When he’d kidnapped me, my well-being had been the last thing on his mind, and when he continually beat my ass in training he didn’t seem to care how scraped up I got. I struggled to sit up, uncomfortable with the look he was giving me. I needed him to be gruff and uncaring as usual, or else it would signal I was really in trouble.

Kaden put a hand on my shoulder, exerting just enough pressure to stop me from rising further. The injury in my side burned as I pushed against him for a few moments, before it became too much and I collapsed back on the ground, panting.

“Stay down, or I’ll make you.” The commanding alpha tone in his voice let me know that he meant it.

I huffed out a breath, but couldn't do much more than that. He began poking at my ribs, and I used the time to observe him. I took in the proud nose, hard blue eyes, and the stubborn set of his jaw. My gaze trailed down his neck to where the blood started. I wondered whose it was. He didn't appear injured, so it must have been from the other wolves. He'd taken down all of them as if it had been nothing.

I sucked in a deep breath as he prodded my ribs, pain chasing away that train of thought. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d been hurt, but that didn’t make it any easier. Once the adrenaline faded, there was nothing to protect me from the pain. Getting through the beating was easy, but the aftermath hadn’t ever been. On top of that, the feeling of not being able to breathe was about to send me into a panic, and I tried desperately to hang onto any semblance of control.

“The Aries’ ram charge broke several of your ribs,” Kaden said.