Page 31 of You're Not My King!

Just as I was about to drag the dude from the forest, a storm cloud hovering over me, Knee-tar sprinted over, hair in disarray, lips swollen and chest heaving. He looked thoroughly debauched, but one look at his bloody leader and I could see the oh, shit cross his face.

And seriously?! I could’ve been to Earth and back. Was alien dick really that distracting?

That was rhetorical.

He shifted toward me, probably seeking reassurance, but he’d get none. “R-Roo-bin?”

Voh-ack snarled threateningly, dragging me behind him, and Knee-tar visibly shrank, curling in on himself as if submitting to the pack alpha. His fin-like ears were pinned back, gaze on the ground, and despite my rage, I was not in the mood to witness a cock fight.

They could do that in their own time.

“Enough,” I called out, clapping my hands to defuse the tension. Thankfully, it worked. Voh-ack loosened up, fangs grinding shut, though he didn’t stop glaring at his clan mate. “Knee-tar,” I said, demanding his attention. He didn’t disappoint. “Bring the healer to our hut.”

It took a second for him to process, but he nodded, risking one last apologetic look at Voh-ack—which was scoffed at—before sprinting away. That would hopefully give them both a chance to cool off. Or they’d just kill each other later, but that was none of my damn business.

I stormed back to camp with Voh-ack in tow, ignoring the amused looks from the clan as I dragged him roughly by his uninjured arm. He didn’t complain. He wouldn’t dare. Back in our den, I guided him to perch on the edge of the bed as I gathered my water skin and a clean cloth, all while muttering curses under my breath.

I was irritated, okay? The more time I had to stew, the moodier I got, and the silence gave me the chance to really get lost in my thoughts. The stupid fool could have been killed, but he didn’t think about that. Oh no, he just strolled in and saved the day, saved me, and now he was injured, and it was probably all my fault.

Everything was always my fucking fault.

“You’re a dipshit,” I mumbled as I approached him, slotting between his spread legs—the best angle to clean the wound from. “Ridiculous alien.”

I dabbed at the bloody area with the damp cloth, careful not to press too hard even though I was running low on patience. Voh-ack didn’t flinch, sitting there obediently, eyes fixed on my face as I wiped away the mess, revealing a cut that was actually much smaller than all the fuss suggested.

I exhaled sharply.

“It… will be fine. The bleeding has already stopped.” I crossed the room again, grabbing the ointment Fiona had given me for my ass. It seemed appropriate. “I’ll put this on. It can’t hurt.”

I scooped a small bead onto my finger and smeared it across the wound. It was a paper cut compared to what my thundering heart had been expecting. Still, he’d put himself in harm’s way for me, hadn’t hesitated to protect me, and it rubbed me up wrong, made my skin crawl and hackles rise.

I didn’t know why.

“You need to be careful,” I warned, snarling as I struggled to put the stopper back in the bottle, my hands shaking, probably in irritation. “This could’ve been soooo much worse. Who knows? Next time I’ll be scraping pieces of you from the creepy trees, and that would not be fun. I really hate those fucking?—”

Voh-ack rested a hand on mine, taking the bottle from my clumsy fingers. He slid the cork in without effort, and laid it on the bed before reaching out to touch my cheek. I let him, my words and anger leaving me as quickly as they’d come.

“Roo-bin.”

I sniffled. “Don’t do that, okay? I’m not…” I’m not worth dying for.

“Roo-bin, mate,” he said, wiping away the stray tear rolling down my cheek. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Always save.”

“No. You don’t have to?—”

“I am skilled.” He grinned fiendishly, interrupting whatever I was going to say. “Take much to best me. Never worry.”

“Cocky bastard.” I huffed a soft, wet laugh, realizing it was a lost cause. No matter what I said, he would do whatever he wanted, and wasn’t that just another reason for me to leave? Less chance for him to get hurt. “Why were you in the forest, anyway? Not trust me?”

He shook his head, though I could sense some hesitation. “Bond with you,” he said, instantly scrunching up his face as if the words hadn’t come out right. “Wanted to be in your presence.”

“You…” My heart clenched against my will. “Wanted to spend time with me?”

Voh-ack nodded. “Spend time with my hoo-man.”

“Oh.” I dropped my gaze, a small smile twitching at the corner of my mouth. “What would we have done?”

“Scouted territory,” he responded, voice dropping to a pitch that told me exactly what territory he wanted to scout. “Or learn you the handling of a sword.”

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