Page 5 of Wolves in Love

Which meant he thought that he had been in the right to kill Talon.

“On a spike,” Kastner had said. She had assumed he meant whoever had slain his son, but what if he had meant Anders? Had he only been joking as he had said? Or was he a liar? And if he had meant Anders, and Anders was telling the truth, had Anders also been honest about Talon?

Her head was swimming, and she could hardly think clearly. “I need to lie down.”

“Of course. You’re injured. I shouldn’t have brought you here…”

The wounds on Talon… they weren’t as numerous as she would have thought. Almost every werewolf here had been injured time and again because of the two battles they had fought already. Talon’s wounds weren’t all that impressive, actually. Did that mean he was that skilled of a warrior after all? Or that he hadn’t been fighting as much as the other werewolves?

“Anders, will you please go and find Youngless and Golden? We need to discuss how long we should stay here, if we should change course…”

“I would rather help Misti to a place where she can sleep.”

“I asked you nicely. Do not make me ask you again.”

Anders took a step toward Kastner. “I am not pledged to you.”

“Then you can leave. Without our protection, you won’t survive for five minutes.”

“Stop fighting. Please.” Misti’s vision was growing dark. Her eyelids felt like weights. She could hardly hold her head up. “I do need help.” She hated to admit it, but she did.

Anders wrapped an arm around her, and she had no choice but to lean against him. “I will help her. Then I’ll fetch your wolves.”

Kastner grunted.

She closed her eyes as Anders picked her up and cradled her to his chest. He walked easily. He had been the one more seriously injured before, and she had helped him. Now the coin had been flipped.

When he laid her down, she opened her eyes. “I don’t trust him.”

“Kastner? I never did.” He scowled, his hands curling into tight fists.

“I don’t trust you either.”

Anders winced and hung his head. “I don’t blame you. You’re right. I can’t offer you proof. You didn’t see what I saw, didn’t hear what I did. Why believe me? I have every reason to try to turn you away from him. I… I…”

He straightened, jerked around, and stalked away.

Misti watched him leave, and a sense of isolation settled around her. She was going to die soon. She could tell, and she’d be all alone when she did. After all, she was pushing everyone away. Distrusting and misgivings were her only companions. Sleep came, and even that was troubled.

4

It would have been wrong for him to tell her. Selfish. But Anders had been so close to telling her that he loved her. What good would that do, though? She hadn’t clung to him when he’d carried her. Although he had wanted to think that was because she was too weak to, he knew it was because she didn’t want him to be touching her. She didn’t want him. Not anymore.

He found Golden, that jerk of a third in command, bragging to a crowd of female werewolves how he had taken down five at one time. “They never laid a claw on me,” Golden boasted.

Actually, they must’ve landed many claws, from the way his shirt was sticky with dried blood, but Anders wasn’t about to make a stronger enemy of Golden. The werewolf already didn’t like him.

“Excuse me.” Anders grinned at them all even though he hated having to obey an order from Kastner. “The alpha wishes to talk to you.”

“Of course. Duty prevents me from finishing my tale, but I’ll be sure to tell you all of the gory details when I get back.”

The gaggle of female werewolves giggled.

Anders rolled his eyes. He went one way, Golden another.

Locating Youngless didn’t take long. Unsurprisingly, he was helping the wounded. Youngless was the only Wild Shade Anders liked.

“You do not look well,” Youngless commented.

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