Page 34 of These Dangerous Fates

“I’m okay,” I breathe. “Just a bad dream.”

I shiver again and realize I’m wearing only my bra and panties. It doesn’t take long for me to remember what happened. The challenge, the mage. The excruciating pain. I scan my body for injury and see only minor scrapes. Twisting my torso, I expect the knife-like agony of broken bones, but there’s only the dull sting of skin stretching around the many cuts.

Sterling whines again, and I glance at him. It’s amazing I can read his expressions so clearly. His eyes shine with worry, his head low between his paws, tail tucked in close. I’m momentarily distracted by his beauty. Icy blue eyes and silver fur that I’m itching to touch. Where his scar is in his human form, the fur is missing. He nuzzles my abdomen and makes a chuffing noise that I assume is his way of telling me to lay back down.

“What happened?” I ask, even knowing he can’t respond in wolf form. “Have you been laying here this whole time?”

Another chuffing sound, and this time, he pushes his nose under my hand. I run my palm up his nose and into the fur between his ears. Holy shit, he’s so soft. I want to rub my face in his fur, curl up against him, and go back to sleep.

Ignoring my aching body, I lift my other hand to rub along his neck. His eyes close and he tilts his head to the side, inviting more scratches. It brings a smile to my lips. This massive, snarly wolf is complete putty in my hands. When he rolls over on his back and exposes his belly to me, I giggle at the sight of him looking up at me with his tongue flopping out of the side of his mouth.

I rub my hand along his belly, reveling in the silken texture of his fur between my fingers. “You are so beautiful,” I whisper.

His tail thumps against the bed in answer.

Cursing and banging coming from another room draws me from the moment, and I glance around to take in my surroundings for the first time. I’m in a small room with a bed and a chair as the only furnishings. It’s dingy and run down, but the sheets on the bed are clean.

More cursing and banging, and I look to Sterling for an answer. He doesn’t seem alarmed, so I assume it’s nothing to be worried about. Gingerly, I slide to the edge of the bed, exhaling through the stinging and aching. I don’t even care that the sheet slides away and exposes more of my almost naked body. It’s surprising I don’t feel even an ounce of embarrassment that someone—most likely Sterling—undressed me down to my bra and panties. Maybe it’s the fact they are cute, lacy black scraps of fabric, but I suspect it’s because there is this strange level of comfort around these guys.

Sterling hops off the bed and grabs a black tee from the chair in his jaws. He brings it back to me and I quickly slip it on. It’s huge on me and will cover everything without having to put on more clothes.

I cling to Sterling’s back as I stand up, groaning at the pull of cuts and bruises. He is so large, his paws are bigger than my hand, and his head comes up to my belly. It’s not just his size that seems to take over the entire space. His energy is palpable, a crackling dominance that radiates from him. Alpha energy.

With Sterling pressed against me and my hand on his head for support, we make our way out of the bedroom into a short hallway that opens into a kitchen. The image before me stops me in my tracks, amusement and a sense of contentment settling in me.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” Malakai grumbles, his back to me as he drops an ancient-looking pan onto an equally ancient-looking stove.

Sterling huffs and nudges me forward with his nose.

“Four hundred years old and you can’t cook real food.” Exhaustion laces Cade’s voice. Even his posture, slumped over a rickety table, screams fatigue.

If I could walk any faster, I’d rush to his side. As it is, I can barely shuffle forward with Sterling’s prodding.

“I’m a fucking vampire. I don’t need to cook. My food comes straight from the tap.” Malakai points to his neck, but keeps his back turned to us.

“That’s off-putting,” I say as I shuffle further into the room.

Both Cade and Malakai whip around. Malakai rushes forward and wraps his arms around me. It throws me off guard, and instead of panicking, I lean into it. Behind Malakai, I see Cade struggling to stand from the chair.

“Thank fuck, you’re okay.” Malakai buries his face in my neck.

A trickle of fear drips through me when he inhales my scent, but I quickly relax as his hand cups the back of my neck in the most gentle way. I melt into his arms and let him carry my weight as he wraps an arm around my waist and turns to the table.

“Sit the fuck down, Cade,” Malakai growls. “You’re going to fall over.”

“Are you okay, Cade?” I ask him.

He looks rough, and concern bubbles up inside of me. Dark circles line under his eyes, and strain brackets the corners of his mouth. I let Malakai help me into a chair, and I tense as it shifts under my weight, scared the entire thing will fall apart in a shower of dust. Cade’s chair scratches across the floor as he scoots it closer to mine.

He grabs my hands and holds them tightly in his own. “I’m okay. Just wore out from using so much magic.”

Even as he says this, pale violet light flows from his hands and into me. It’s warm and tingly as it passes through my body, like fireflies fluttering through my veins. I jerk my hands back from his grasp.

“Then why are you using more?” I ask. The question makes room for another, and they continue to pour out, one after the other. “What happened? How long have I been out? And … what are you doing, Malakai?”

The vampire turns to look at me with a spatula in his hand. “Trying to make some real food for you and Cade. But I don’t know how the fuck to cook, and this useless heap of fur refuses to change back into a human.” He glares at Sterling and points at him with the spatula like it’s weapon.

Sterling growls and bares his teeth at Malakai. Without thinking, I put my hand on the scruff of Sterling’s neck and he instantly calms, laying on his belly at my feet.

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