Page 34 of In Love With the Leshy

She takes a deep breath. “I don’t think my brother is going to be a problem anymore. Wherever he is, I’m pretty sure Em made certain he’s far away.”

A chill runs up my spine at the thought of Nikolai and how close he came to . . . I shake the memory off.

“I want to be here. With Em.”

What surprises me most is how much I mean that. Yes, I should stay because Em helped me. He kept me safe. Not just from the hungry bear, but from Nikolai and his friends, who I know were the larger threat. But that’s not why I want to stay. I care about him. In the very short time that I’ve known him, he changed my life. He changed me.

“Go,” Em whispers. “Leave.”

I rush to his side, getting on my knees. “Shh. It’s okay, Masha and Ana are about to leave.”

“Go. With. Them.” His words are labored.

I take his branchlike fingers that feel thicker and more fluid than when I found him. That has to be a good sign. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Leave!” He roars. “Now!” He yanks his hand from mine and takes a painstakingly long time to roll over so that he no longer faces me.

Fang whines and crawls to where I am. Masha’s hands on my shoulders guide me to my feet. My heart stops for a moment as the wolf licks Em’s back; he twitches. I don’t notice that I lunge forward until Masha pulls me back.

“Fang won’t hurt Em. He’s helping him heal.” I use my eyes to plead for her to let go of me. “Erin, trust me. He needs time alone.”

I nod. Why am I insisting on staying where I’m not wanted? Em doesn’t want me here. He made that clear. Is it because Nikolai almost raped me? Because I was too easy to overpower? Or does he think Nikolai succeeded? With one final look in his direction, I turn my back on the man that changed me for the better and leave him writhing on the floor.

Chapter 16

“Shh, Ana. Let her sleep.” Masha whispers. I’m exhausted. My eyes don’t want to open. My body aches. Every muscle feels like it’s been abused in some new-wave exercise regimen. “Come on, we need to collect the eggs.” They leave, and I succumb to nothingness once again.

I don’t know how long I sleep for, but the next time I rouse, it’s dark and quiet. There’s no sign of Masha or Ana. I shoot to my feet, afraid something happened to them. My head spins, and my weak legs give in. I drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Masha rushes out of her bedroom. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” My voice is hoarse, my throat raw. “I got disoriented and fell.”

“Because you’re weak. You haven’t eaten anything in days.”

“Days?”

She nods. “We were able to get a few sips of water into you here and there, but other than that, you didn’t move.”

“Em.”

“He’s doing much better.” She tries to reassure me with a smile.

“You promised you’d take me to check on him,” I whine.

“Ana tried to wake you a couple of times.” I remember Ana talking to me. I also remember Masha telling her to leave me alone. I’m not sure if I can trust her. I know Em said they can’t have a romantic relationship, but what if she’s secretly in love with him? What if she doesn’t want to share him?”

“I want to see him.”

She looks toward the window. “Okay, but not now. The sun will be up soon. We’ll eat, get cleaned up, and then go visit Em.”

Resigned, I sigh. The last thing I need to do now is run off and get lost in the woods while trying to get back to his cave. “Okay.”

*

“Thank you. For listening and helping me,” Masha says as we head toward Em’s cave, with Ana, Safra, and Fang leading the way.

“It was nice.”

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