Page 103 of Craved By a Wolf

His boots met rock and he kicked off, propelling them back to the surface. Hella gasped for air as they broke it and spluttered as she got a mouthful of water. He fought the current, kicking hard to keep them from going under again. They bumped into a boulder and were spun around, the world whirling in a dizzying way before he managed to right their course.

With the help of another huge rock.

Hella grunted as she struck it, taking the brunt of the blow.

He palmed her ribs and stared ahead of them, towards the end of the canyon. “We should drift further downstream this time.”

“Covering our tracks,” she murmured, her voice tight from coughing up water. “I like it.”

He glanced at her as he heard praise in her tone and she pulled a shocked face.

“What? I can’t compliment you when you do something right?”

“I’m just so used to being berated,” he said, holding back his smile when she scowled at him.

“I’m not all that bad.” She pouted and he knew she wasn’t being serious, was only teasing him, and gods, it felt good to have her back in his arms, poking fun at him.

Part of him had thought he would never experience this with her again, that he had ruined everything and it was over. Yet here she was, clinging to him, a smile in her eyes as she gazed at him with what looked a hell of a lot like love and gratitude.

She was fishing for compliments, so he smiled at her, marvelling at how her cheeks coloured when he did that.

“No better witch in this world.” He adjusted his grip, lowering it to her waist.

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Don’t think I missed the caveat there.Thisworld. I think you meant to say no better witch in all the worlds.”

“Aye, lass.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek, feeling the heat of it beneath his lips. “No better witch than my one.”

She moved closer to him rather than pushing him away, rested her cheek against his as they rounded a bend and he had to begin swimming to keep them moving at a pace. When they were far from the castle, he took her to the bank and helped her out of the water.

The layers of her dress clung to her and she tugged at them, muttering dark things about a lack of underwear that made him want to growl and return to the castle to deal with Ethyrian.

Her look turned sombre and her hurt lashed at him, and he knew the source of it.

“We’ll get you home and back into a black dress.” His eyebrows knitted hard as he tried to figure out a way to make that happen.

Her gaze lifted to his face and her brow furrowed as she stared at him. “A black dress?”

“Like a witch wears. A witch’s dress… but with a wee bit more flair. That’s what my lass loves.”

She gave him a look that said she might love him.

“Want me to break those?” He gestured to her cuffs.

She cast another sorrowful look at them. “I don’t think you’ll be able to. They’re sealed with another spell. The metal melded together.”

She turned her hands over to show the underside of the cuffs and he took hold of her right one anyway. It was worth a shot. There was barely room to wriggle his fingers between her flesh and the metal, but he managed it. Once he had a firm grip on the cuff, he gritted his teeth and pulled his hands apart, his muscles tensing as he used all his strength on it.

And nothing happened.

He kept trying, but the metal wouldn’t bend, let alone break, and every second he spent trying to free her of them was a second the nymph’s army could be closing in on them. He growled as he gave up, hating the nymph and the cuffs, and himself to a degree because he wasn’t strong enough to free his fated one.

To restore her beloved powers.

Her smile was small and made him ache as she looked at him.

“I’ll find a way to free you, love. I swear.” He smoothed his hands over hers and she nodded, the slight action lacking her usual confidence. “I’m going to kill that bastard.”

He stormed past her, back in the direction of the castle, but she caught his arm and gripped it so hard that he stilled. Her fear hit him hard and he looked back at her.

---