Page 10 of Protected By the Wolven

“They got her!” Relief floods through me as they pile into the backseat.

One of the males, Courage, says, “You should tell her what a good guy you are. If I were in your spot, I couldn’t have held back.”

I raise an eyebrow in question, but Lash shakes his head as he says, “Later.” He grins as he hands me a happily panting Miska. “Piece of cake. Let’s get out of here.”

As Fang pulls away from the curb, I bury my face in Miska’s soft fur, my eyes welling with tears. After everything, having her safe in my arms feels like a miracle.

I look up and meet Lash’s warm silver gaze. “Thank you,” I whisper.

He reaches over to lightly touch my shoulder. “Anything for you, Zoya. You’re safe now, both of you.”

For the first time in longer than I can remember, I actually believe that might be true.

Chapter Nine

Lash

At my request, Fang stops at my favoritedarendellsstreet food stand. I buy several of the burrito-like naga delicacies for each of us before we drive back to the WW HQ.

Zoya’s been so excited to have her pup back that she didn’t notice the four pillowcases full of clothes and toiletries I brought for her until I set them on the coffee table.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She’s over the moon, so happy to be safe and now she has her dog and her clothes.

I don’t mention that she’s still in danger of being found and possibly forced to go back to Max, or be thrown into detention by ICE.

“She smells likehim.” Zoya wrinkles her nose. “We both need to take a bath.”

While she showers, I change my sheets. I have a feeling that at some point today, Zoya’s going to ask how she can repay me. I’ll be ready with my answer, which will be that she takes the bed tonight and I take the couch.

The bathroom door creaks open and Zoya emerges in a cloud of floral-scented steam. My breath catches as I take in the sight of her, cheeks flushed pink from the heat, damp brown hair curling around her face. She’s wearing black yoga pants and a casual blue tee that brings out the blue of her eyes. Her bruises are on full display, but they can’t mar her beauty.

She pads into the living room, Miska scampering at her heels, obviously thrilled to be back with her mom. A picture of Max kicking the little dog flashes through my mind. After what he did to Zoya, I wouldn’t put it past him.

The flowery notes of her shampoo threaten to make me sneeze as she settles on the other end of the couch from me.

“I should have told you to go ahead and eat. I just… didn’t want to smell a whiff of Max. Thosedarendellssmell much better.” She eyes the foil-wrapped food with a smile.

“A naga specialty. Dig in.” I hand her one and she unwraps it.

“Little like a blintz.” She takes a tentative bite, her eyes widening. “Oh! Spicy, but so good!” She takes another, bigger bite, humming happily.

I grin, pleased to see her appetite is healthy. We devour the food in silence for a few minutes. Zoya sets down herdarendelland turns to me, her expression quizzical.

“What did Courage mean when he said you held back?” She has her full attention on me, which tells me I’m not going to be able to shake her off the trail. Since she’s going to demand an answer, I might as well tell her.

“Wolven have a lot of wolf-like features—Earthwolves. Though we don’t share any DNA, we share some traits. The fangs, ears, and tail are obvious. Our wolf-like sense of smell and hearing aren’t obvious to others. Our non-wolf-like traits are our retractable claws and superior strength. Another less commendable urge is marking our territory with our… urine.” I cringe, knowing this will repulse her. It’s such a… primitive response.

“You mean piss? You pissed on Max’s things?” Her eyes are dancing with mirth.

“Well, no. It was all I could do to keep from whipping it out and…” My words die mid-sentence. “No. I didn’t urinate on Max’s things, though I wanted to.”

“Do you hear that Miska?” She pats her lap and the pup bounds up to be with her mom. “Lash almost did what Max used to spank you for.” She turns to me and some of her good spirits fade as she says, “It’s almost too bad that you didn’t.”

“Good to know. If I ever make a return trip, I won’t refrain.”

We’re both silent for a moment. Though I have no idea what she’s thinking, I’m enjoying picturing throwing all his clothes on the floor and pissing on them—gleefully.

“Lash.” She’s serious now. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. Rescuing me, taking care of me, rescuing Miska… I don’t know how I can ever repay you.

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