Page 64 of Wolf Marked

“I’m not leaving you.” But as soon as the words left her mouth, the sound of heavy footsteps reached her ears. They were coming from the woods on the other side of the cage, so they couldn’t be Kalle or Bec. And they were headed their way.

Dread seized her.

“Go, Astrid!” he barked. He yanked at the cage’s bars, testing the damaged lock to see if he could break it now. When the door’s hinges groaned but the bolt held strong, the ferocity of his fear slapped against her aura. She couldn’t just leave him here. She was supposed to rescue him. Despite the terror crawling over her skin, her legs fixed her in place.

Erec pressed his face between the bars. “Go!”

Behind her, Kalle was calling her name in a frantic whisper. The footsteps were getting closer.

As much as her heart told her she couldn’t, her sense was telling her she had to go. If Jerrick caught her, too, then all was lost. She ripped herself away from the cage and forced her feet to step backward. Her body was heavy, each movement weighed down by her regret to leave him behind like this.

The farther she got, the more the fear of never seeing him again crashed into her. What if this was the last time they were together? What if he never knew how she felt about him? Pain twisted in her chest.

“I—I—” The shadows moved beyond the cage, locking the words she so desperately wanted to tell him in her throat.

“Jerrick plans to attack the morning after the Blue Moon,” he said, the words jumbled and rushed. “Tell Filip.”

The half smile he gave her was somehow sad. Was he thinking the same thing? Could this really be the end for them both?

When Astrid reached the bush where Kalle and Bec were hiding, she glanced at Erec one last time, taking in as much of him as she could in those seconds. She engraved the image of him into her memory—the stormy color of his eyes, the strong lines of his jaw, and the wheat color of his hair. She wanted to remember every detail just in case…just in case…

Her eyes stung as tears rushed forward. But before she could linger long enough to change her mind, she spun and followed Bec’s wolf farther away from the cage and Jerrick’s camp. With every step, the pack bond between her and Erec stretched thinner, until finally, his sorrow and worry became nothing more than a heaviness she carried in her heart.

Chapter Twenty

The moment Astrid disappeared into the trees, the approaching figure broke free of the shadows. It was Eva. And she was carrying a large quilt in her hands.

If she had caught Astrid’s scent on the breeze, her expression held no sign of it. Erec let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, but the tension in his muscles didn’t ease. Eva was better than Jerrick or any of his men, but he didn’t know what this woman was capable of. He didn’t know her at all. And with Astrid’s flowery scent still riding the wind, who knew if Eva had sent someone to investigate or follow the trail.

When Eva came to the cage, she was silent, but she gave him a smile that appeared kind-hearted and genuine. With her so close, Erec found even more similarities in her features, right down to the curves of her mouth when she grinned. It was unsettling, like staring at a reflection rather than a stranger. But that’s exactly what this woman was—a stranger. And mated with the enemy.

“I brought you a blanket. I figured you’d be cold out here.” Her tone was inviting yet careful as she pushed the dirty brown quilt through the bars.

Erec only stared at it cautiously. The pink in her cheeks, the sweet nature of her smile, the brightness to her eyes…they were all part of a welcoming disposition, one that spoke of a trustworthy person, but he wasn’t ready to fall for any charade this woman was putting on. Mother or not.

When he didn’t reach for the blanket, Eva tilted her head to the side. “It’s the warmest one we have…” she said. “At least until the moon rises and you can wear your wolf again.”

The wind bristled, changing direction, slapping against the exposed skin on his face and arms. It was deadly to be out in the open during a storm such as this. His fingertips were already numb, and it was still hours before nightfall. How would he be able to survive that long in this icy snow and relentless wind? He eyed the blanket, his entire body shaking.

“Here,” she crooned. “Take it.”

He did and quickly wrapped the thing around himself. The fabric was scratchy against his skin but so warm, he almost moaned. When he inhaled, a surprising scent tickled his nose. The blanket smelled bitter and sweet, like blackberries picked right off the bush, ready to be eaten. The strangest thing of all was that he recognized it.

It was her scent—somehow he knew it was. Breathing it in again had stirred something from his memory, something from a long time ago. But no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t drudge up a simple instance of her in his life before this. The only recollections he had of his childhood were of Mikel. No one else.

Yet some base part of him knew her smell.

How could that be? Unless…she really was his mother.

“Why are you here?” he asked, the question nagging at him. “I thought Jerrick wanted me to freeze in here because I refused his offer to be a part of his deranged scheme.”

“I snuck away,” she whispered, her voice barely audible against the storm. “I don’t have much time before he discovers I’m gone.”

“Why take the risk?”

She paused. “Because whether you want to believe it or not, Erec, you are my son. I lost you once. I don’t want to lose you again.” There was a sadness in her stare that spoke of truth. Her eyes glistened with tears. “These past years have been torturous. For the longest time, I thought you were dead. I just…I can’t believe you’re here.”

Erec tried not to be swayed by her sorrow, but still his chest clenched. “If I am your son, like you say, why did you abandon me? I grew up thinking my parents were dead and that I was an orphan. Why?”

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