Page 24 of Wolf Marked

As much as she wanted to bring up their private moment together again, she kept it to herself. Mostly because the sting of his callous rejection still lingered. But also because she was confused. The way her body had reacted to his touch, primal, like an animal in heat, was shocking. And when his lips had captured hers for that kiss, it not only stole her breath but all rational thought, too. She was ready to give all of herself to him, without hesitation. She had never felt that way toward any man before. And that scared her.

They hobbled along as the rest of the group strode ahead. Claus could be seen through the throng of bodies, hopping on one foot, with Kalle and Bec clutching his arms. If he thought about shifting again or struggling, he would not only have the two men to deal with, he’d have Gunnar and Darek as wolves on his heels. Not to mention Henrick and the other survivors. Still, Astrid was surprised Claus wasn’t putting up more of a fight. He was allowing them to tug him along, spewing only insults instead of punches. Every once in awhile, he would glance over his shoulder and throw one of those predatory grins at her, each time rousing a growl from Erec.

There had to be more to Claus that he wasn’t showing. It was as if he was playing a game they weren’t aware of, and the idea made Astrid’s skin crawl. What was this man really capable of?

The only person who knew about Jerrick and his men beyond the traveling stories was Erec, but he was a mystery himself. All she knew about him was that he had no parents, had been taken in by Mikel, and had left his pack to be a rogue.

“You said Claus almost killed you,” Astrid started, searching for the right words. The last time she had brought up Mikel to Erec, he’d shut down. She was going to have to approach this differently to get the answers she wanted.

“He did.” In an instant, the smirk vanished, and Erec’s expression hardened. “Bastard blindsided me. Knocked me out as I was charging Jerrick. After he— ” He gritted his teeth.

She knew the words that he had left cut off.After he killed Mikel.

Erec’s stare stayed locked ahead on Claus. After a long moment, he said, “He snapped Mikel’s neck. Right there in front of me.”

Those words must have been painful to utter, but his tone never wavered. Anger pushed them from his lips this time. Not remorse. What had changed within him?

“Mikel was—” He paused, as if debating his next words. “He was like a father to me. That’s why when the time comes, I’m going to be the one to kill him.”

The fury blazing in his eyes told her he meant every word, causing worry to race through her.

She stopped walking, drawing him to a halt, too. “He’ll slaughter you, Erec. He’s a monster. You’ve said it yourself. He kills for fun.”

“I know.” His dark blue gaze lowered to search her face. “Then I’ll die doing what I want to. Not because of a curse I have no control over.”

It was like something had been stabbed into her heart. She knew that truth, that desire to have power over her own life, better than anyone. She had been fighting to live the way she wanted for ten years now, ever since her mother had died.

“We have a little less than three weeks left, you know,” Erec said. “I’ll die either way.”

The reality of their situation smacked her in the face. Neither of them had found their fated mate to undo the curse. Their twenty-five Blue Moons were almost up, and thatmeant only one thing. She had managed to ignore her situation for this long, but she couldn’t do it forever. Once the three weeks passed and the Blue Moon rose in the sky, she would be dead.

Erec wanted the same thing she did—to gain some control of his life. No one should deny him of that, but thinking about him running straight into Jerrick’s claws made Astrid sick to her stomach. She didn’t want him to die, in any way, by anything, just as much as she didn’t want to die herself.

Astrid sighed and let Erec resume the pace. They followed the trail of footprints in complete silence. Erec didn’t glance down at her again or make another playful remark. Instead, his expression remained like stone.

After a long while, Astrid peered up at the sliver crescent moon. From its place in the sky, she guessed they had traveled for another hour or so.

Erec let out a tittering whistle, one that could have been mistaken as a passing bird. She looked at the front of the group to see Gunnar and Darek, still in their wolf forms, stick their snouts into the air and sniff. Then they swung right.

“What’s going on?” Astrid asked, watching everyone shadow Gunnar and Darek and curve around a tall pine tree. She heard no sounds besides the expected crunching of boots in snow and heavy breathing, and her wolf was calm. There didn’t seem to be any danger. “Why are we changing direction?”

“It’s time for us to make camp,” Erec began, his tone low, “to regain our strength and make sure Jerrick isn’t on our heels. We don’t want to lead him right to Svanna Rock, so we’ll continue the journey tomorrow.”

They walked another half mile before pulling off to an area behind thick thorny bushes. The canopy of a tilted tree provided protection from the blustering wind and any lingering snowfall. Everyone spread out across the open space, and right away, the men got to work setting up camp.

Erec and Henrick made two small fires, making sure to keep the flames tamed and the smoke to a minimum. Kalle and Bec used the ropes they’d packed to bind Claus’s wrists and ankles to a wide tree trunk in eyeshot. The tents went up quickly, the stew unpacked and placed over the fire pit to warm, and blankets passed around. Before Astrid could even offer her help, camp was made and everyone was settling into their places for the night.

Astrid found a comfortable place by the fire, a bowl of hot stew in her hands. As she ate, a prickling at the back of her neck urged her to look up. As soon as she lifted herchin, she met the wide, doe-like eyes of the woman who had handed over her baby through the cage’s bars. She sat across the dancing flames of the fire pit, shoulders slumped and the food in her lap untouched. Her bottom lip quivered as if she might cry.

“My son…” she whispered, her voice broken. “Is he…safe?”

Astrid lowered her bowl. Her chest ached for her, but knowing he was in the best hands with Mila and Filip, she offered her a small smile. “He is perfectly fine. I promise you.”

Relief swept across the mother’s face, bringing the glow back into her pale cheeks. “Really?” she breathed. “He’s okay?”

Astrid nodded. “He’s with my brother and his mate. He’s fed and warm.” She wanted to assure her any way she could. “They have a little son, too, so Stefan’s in gentle hands.” The moment the name left her lips, she knew she had made a mistake. Mila had only called him Stefan temporarily, until they’d found out his given one. Would the mother be angry at them for giving her son a name?

“Stefan? My son?”

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