Page 30 of Wolf Marked

She halted, her boots sinking in the snow. Surprise flashed across her youthful features. “What?”

He had done it now. No going back. “I wasn’t lying before when I said being with you felt different.” He let the words spill out, afraid that if he even stopped to take a breath, he might lose his nerve again. “I wasn’t lying when I said I couldn’t control myself, either. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and it had me thinking…maybe this is what it’s supposed to feel like when—when— ”

Astrid’s eyes widened. “You think we are…you and I are…?”

Was it really that ridiculous of a thought? It had made sense to him yesterday. “How does someone know they’ve found the one, anyway?”

Astrid was quiet, and with each second that ticked by, Erec’s stomach twisted tighter and tighter into a knot. Had he made a mistake?

Finally, in the softest whisper, she said, “I’ve been thinking about it, too.”

His heartbeat faltered. “Really?” he blurted out, but quickly washed his expression clean of any shock. He settled for expected satisfaction instead and smirked. “Oh?”

“It’s the only explanation I can come up with,” she muttered. “Even now, I want to be mad at you, but I feel like I can’t. No matter how hard I try, I can’t. And I amtrying.Believe me.” A smile lifted her lips.

Erec smirked. “So what now? We meet under the Blue Moon in a few weeks and hope for the best?”

“I guess so. I don’t think there’s a way to know for sure.” Astrid squeezed her arms around herself, and Erec wondered if he should reach out to touch her or do something comforting, like someone in love would do. This all was so strange. So surreal. Both of them understood there was a possibility of being each other’s mate, but neither of them had mentioned anything about love. And didn’t true mates have to be in love to break the curse?

Loving Astrid would be easy for anybody. She was intelligent, compassionate, and full of life. Erec wasn’t sure what it was his heart was telling him about her, but he did care for her. More than he had ever cared about anyone, and that counted for something, right?

But love? True love? He didn’t know.

Erec lifted his hand, wanting to touch Astrid’s shoulder and maybe draw her in close, but right before his fingertips could make contact, a rumbling growl echoed ahead of them, followed by a clamor of angry shouts.

Astrid’s head snapped up. “What’s that?”

Erec squinted through the blurry snowfall. He could make out his group in the distance. They had stopped walking and were gathered together, staring at something ahead.

A slew of curses filled the air.

“That sounds like Bec,” Astrid said. “Something must be wrong.”

Erec’s thoughts flew to Claus, and his heart dropped. “Stay close to me,” he told Astrid and hurried to catch up to the commotion. Tiny red drops colored the snow at his feet, making an ominous trail for him to follow. Not good.

“What’s going on here?” he shouted as he pushed past the mass of spectators. The bodies parted to allow him through. In the center, Erec spotted Claus sitting against a tree, like he had been last night, but this time, he was laughing half-hysterically as Bec and Kalle struggled to lift him up onto his feet again.

The air was thick with the scent of blood. As Erec had expected, the drops in the snow led right to Claus. His right hand was covered in red. So was the trunk he leaned against and the side of his face.

How was he still bleeding? With their quick healing, his wound should have been at least scabbed over by now.

“He’s been stumbling a lot,” Bec grunted as he tried to heave Claus up with little success. “It may be from the blood loss.”

“And he hasn’t been much help, either,” Kalle added. He winced as Claus’s laughter shot up an octave.

Henrick stepped forward and grabbed onto Claus’s arm, too. The one in Bec’s hold. “Let’s do it together.”

Erec took Kalle’s side, and all at once, they pulled Claus to his feet. He wobbled a bit but locked his knees once he was upright. He stopped laughing, and his eyelids drooped with exhaustion.

“If he falls again, we may have to drag him,” Bec said. He wiped the sweat from his bald head. “Please tell me we don’t have much farther to go.”

Erec peered into the woods. In the distance, a pink light flashed, like a beacon signaling them home. “Almost there,” he said, “but we should put something against Claus’s ear to stop the bleeding. Remember, we need him alive. For now.”

In one swift motion, Bec ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around Claus’s head. The fabric barely covered the gaping hole and it was soaked with blood in seconds, but it was better than nothing.

“There. Perfect,” Bec said. “Let’s keep going.” He nodded for Gunnar and Darek, still in their animal forms, to lead them. Everyone fell back into place and started the trek again.

Erec stayed in the back with Astrid.

---