Page 20 of Untethering Dark

A dark shape coalesced amid the sweeping snow. Visible one moment, blurry the next, except for a pair of piercing red eyes. Those she saw perfectly well.

That chilling, unblinking stare began at thigh level but rose above her as Altes Geweih stood from all fours to two, a seamless movement that was menacing in its grace.

Primal dread speared through her, making her whole body shudder.

Long, agonizing seconds ticked by. Astrid held perfectly still, not even daring to blink. He moved too swiftly, too silently. One blink and it was all over.

Slinking back onto all fours, Altes Geweih prowled toward her, eating up precious distance. For a creature as large as him, he moved with effortless fluidity, black ink spilling onto snow. He had thousands of years to perfect the art of the hunt. And it showed.

She took a shaky step backward, a scream lodged in her throat.

He matched her step for step.

Back, back, back, until she collided with a tree trunk.She sucked in a ragged breath, heart threatening to beat straight out of her chest. What a foolish hope to think the hikers might distract him long enough for her to locate Fritz and Liesel.

“Looking for me, witchling?” He rose to eye level, bracing a clawed hand above her head. Trapping her in. “So soon?”

Every dripping syllable of his cavernous growl spooled around her body. A dark decadence that made her belly flutter and clench despite its harshness. It soothed. It challenged. Linger, it said.If you dare.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Astrid lifted her chin. Tempting fate. It exposed her throat to the mouthful of sharp teeth hovering just centimeters away, and yet, she lingered. She dared.

His gaze bored into her with a smoldering watchfulness that teetered on smug. Such a vibrant shade of red, those eyes. The perfect contrast to the bleached-white bone of his face. His body blocked out most of the raging wind and radiated a heat that created an unexpected reprieve from the elements. What was just minutes ago a cage was now a welcome shelter.

Fear melted into something softer. Something...complicated. The last time she was backed up against a tree like this, a very particular set of events followed. Hoisted. Pinned. Fucked.

Claws clacked against bark as he drummed them lazily above her head. Waiting for her answer.

Astrid finally found her voice. It had a teasing quality she hadn’t intended. “Did you want to be found?”

A deep rumble emanated from the back of his throat. “By you, I might.”

Warmth pooled in her belly. This was so, so bad for self-preservation. If he demanded her soul in the next breath, she would be hard-pressed to deny him.

“Little witch, little witch,” he drawled. Sweet Mutter Holle, he needed to stop speaking to her like that. “Did you want something?”

She lifted a hand. Did she...

She came out here for a reason. Risked her life for a dear cause.

Fritz. Liesel.

Scheiße. What was she doing?

She inhaled deeply.Focus. “My goats. They’re lost.” Her hand fell to her side.

“I see.” He eased back, his sigh a harsh rasp. Was he disappointed? “I’ll fetch them.”

The offer dumbfounded her. Shocked her into silence.

“Go home, witch. Warm yourself and sleep. They’ll be there tomorrow when you wake.”

“But they’re my responsibility...”

“And you’re chilled to the bone.” Though he didn’t stand as close as before, he still bracketed her. It hit her then with the sudden realization that hewassheltering her. “These conditions won’t let up until morning, and you’re no good to them dead.”

Astrid smarted at the jab to her vulnerability, but it was swiftly eclipsed by the thoughtfulness and practicality of the offer. If anyone could find her goats, and quickly, it was him. “You promise you’ll bring them home?”

“I promise.”

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