Page 50 of The Cursed Wolf King

I stepped closer, the space between us shrinking until we were inches apart. Her breath cascaded over me, soft and uneven, mingling with the storm inside me. My hand lifted, trembling as though it wasn’t mine, until my fingertips brushed her cheek.

The contact was barely there, a featherlight touch, but it set me on fire, a pulse of energy so profound it stole my breath. Her skin was impossibly soft beneath my hand. I traced the line of her jaw, moving with a reverence I didn’t know I possessed, as though she were something sacred, something fragile.

Her lips parted as she inhaled quickly, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. My thumb brushed the corner of her mouth, and my wolf howled, triumphant and wild.

And then it hit me.

The force of it was staggering, slamming into me so hard I stumbled backward, my heart hammering in my chest. My wolf growled, furious at the distance. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.

She is mine.

The words echoed through me, undeniable and absolute, and the truth of it made my knees weak. I looked at her, really looked at her, and I saw everything—the bond, the pull, the inevitability of what she was to me.

My fated mate.

“Damn it,” I cursed under my breath, raking a hand through my hair. “How can that even be possible?”

“What?” she asked, breathless.

I can’t kill her. And I can’t leave her there.

There was only one option.

“You’re coming with me.”

She didn’t argue. She didn’t beg.

I loosened the ropes hanging over the tree branch, my movements quick but rough. I used one arm to ease her down but instantly regretted it. A wave rushed through me at the touch, her breath rolling over me. Her body became tense, so I knew she felt it too.Damn it.

“What are you doing?”

“You heard me.” I turned away, composing myself as I slung the ropes over my shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

My wolf howled within me, triumphant, while the man in me wrestled with the implications of what I was doing.

I couldn’t trust this sense of a fated mate, a bond that was foreign and uncomfortable in my mind. I didn’t know what else she would become—a threat, a savior, a mistake… The only thing I knew was that she was coming home with me.

I couldn’t take chances.

I started stripping off my clothes. Her eyes widened as I moved swiftly, knotting the rope to be able to transport her in the only way I knew how.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready.”

“You’re going to shift?”

“It’s the safest way for me to get to my bike. I can move fast enough that the Heraclids won’t sense me until I’m gone.”

She whispered, “What about me?”

I sighed. “Well, Oracle Eve, I don’t know what to believe at this point. We’ll figure that out later. In the short term, I’m taking you to my bike and to my pack lands.” I cringed. “You’re going to have a bit of a bumpy ride.”

“Why? Am I going torideyou?”

“Um,no.” I approached her, steeling myself against the sensations I knew would come, but there was no other option right now. I couldn’t take the chance that she would try to escape and hand me over to the Heraclids. Fated mate, perhaps, but her motives remained elusive at best.

“Then what are you…”

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