Page 35 of Alpha's Hated Mate

She slows down, stumbling. Her growls are getting low. Finally she topples over in a dead faint. I loosen my grip and lay next to her, catching my breath as best as I can.

Fuck.I reach over and touch her fur, running my hand over her chest. She’s breathing. Good.

The howling is still happening outside, though. I get up and maneuver around the broken furniture to the door and lock it.

I don’t know if I can restrain her again if she wakes up, but I can’t let her out of this room. I have to protect her from whatever this is.

I slide down the door and take stock of my injuries. A bite on the back of my neck has left trails of blood down my chest and shoulders, scratches on my arms and legs. I suppose it could be worse. I hope the worst has passed.

And as I sit here, I watch as she slowly changes back to human form. She’s lying in the center of the room, unconscious and naked, her long red hair flaring out behind her like fire. I pray I don’t have to tie her down to the bed.

“Aydan . . . ?”

The sound of her voice wakes me. I spent most of the night trying to clean up the mess we made. I stacked the broken furniture in a pile in a corner of the room. For the other thingsthat got trashed, I did my best to clear them out without actually leaving. Thankfully, her couch and bed were undamaged. I can’t say much for her desk, though. It’s completely ruined.

I slept on the couch with nothing but a blanket over me. I wasn’t about to leave her to find clothes. Not for a second. I put clothes on her, though. A nightshirt that I found in her dresser. She’s been running a fever all night, so I placed a washcloth on her head to keep her cool . . . I did that until I couldn’t keep my own eyes open.

I look over to see her sitting up and looking at me with big, terrified eyes. The sunlight streams in through the window and highlights her red hair . . . as well as the bruises on her face and neck. I sit up, and the pain of the untreated wound on my neck nearly brings me back down.

She gets up and rushes over to me. “Oh, no.” Her hands touch my neck, moving around to the nape. She leans over to get a better look, and as she touches it, I can already feel the scabs forming. “Don’t move.”

She gets up and rushes to the bathroom as I lay back on the couch. A few moments later, she comes back with a bowl and a washrag and starts cleaning my wound. I flinch from the cold sting of water, and she frowns. “I’m sorry. I’m . . . I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes start to tear up. I reach out to her, and she pushes me away, sniffling and wiping at her face. “Just let me get you cleaned up. Okay? Just . . . just let me do that.”

I let her, leaning forward as she cleans my wound. What a disaster. I don’t even want to know what awaits us on campus.

Chapter Sixteen—Saffron

I’m sprinting through dense forest, branches whipping my face, lungs burning. The baby clutched against my chest, tiny and warm and so fragile. Its scent mingles with pine needles and my own fear-sweat.

The raven flies ahead.My salvation. My only hope.

My bare feet bleed on sharp stones, but I must keep following.Goddess, help me.

There . . . wooden steps appear between ancient trees. The raven lands, black eyes glinting with impossible knowledge. A gap beneath the third step, dark and hollow.

Behind me, a howl cuts through the wind.He’s coming.

My heart hammers against my ribs. The baby whimpers, sensing my terror.

“Shhh, my love,” I whisper, tears streaming. “Live for me.”

I shove the tiny bundle into the gap, memorizing that perfect face one last time. My hands shake as I arrange leaves, concealing my treasure.

I run.

Away from the steps. Away from my heart.

He needs to follow me. Only me.

The howl comes again, closer. Massive paws thudding against earth that seems to tremble in submission.

I look back.

Glowing red eyes. An enormous blood-red wolf, saliva dripping between fangs longer than my fingers.

My foot catches on something. I fall.

---