Page 12 of A Kiss From a Wolfman

“Do you all live nearby? Is that how the hunters found you?”

“No,” he rasps. “I was traveling alone.”

I nod and quickly change the cloth to a fresh one.

“What about you?” he asks.

I shrug, a familiar ache forming in my chest.

“No family,” I say simply.

“Do you have a mate?”

I lower my brows. “Like a husband? No.”

His golden eyes seem to darken, and I feel heat climb up my cheeks. This wolfman has no problem being direct. Perhaps he was worried about a spouse coming home and finding his wife tending to a creature fromThe Woods, but he does not need to worry about that.

“Timson—one of the hunters who found you—has made me several marriage offers.” I don’t know why I’m sharing this with him, perhaps because I know he and I hold the same disdain for that repulsive man. “But I would rather take my chances with?—”

“A wild beast?” he supplies.

I’m blushing in earnest now as I nod.

“Well, now that you aren’t growling at me, you don’t seem so bad.”

His lips twitch, and I don’t think it’s a snarl he’s trying to suppress this time.

“You don’t know anything about me.” His ears lower. “What is your name, human?”

“Stella,” I say softly. “And yours.”

“Ciaryn.”

I nod, rising to my feet. “It’s nice to meet you, Ciaryn.”

Together, we work silently to bind the wounds on his chest and hip. It takes most of my clean cloth to wrap around hismassive frame. Once I am satisfied with the dressing, I apply the same antiseptic solution to his leg where the trap had broken through the skin. Once it is bound, I return to the kitchen table and begin making a concoction to treat any lingering infection.

I extend a glass of dark liquid towards him. With a sniff, he rears back.

“This will stop any of your wounds from festering. Drink it.”

Reluctantly, he takes it from my hands. He sips it before shaking his head.

“All of it,” I command.

With a deep sigh, he drinks down the whole elixir before grimacing. I take the glass from his hand and glance out the window. The night is still, and a few fireflies dance along the overgrown grass of my front lawn.

“You should spend the night here. They’re likely prowling the town and forest for you, and you're in no condition to travel. The dose I gave you was potent, and you’ll be feeling tired.” I gesture towards my small bedroom. “You take the bed; it should be able to fit you.”

Ciaryn shakes his head.

“The floor is fine.”

“Nonsense,” I say, waving a dismissive hand. “You need to rest for your wounds to heal. In the morning, I’ll change your bandages.”

Brushing past him to turn down the bed, his hand snags my wrist again. This close, we are eye to eye. The warmth of his body soaks into me. Pine seeps through the overwhelming scent of blood. His touch is gentle.

“Thank you,” he says. “Your kindness won’t be forgotten, Stella.”

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