Page 18 of Samuel
Whatever his inner beast was, it had swatted those rogue wolves aside like they were nothing more than flies.
I’d never seen anything like it. The sheer power, the way he moved—it was terrifying and awe-inspiring all at once.
And the look on Samuel’s face when he found me, clinging to a branch like an idiot, trying to fend off those wolves... Pure fury.
But none of that anger had been directed at me.
No one had ever been angryforme before. Not like that.
The protectiveness in his gaze, the way he had immediately gone to war for me—it was overwhelming.
My chest felt strange, tight, like something was burning there.
It was a dangerous feeling, something that made me want to run, to retreat back into the safety of my own walls.
“He’s only worried about himself,” I told myself, trying to regain some sense of control. “If I get hurt, he gets hurt. He’s just looking out for his own interests.”
But the more I thought about it, the less it made sense. If it was all about self-preservation, why save me in the first place?
Samuel had said it himself—our lives were connected now. I was stuck with him whether I liked it or not.
He could’ve left me to die. He didn’t owe me anything. So why did he go through the trouble of saving me?
I sighed, slumping slightly against his chest, despite myself.
There was no point in protesting about being carried back like some lost prince.
He was too strong, and deep down, I was too tired to keep fighting him all the time.
His chest was firm beneath me, warm like a furnace, and he smelled... good.
Like pine and smoke, with that underlying scent that was justhim.
I should’ve been wary of those thoughts, but I was exhausted.
The fight was wearing me down, and some part of me—some small, traitorous part—wondered if it would just be easier to stop resisting. To give in.
But give in towhat, exactly?
Even if I made it out of these cursed woods, where would I go? Back to the Guild?
They’d take one look at the mark on my neck and execute me on the spot.
They didn’t tolerate anything that blurred the lines between human and monster.
Gordon probably already reported me dead, and it wasn’t like there was anyone left there for me, except Finn.
And Finn… he’d move on. He was stronger than I ever was.
The sharp realization hit me hard—no one else would miss me.
No one but Finn.
The thought gnawed at me, a bitter ache in my chest.
Hunters were supposed to be pragmatic, emotionless, but I had always been too sensitive, too emotional.
Maybe that’s why I was destined to fail, to end up here, mated to someone I barely knew and trapped in a situation I couldn’t escape.
