Page 24 of Samuel
My legs felt heavy as I turned and followed him back into the cabin, the door shutting behind us with a solid thud.
The moment we were inside, I felt the weight of what had just happened settle over me like a suffocating blanket.
“We need to talk,” I said, breaking the silence as we stood in the center of the small room.
“Agreed,” Samuel said, crossing his arms, his posture tense. “There’s more going on here. The rogues… they’re working together.”
“Working together?” I asked, my voice edged with frustration.
I’d never heard of anything like that before.
He hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully.
“The dragon I’m hunting,” Samuel began, his jaw clenching, “I suspect he’s working with the rogue wolves or controlling them somehow.”
My blood ran cold. “Is that possible?” I asked.
Samuel simply nodded.
I swallowed, the enormity of what he was saying sinking in.
“So what do we do?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. “We can’t just sit here and wait for him to come to us.”
“No,” Samuel agreed. “But we need to be smart about this. You’re still healing, and I’m not about to let you charge headfirst into a battle you’re not ready for.”
I bristled at his words, but deep down, I knew he was right. As much as I hated to admit it, I wasn’t in any shape to fight. Not yet.
“So what?” I asked, crossing my arms. “We just hide out here?”
“For now,” Samuel said, his tone firm but not unkind. “I’ll keep watch. And when the time comes, we’ll face this together.”
Together. The word echoed in my mind, stirring something unfamiliar in my chest.
For so long, I had been alone, fighting my battles on my own. But now… now I wasn’t.
And as terrifying as the thought of this rogue dragon was, there was a strange, undeniable comfort in knowing that Samuel and I would face it side by side.
But I couldn’t help the nagging fear that this was just the beginning—and that whatever was coming for us would be worse than anything I had ever faced before.
CHAPTER SIX
SAMUEL/ BLAKE
SAMUEL
When I woke up that morning, I immediately reached out through our bond, seeking Blake’s presence.
It was a habit I’d developed over the past few days without even realizing it.
I walked to my bedroom and saw the bed was empty, the sheets rumpled. My stomach tightened.
The imprint of his body was still fresh on the mattress, so he couldn’t have been gone long, but a whisper of worry curled in my chest.
My dragon stirred, immediately sensing my unease.Don’t panic,I told myself, but it was easier said than done.
Blake was a hunter, trained to slip away unnoticed. He might’ve decided that morning was the time to go.
If he thought I’d let him slip away so easily, he was sorely mistaken.
