Page 68 of Tide Touched

The bookseller emerges from her closed stall, the small house beyond. The older woman blinks blearily. ‘Killian?’ She yawns, setting a wrinkled hand over her mouth. ‘What’s the matter?’ Her gaze takes in Katherine, unconscious in my arms. ‘Your friend—’

‘She’s my mate, and she was attacked. I’d hoped she’d heal on her own, but—’

Mariam looks about. ‘Oh, you can’t keep her out in this, even with fire in her blood she’s too cold, come on inside, you poor pups—’

I shake my head. ‘Before you take us in, I need you to know that the Water alpha is after us. His nephew mated with her. They abducted her. I won’t let them take her again. She’s mine. You’d be putting yourself at risk.’ The words come out in a rush, steam billowing between us in the cool air.

Despite the strong fire in my blood, goosebumps stick out of my skin like needles. I’m naked and freezing, my grip on Katherine starting to slip. I readjust her, praying I can hold her as long as I need to.

Mariam’s hard gaze meets mine. ‘Come inside. You’ll both be safe here.’ The bookseller steps back to unlock one of the doors and ushers us inside.

‘Thank you. Really.’ I pass her, into the small but warm cottage, a fire flickering in the hearth. I’ve never known what pack Mariam is. She doesn’t have red hair, and whatever colour used to be there has long since faded to snow. She locks up the door behind us, sealing in the warmth.

‘Not a problem for my favourite Fire wolf.’ She offers a smile and totters into another room. ‘You’ve been coming here since before you were born, remember? Your mother was an avid reader.’ She shuffles back in with a tray in her hands, piled with cloth and bandages.

I’ve been visiting Mariam’s book stall for as long as I can remember. Every time my father would send me somewhere, no matter where, I would always detour here, even if it was just to visit the older woman.

I set Katherine down on a plush couch, carefully laying her head down.

Mariam’s face creases with sympathy. ‘Your mate, you say? What happened to the poor girl?’ She sets the tray down and picks up a damp cloth, dabbing at Katherine’s wounds. ‘You can get some clothes from there. I washed them for a neighbour.’

‘Thanks.’ I pull them on, making a mental note to reimburse the owner. I briefly explain the situation: how Katherine mated to Carter, even though he’s Water, the Tide Witches bid it true, so he took her, against her will, and they, uh, mated, but I went after her, and got her away from him and his jealous girlfriend who attacked her, then the wolves that came after us and took Moira.

Mariam’s eyes widen. ‘Goodness.’

‘But I don’t know why she’s not healing.’

‘The girl needs some proper rest.’ Mariam pats me on the shoulder. ‘You did the right thing by bringing her here, Killian. Let me get you some supper. You’re cold, too.’ She touches my cheek. ‘I’ve never known you to be cold, little wolf.’

My gaze is locked on Katherine. ‘I need her to be okay.’

Mariam squeezes my shoulder. ‘Don’t you worry, we’ll look after her.’

The older woman returns with stew and bread that could put the shack to shame ten times over. I near-inhale the delicious food. Mariam smiles at me. ‘Careful or you’ll choke.’

I slow down, wishing Katherine were awake so I could feed her. I set the rest of my food down and crawl over to her, gently stroking her hair. ‘When will she wake?’

‘She needs rest.’ The woman taps a pile of clothes. ‘But she should get out of that wet dress. Put her in these. You two can stay out here. I’m afraid I don’t have a spare bed, but I do have some linen.’ She leaves me a pillow and some blankets. ‘I’m glad you found your mate, Killian. She’ll be alright, don’t worry.’

I exhale. ‘Thanks, Mariam. This means a lot.’

The woman bobs her head and bids me goodnight. I peel Katherine’s wet dress off her—hoping she won’t be uncomfortable with this when she wakes—and get her into the warmer clothes. I brush her hair to the side and plant a warm kiss on her forehead. ‘You heal, you hear me? I just found you. I’m not about to lose you.’

Chapter Thirty-Four

Katie

I wake in a strange place to a familiar, intoxicating scent: the aroma of old books. My eyes snap open. I must be dead. Isn’t that just my luck? I died in that forest and flew off to heaven and now I can read as many books as I want. I blink and readjust my description of heaven. Yes, certainly shirtless Killian would be here, too.

He offers a smile. ‘Hey, gorgeous. How’re you feeling?’

I climb up off the couch. ‘I smell books.’ I follow my nose, trying to hunt down the elusive paperbacks. I will find them. I come to face a set of locked, double doors. Beneath them are folded two sets of wooden shelves, as though designed to fold outward. On the shelves are dozens of books. I squeak in glee as Killian pads over to me.

A hand on my shoulder, he says gently, ‘Katherine, what are you doing?’ He rubs my back.

‘I wanted to see the books. If I’m dead, I might actually get a chance to read them.’

A confused snort escapes him. Killian turns me by my shoulders so I’m basically sitting in his lap—clutching a small pile of books—and turn to look up into his eyes. ‘Katherine, are you delirious?’ He sets the back of his hand against my forehead. ‘You’re not dead, darling. You’re hurt.’

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