Page 4 of Winning the Wolf

Our gazes clashed and he stopped walking, his cheeks turning a slight pink. There had been a mutual disrespect since the day Killick had come home to tell us that Chris had intentionally dove to the bottom of the lake and refused to come back up. Killick had tried to drag him, but my brother, being the bigger of the two, had been too strong. According to the alpha-heir, Chris had shifted his hand into a paw and sliced his claws through his friend’s arm, forcing him to return to the surface.

My chest squeezed tight as I watched the man who we’d instantly blamed. The pain, although ten years old, lanced within me, bringing tears to my eyes. My brother would’ve never made the choice to take his life. He was… he was my brother.

“Yes, Larissa...” Killick’s jaw hardened along with his gaze. “…everything did change.”

Blinking to break the intensity of fire that burned between us, I turned and broke into a run. My boots slid on the mud, slowing me down as I smelt the air and tracked my sister. Tears hovered in my eyes, threatening to overflow onto my cheeks. I would not let the dickhead behind me know that talking about my brother had almost brought me to my knees.

“Take it easy,” Killick said, drawing level with me. “You need to concentrate.”

I glared at him before pushing forward, laughing when he slipped and fell, landing in the mud. I didn’t slow, instead picking up my speed and bursting forward as fast as I could. If I could lose him, it would give me a moment to gather my fractured nerves.

My feet blurred over the ground, taking me over a mound and onto a rugged part of the hill. The gorge was to my right, the drop of the cliff falling to the road below. Nyla had often joked about how clumsy I was, daring me to go near the edge. I never did.

“You really think you can outrun me?” Killick called.

He was only a few seconds behind, but I pushed on anyway, trying to put distance between me and the man who caused all my pain. It hurt just to look at him, despite his gorgeous features. So, no, I no longer had a crush on Killick Huntington–

The air that whipped my hair disappeared as the earth beneath my feet gave way and I fell. A scream flew from my lips as I hurdled down, smashing onto hard mud. The crack of my ribs resounded before my own grunt filled the air.

Something thumped beside me as physical pain exploded through me. I sucked in a breath and held it as my broken bones melded back together, slowly taking the flow of pain away. Shit, I hadn’t healed from a wound in a long while. Thank fuck my wolf DNA did the hard work in seconds.

“Are you okay?” Killick grunted, moving my hair out of my face.

Flinching away from him, I slowly started to move. The darkness lightened as I blinked and my eyes adjusted, the pupils dilating to allow me to see clearly.

“I broke a few bastard ribs.” Pushing up onto my arms, I flexed my achy body. “But they’ve healed. What the fuck happened?”

Killick was on his feet – of course, alpha-supreme would land on his feet, agile as a cat. Unlike me, who was as agile as a donkey – squinting up at the gaping hole above our heads. “Can’t tell whether it’s a hunter’s trap or just erosion. We’re twelve feet down.”

Studying the pitted area, I reached out and touched the mud wall. It was sopping wet and slimy after a winter of heavy rain. The space was circular with enough room for two of us to lie down. Not that we would, of course.

“Can you give me a leg up?” I asked, unsuccessfully trying to brush the mud off my dress.

Crouching beside me, Killick grabbed my ankle and hoisted me up. I clung to the mud, squeaking when it fell away in clumps and I tumbled backwards.

“Shit.” Killick’s hands caught my waist as my heel slammed into his leg. “Fuck!”

His grunt was loud as he dropped me, clutching his crotch. Oops, I hadn’t hit his leg. Oh, well, served him right for being an arsehole.

“I can hear your smirk,” he hissed as I rubbed the mud from my hands. “Stop pissing around.”

Heat stormed over my skin, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. “Pissing around?” I spat, shoving his rock hard chest. “Do I look like I’m having fun?”

He didn’t budge, his bulk too solid for me to move. Instead, he snarled and shook his head. How dare the bastard look at me so disdainfully? I didn’t deserve any of his fury. I never had.

“Look!” I pushed through my gritted teeth as I shoved him again. “I’m not my sister, so stop blaming me for this shit. She’s hurt me as much as she has the pack.”

He held steady, watching me with narrowed eyes. “You blamed me for your brother.”

His deadpan words smacked into my chest and evoked a rage that burnt me from the inside out. Thrusting forward with all my might, I pushed my fists into his chest, propelling us both across the small space and into the mud wall.

Killick’s hands gripped my waist and he walked me backwards, his step forceful and his fingers digging into my skin. Our chests rose and fell as my spine hit the other side of the pit and we stopped, staring into each other’s eyes.

“I…I…” I stuttered, licking my lips.

His gaze ducked, his eyes hooded as I caught my bottom lip in my teeth. The warmth of our breath mingled between us as we watched one another, heat sizzling in our veins. His head moved closer, his lips just a fraction away from mine. The stress of the last few hours was making me irrationally attracted to the alpha-heir. Shit.

“You should’ve looked after him.” My throat closed, choking the words out of me.

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