Page 9 of Fate Unchained

A male vulk.

A tremor shot through her, but it wasn’t fear. Her heart raced, and she forgot about her damp collar and wet hair. All she saw, was him.

Her gaze jerked back upward and met the beast’s dark gaze. For a heartbeat, they stared at each other. Then he bared his teeth, and his eyes turned pure red. She yelped and fisted her powder. As he sprang forward, she leaped into the cave and ran toward him.

The great beast reared back, halting for a moment. Exactly as she’d wanted. Lilah tossed the powder into his face.

He sneezed, and the red in his eyes darkened, but nothing happened.

Oh no, it didn’t work!

She squeaked and backpedaled, but then the vulk swayed. In one rather graceful motion, he slumped to the ground. Not a muscle moved, but a harsh growling rose from his chest.

She let out a long breath. Shit on a stick, the powder actually worked.

The tension between her shoulder blades loosened a fraction. “All right, all right. I’m sorry, really, but I don’t have a choice.” She stared down at him. Okay, she knew what she had to do next. Hands shaking, she drew out the paper with her instructions for creating the magic cage. Really there were only two parts to the runic incantation. First, whisper to the rune and wake it up while setting the boundary she wanted for the cage, and then speak the activator word and have the rune set the cage into place.

She squared her shoulders. This was the only thing going right so far tonight. She could do this.

She’d give him half the cave and take the other for the rest of the night. Not the most pleasant evening, but at least she wouldn’t freeze to death in a snowbank. She spoke the runic word, and the symbol on the page glowed. Power danced across her skin in an icy kiss—the rune was awake and working.

Lilah walked to the back of the cave. A gentle tinkling accompanied the area at the back, where a small pool of water spread underneath damp rocks. “I’ll want some water too, better divide this in half.”

The rune remained on the page, but a shimmery glow followed her, wavering in the air to show the outline of the cage.

A pile of precisely stacked wood was next to the roaring fire. Along the wall were wrapped packages—food, maybe? Hanging from rope tied to the rocks overhead were a few slabs of meat that looked fresh. He had enough food here for days, so she wouldn’t need to worry about returning to the cave to feed him while she waited for Boris to come and collect him. Which was good because the way his red eyes followed her around the cave, he wasn’t going to want her visiting.

She’d leave his food and his fireplace inside his area.

When she finished, she’d given him most of the cave and left herself an area off to the left with access to the water and a snug spot sharing his fire. She’d moved a small pile of firewood onto her side but left most for him. Hopefully, he’d tend his fire, and she could benefit without having to make one of her own. He needed to stay warm too, right?

She eyed him. Yes, that had to be right. He didn’t have a shaggy coat, so he must get cold, too.

She returned to the vulk. He still hadn’t moved. She chewed on her lower lip. This was … wrong. She’d thought it would be like trapping an animal, sort of like a wolf, but it wasn’t. Kneeling next to him, she leaned close. “You aren’t what I expected at all.” His eyes were intelligent … and human. Not beastlike. He shouldn’t be lying on the floor like this, he was so strong. So virile. A wild, primal being representing nature itself.

He growled, and a chill raced down her spine. It would be the scariest noise she’d ever heard if he wasn't lying on his back. “A real vulk. Not one in a book.” She shook her head. “Not that I expect you to understand. Or speak.” Except he had food, and a fire, maybe he could understand.

She ran her hand over his chest, up to his neck. “Are you all right?” She felt around his head and let her knuckles brush over his velvety soft ears. His growling hitched. When she drew her hand away, there wasn’t any blood. She let out a shaky breath. “I think you’re all right.”

She needed to speak the rune and set the trap, but …

Her hand remained on his chest, and his growl spluttered and died. His eyes faded from red to black. A beautiful, deep color, with a few flecks of gray near his pupils, so subtle she bet not many ever noticed. “I shouldn’t touch you without your permission, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.” She knew he was fine, but she still hadn’t taken her hand from his chest. “You’re huge. I mean, I feel like I’m next to something out of a fairytale. I can’t believe you’re real.”

Maybe it was from sitting next to the fire, but his skin was so warm. And it smelled … she leaned forward and inhaled. A touch of bergamot on a wild, spring wind. Exotic.

A tingle started along her palm where she touched him, then whispered up her arm and through her limbs. A simmering burble, like something just beginning to thaw.

She snatched her hand back. “What the dickens was that?” While she may swear often enough in her head, her aunt had always insisted on no profanity out loud, so she tried to make it a habit. She failed a lot.

She sighed and stood up, straightening her paper to read the instructions one more time. “I’m sorry about this. I really am.”

His growl ripped through the cave, louder and more forceful than before. She swallowed. There couldn’t be much time before he could move again. An uncomfortable itch scratched between her shoulder blades as if her sweater were suddenly too small. An odd … urge … to soothe him shot through her. She settled back next to him, and his growling faded again. Her own discomfort eased away, too.

She’d do the spell here, then.

Pushing her coat sleeves up her forearms, she lifted the paper in front of her, and let her magic come. Her hands lit up white. Keeping one hand on the paper, she held her other hand out, palm up, letting the white light gather.

Had the vulk just twitched? Yet she still didn’t move right away. He was calm when she was next to him. That was the least she could do for him, right? She’d make sure he was as comfortable as possible.

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