On the Ragged Edge of the World by Jamie Craig

Author:Jamie Craig [Craig, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2019-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Aden fought to wake up, weary of his morphine-addled dreams where Oliver stood over his inert form with the head of a wolf and the body of a man. Darren played a part as well, a silver streak that darted in and around them, finally beating Oliver back with a whisper and a howl. When Darren descended to Aden’s side, Aden struggled to get away, but his muscles refused to obey his commands, leaden and sore. He braced for the burn the silver always brought, but even that was not as it was in the real world. Where Darren touched, heat flamed all right, but not the kind that hurt. His was the kind that warmed Aden through.

He opened his eyes to the dim light of his bedroom at the reserve. His body ached, the stitches tender. Darren was molded over his back, his face buried in the fur at his neck. His arm wrapped around Aden’s chest, inches away from each of the wounds.

Carefully, he bent his head and licked over Darren’s hand. Its salty texture made his mouth water, but as he had the night before, he withstood the urge to bite.

Aden continued lapping until Darren twitched. He felt the body behind him tense as Darren woke, and then the hand turned, his palm facing Aden’s mouth. Darren’s fingertips barely glanced over his muzzle, a careful caress.

“How are you feeling?” Darren asked against his fur.

He needed to shift to answer. He hadn’t done so the night before to conserve his energy, but now, the urge to stay in wolf form was fed by his guilt over the entire Oliver incident. Aden hadn’t been that thoroughly beaten since he’d been a cub. Having Darren witness it was even more humiliating. Knowing Darren had been right all along…Aden didn’t even want to go there.

Except he had to. He knew that. And though it made his flesh ache, he changed back into his human skin, taking the pain and using it to strengthen his resolve.

In the absence of fur, Darren pulled away a little, though at least he didn’t separate from Aden completely. Aden rolled onto his back, catching Darren’s arm, and gently eased his sore shoulder against the mattress.

“I’m alive. Thanks to you.”

“Trust me when I say that you’re welcome.” Darren pressed a kiss to Aden’s shoulder. “But I meant with the pain. Do you want me to get you anything?”

“No.” Which was a partial lie because drugs sounded like heaven right then. But that would mean Darren getting out of bed, and Aden didn’t want to lose his heat. Now or ever. “I meant that, you know. Things would have gone very differently last night if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Yeah…I know. I really hoped you wouldn’t ever know I was there.”

Shame washed through Aden. He stared up at the ceiling, unable to meet Darren’s soft brown eyes. “I wish you hadn’t seen it. It wasn’t exactly my shining hour.”

“Aden…that really doesn’t matter to me. I’m not in…I’m not here just because of how you fight.

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