Of Fangs and Shadows by Jessica J. Ayala

Author:Jessica J. Ayala [Ayala, Jessica J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798986431802
Google: mNQ_zwEACAAJ
Amazon: B0BCCV8H38
Publisher: Jessica J Ayala
Published: 2022-08-28T18:30:00+00:00

Diane

Underneath the canopy of branches there was very little protection from stray droplets that sprinkled over my hair and face. I welcomed the chill. Anything to distract me from the pain and the ache.

Everything had turned to shit. There had been some success, but the casualties, the loss . . . I wished I was there to help instead of being in hiding. We were no longer the hunters but the hunted. It wasn’t the first time I’d been separated from my brothers during a job. We always had contingency plans, and I was scolding us in my mind for not being more prepared. But it was either return to the Pack or continue fleeing in the hopes of the Order straying farther and farther away from the haven and Roman cities.

I was not so foolish to think we would be able to avoid going back home forever. The Pack was preparing for war. We would have to return eventually.

Remus had thrown himself in front of the whippings to protect me. Every lash had resounded in my chest. I feared that if it hadn’t been for the cliff falling apart, we would now be in the Order’s grasp.

My skin tingled, remembering Remus’s softness when he removed my armor. How uncharacteristic of him. That was something else that had unsettled me. The kindness and affection. It had whispered to me with every brush of his fingers and dip of his brow as he examined my injuries.

My cheeks warmed, and a heat coiled in my lower abdomen. I fought the urge to rub my legs together. It had been a painful month with this unsatisfied thirst. The Lone Wolf was slowly slipping the world from under me.

At the sound of a branch snapping, I heeded my sense of alarm and flung my dagger in the direction of the noise. Remus caught the blade with ease, ducking his head to the side with a measured smoothness. His deep olive skin was splattered with dirt and bruises, contrasting with the lines of coarse muscle running down his forearm and broad hands. The skin on his knuckles tightened, flexing the vein on his hand as he held the dagger.

Remus’s eyes narrowed, looking more catlike in the dark. “That’s twice you’ve tried to kill me.”

“And twice you’ve snuck up on me.” I grimaced as I sat against the tree trunk.

The creases on Remus’s brow deepened as he sat next to me. A lock of black hair fell over his brow. “Has the bleeding stopped?”

I laid my head back, briefly squeezing my eyes shut. “I think so.”

Remus’s finger lightly grazed my leg, just above the wound. “May I?” he asked, voice suddenly drawn into a whisper.

I nodded, staying silent as he unwrapped the bandage, his large hands surprisingly gentle. Remus took a sharp breath at the sight of the gashes, deep crevices of skin filled with dried blood.

“See,” I said, fighting to maintain a steady breath, “not bleeding.”

He didn’t move, green eyes locked on the wound. “I will fucking kill them all.

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