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Thank you. Am I allowed to sleep now?

“Can he sleep if he’s able? We don’t need to keep him awake?”

“He needs his rest. Sleep is the best thing for him.”

Sleep, Fen. Sleep now. I’ll keep watch.

Rory.That was a bare mental whisper, and then he felt Fen turn off like a light.

Chapter

Two

Fen woke up to a roaring headache, pain in his shoulder, and a huge rumbling in his belly. It had been…well, he had no idea how long it had been since that last rabbit.

And then someone had shot him.

He’d thought he was high enough on the mountain that there would be no pack. That he could find a place to rest. To stop running for a bit.

But then he’d been running for his life again.

He’d known right away that Rory wasn’t part of the pack who had tried to kill him. He’d been so scared but so kind.

So willing to help.

And then Fen had heard him in his head.

His mate.

He’d found his mate, and he was going to die. He’d been so aggravated.

Now, though, he thought he might live. If he could just get some water. His tongue felt like it could choke him.

“I have it right here. There’s a bottle and a bowl. What would you rather have?”

Bowl.The man inside him wanted to say bottle, but he knew it would never work when he couldn’t sit up.

“No problem.” He could smell the water, and Rory’s hands were gentle and kind as they helped him lap up a drink.

Thank you. He laid his head back down, the pain making him pant. Note to self, he thought. Don’t get shot.

“Can I do anything? I hate having you hurt.”

Sit with me. I need to feel you. I’m cold.

“Yeah. It’s cold up here at night, even in the summer.”

Where am I?He had no idea. He could be anywhere from Wyoming to Utah to Colorado.

Utah. Uinta mountains. We’re up there.

I did think I was high enough not to run into a pack.

Rory snorted.There were dragons. It was a thing.

Fen blinked, trying to make Rory come into focus.Dragons?

Yep. A bunch of them. I was one of their friends.