Page 69 of Donovan

The question sent a ripple of tension through the remaining hunters. I felt Declan stiffen beside me, the muscles in his arm coiling like a spring.

Easy, I told him without speaking, my fingers wrapping around his wrist in a silent command.Wait.

Kit stood in the center of it all, his expression carefully neutral. But I saw the subtle twitch of his fingers, the way his throat worked as he swallowed.

He wasn’t just considering our fate; he was weighing something, something deeper.

Then, before he could speak, the woman, the one Declan had saved, stepped forward.

“We let them go,” she said, her voice steady, clear.

I didn’t know her name, but in that moment, I was super grateful she spoke first. Predictably, the reaction was instant.

“The hell we will.”

“They led us into this!”

“They should pay for it!”

Angry voices clashed like a second battle brewing in the wake of the first. Kit raised a hand, and just like that, the arguing died.

One look from him was all it took. Even exhausted, bloodied, and bruised, he still commanded respect.

A long breath left him. His gaze flicked to me, then Declan.

His expression hardened, but underneath that steel was something else. Something reluctant. Something resigned.

“I see it now,” he murmured, his voice carrying through the clearing like a quiet declaration. “How much you care for each other.”

I didn’t move. Didn’t even blink. Kit exhaled, shaking his head slightly.

“And I won’t forget that if it weren’t for him.”Kit nodded toward Declan.“I’d be dead.”

Silence stretched, thick and heavy.

Then, one of the hunters scoffed. “Yeah, well, doesn’t change the fact that Donovan lured us into this trap.”

The woman turned on him, eyes flashing. “Shut it.” Her tone was sharp.

And that worked. The hunter clamped his mouth shut, his frustration evident, but he didn’t argue.

Kit’s gaze lingered on Declan for a moment longer before he turned back to me.

His jaw clenched, then unclenched. He let out another slow breath, like he was about to do something he really didn’t want to.

“I’ll let you off this time.”

The words hit like a gut punch. I didn’t dare breathe.

“I’ll tell the Guild we found you,” he continued, his voice steady but firm. “But you died during a vampire attack.”

A cover. A way out. A second chance.

Then his eyes darkened, and his voice dropped to something low and lethal.

“But next time?” His gaze cut into me like a blade. “I won’t go easy on you again.”

I met his stare. Held it.