Page 47 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)

AUDREY

A moment later Knox huffed and the tension in his body eased, relaxing some of the churning worry inside me. I hadn’t heard Cyrus or Bishop, but somehow I knew Knox had. It still didn’t mean they were okay, but if he was relaxing, it meant both of them were still moving and that was a good sign.

A few minutes later, I heard their footsteps on the hardpacked earth of the trail and opened my eyes to watch them jog out of the gloomy forest into the afternoon sunlight.

Their shirts and pants were bloodstained and ripped, and Bishop’s cheek was bleeding, the blood running down his neck and into his shirt, but neither of them were limping or holding themselves as if they were seriously injured.

I rushed to meet Bishop and tried to pull his pack from his shoulders. “You need to shift.”

“He can wait until we’re farther away,” Cyrus said. His expression was hard, and he looked fiercer than normal with a wide streak of blood painted across his right cheek. “Can you wait on first aid as well?”

“Yes.” From the bloodstain on my still-throbbing thigh — that was definitely bruised from being bashed against a tree — and on my ripped shirt, I knew I was bleeding, but I wasn’t bleeding a lot. I also wasn’t lightheaded, confirming that even though they stung, they weren’t bad, which surprised me. I had no idea how I’d managed to get through that fight more or less unscathed.

“Good.” He shoved my pack at me and glared. “Forget it again and it’s gone. I won’t pick it up a second time.”

“Understood,” I said, unable to stop myself from shrinking a step away from him.

Cyrus huffed and turned his glare to the sky. “We’ve got at least five hours until sunset. Knox, find fresh water so Audrey can quickly clean up and we can check her injuries before carrying on.”

Bishop shot Cyrus a look.

“No.” Cyrus strode away, their argument over before it had even begun, and followed the only path available that might or might not have been a continuation of the trail from the forest. “Want to tell me what happened back in the ruins?” he asked me.

Not really.

But there was no point in refusing to talk or lying. Cyrus would just force me to tell him everything or Knox would fill him in — because I had no doubt Knox had seen and heard everything.

“The men who tried to sacrifice me appeared on the other side of the rip. Apparently, alpha powers work through it and he wasn’t happy I was still alive.”

The memory of Sterling’s power and the ghostly image of the malicious god’s horns sprouting from his forehead shuddered through me.

“I hope Whil and the others are careful or the rip closes soon,” I added. “I think Sterling got the power he wanted. When Knox stopped him from making me walk into the rip, he summoned those flying snakes.”

“You think he’d attack the others even if you’re not around?” Bishop asked.

“I think he’s a psychopath who just got more powerful,” I replied.

Bishop brushed his hand against my lower back and offered me a soft smile that I was sure was supposed to be reassuring and supportive but actually reminded me that I ached to have sex with him.

I tried to smile back without looking like I wanted to tear his clothes off and jump him then hurried after Cyrus.

Ahead, the path led down a steep slope and I couldn’t tell if steps had been cut into it or not. There were enough places to step that I wouldn’t skid all the way to the bottom on my ass, but that was only if I was careful since some of the steps were barely larger than my foot.

Below and beyond a thicket of scraggly shrubs lay the river, its water sparkling in the sunshine, and as much as I had said I was fine to carry on, I was grateful that I wouldn’t have to go far before washing the snake blood off my face, hands, and arms. That, and I was starting to feel my aching legs and feet, along with every stinging bite from the snakes.

Maybe I wasn’t so fine after all, and I’d only thought I was because of adrenaline.

Knox sat just before the thicket waiting for us. He was still in his wolf form, but his fur was no longer glossy and matted with blood, indicating that he’d shifted out his injuries while he’d waited for us to join him, which meant he’d been in his human form and naked.

That thought turned the sexual ache from Bishop’s smile into a need as strong as the need I’d felt after I had one of my sexy dreams. It didn’t matter that I hurt and was bleeding and filthy. My need to seal the bond, to have sex, to ease the pressure building between my thighs was suddenly overwhelming.

Damn it. I didn’t want that. I wanted to break our mate bond. But if Bishop and Cyrus were going to shift out their injuries, they’d need to be naked too, and that?—

My breath picked up and I tried to clamp down on that thought. Except I couldn’t stop thinking about the one time I’d seen Cyrus naked. He’d been streaked with blood from fighting the grimalkins, and that had only made him look more ferocious and dangerous and incredibly sexy. He was all powerful muscle, honed from years of training and fighting, and his cock?—

I was pretty sure I’d only seen it at half mast, but it had still been impressive. More impressive than Sterling at full mast when I’d accidentally walked in on him in the bathroom, something I wished I could bleach from my memory.

“Bishop.” Cyrus jerked his chin toward the river, the muscles in his jaw tightening as if he knew what I was thinking — and while he didn’t know the details, I had no doubt he could smell my arousal and knew I was thinking about sex. “Help Audrey.”

My pulse picked up at the double meaning of his words.

“Come on.” Bishop hopped down a three-foot ledge and held out his hand to help me.

I stared at it, afraid of what would happen if I touched him, afraid of how I wanted to throw myself into his arms and beg him to release the pressure.

He’d said he’d have sex with me if I needed it.

Did I need it?

Or did I just want it?

Did it matter?

Embarrassment burned my cheeks. Sex with Bishop complicated things, and having sex with him didn’t mean he’d give me the thing I really wanted: someone to care about me. I didn’t know if I’d be able to have casual sex with him and not have my heartbroken. And did I really want my first time to be out in the middle of nowhere, with his brothers listening while I was sore and tired and covered in sticky snake blood?