Page 75 of His Claim

“Hello there, little wolf,” he said softly, a hint of a smile ghosting across his bruised mouth.

I sat up too fast, my heart pounding. “You—how?—”

He raised a hand, quieting me. “I told you I’d catch up.”

And somehow, even through the ache in my chest, the fear, and the exhaustion, I couldn’t help but smile.

For a long moment, I just stared at him through the firelight, half afraid he was a dream the mountain had conjured to keep me from losing my mind. The orange glow threw light across the planes of his face, catching on the streaks of dirt and the drying blood that ran like war paint down his cheek. He looked like he had crawled out of hell—and maybe he had.

He sat still for a moment longer, letting the quiet stretch between us until I managed to find my voice.

“I had thought you might be dead,” I whispered.

Varek’s mouth curved faintly, something between a smile and a wince. “Almost.” He leaned forward, feeding a stick into the fire. “The thing in the tunnels, it wasn’t a wolf. It was one of mine. The Council turned Gareth into a creature that shouldn’t exist. Some sort of mutant bear… thing.”

Varek rubbed a hand over his face, eyes shadowed.

“He gave me a way out,” he said. “Crazed and poisoned, he somehow clung to the truth of himself. Tore half the mountain down to do it. Took the rest of the patrol with him. That whole section of tunnel’s gone now. I barely made it through before it sealed shut behind me.”

The fire crackled. Outside, the wind picked up, hissing through the narrow mouth of the cave.

“I found your trail not long after,” he continued. “You left enough to follow—plenty of footprints, your scent, a few drops of blood…”

I swallowed, just listening.

“Then I found the wolf who attacked you,” he said. His eyes lifted to mine, bright with emotion. “Dead.”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. He kept going, his voice softer now.

“I saw the tracks where you shifted. You left wolf prints next to your own boots.”

He drew in a slow breath and let it out, the corners of his mouth twitching into something that almost looked like pride.“You’ve done more than just survive out here, Mariah. You’ve flourished.”

My throat went tight. The words shouldn’t have meant so much to me, but they did.

“I just… didn’t want to die,” I admitted quietly.

“That’s how it starts,” he said. “Survival. The rest comes later.”

He leaned back, gaze fixed on the flames. “I followed you to the cliff too. Saw what you did to the cougar. Smart work, using the terrain. Most wolves would’ve tried to match it for strength. You used your head.”

He fell quiet for a long moment, staring into the fire. The light danced across his eyes, turning them from silver to diamond.

“I’m proud of you,” he said finally, so quietly it almost vanished into the crackle of the wood.

My heart cracked at that because no one had ever said those words to me before. I felt tears burn at the edges of my eyes, and I looked away quickly, blinking hard.

“You shouldn’t be,” I said, forcing a shaky laugh. “You should be mad I left you. That I didn’t come back.”

“Itoldyou to go,” he replied simply. “And you obeyed. For once.” A smirk decorated his expression.

I looked back at him, at the way his shoulders slumped now, at the exhaustion hiding behind the calm. “And you came after me anyway.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

Despite everything, I laughed. It came out small and hoarse, but it felt good. He smiled, and my heart warmed.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The fire popped softly, and the night wind whistled at the cave mouth. Outside, the storm that had been crawling over the mountains was finally breaking apart, leaving nothing but the silence of nature. Darkness loomed beyond the cave mouth.