Page 55 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

His tongue swept across my wrist one last time, slow and possessive, and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from making a sound I'd regret.

He blinked. For a heartbeat, confusion flickered across his face—like he'd just surfaced from deep water and didn't recognize where he was.

Then his grip loosened, leaving me shaking with need.

The wound was healing, my vampire nature sealing the torn skin, but he didn’t release me immediately. His lips lingered against my pulse point, breath warm against flesh that suddenly felt too sensitive.

“Sable,” he whispered against my skin, and the way he said my name made me flush.

Fuck him now.My wolf’s command.

I pulled my wrist away, chastising my wolf at the same time. Color had returned to Rhys’s cheeks, and the dark veins ofvenom were fading, but his gaze stayed fixed on my face with an intensity that made me want to run—and rip my clothes off.

I turned my attention to his other wounds, needing the distraction more than he needed the healing. Silver magic flowed through my fingertips, but my hands weren’t as steady as they should have been.

Every point of contact sent heat spiraling through me. The way he went still when I traced his ribs. His sharp intake of breath when I reached the gashes I’d made. His cock stiffened as I ran my magic through him, doing what I could to heal him. I bit my lip to contain the forces within me that wanted nothing more than to straddle him, feel him inside me, and create something between us that had never existed before.

This was dangerous. More dangerous than the vampires, more dangerous than the cursed territory we were trapped in.

Rein it in, I told myself.This is about ending the bond, not sealing it.

“There,” I said finally. “That should hold until we get you somewhere safe.”

He flexed his fingers, testing his range of motion. The worst wounds had closed, though faint scars remained. Instead of thanking me, he went very still.

His expression shifted, the warmth draining from his features. His gaze moved from my face to my hands, then to the silver chains scattered on the ground. His eyes lingered on my wrist, where the bite mark had already healed completely, leaving only faint traces of blood.

“Sable.”

Something in his tone made my spine stiffen. “Yes?”

Before I could react, his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat.

“What the fuck are you?”

21

RHYS

My hand stayed locked around her throat, thumb pressed against a pulse that should have been hammering. Instead, it carried on normally. Not like she was on the cusp of being fucking wiped out.

I leaned closer so I could get a better read of her scent as she cooled under my touch. Her lips glistened. In another fucked-up turn of events, my wolf was consumed by how close her mouth was to mine.

Her scent hit me in waves. The wild honey and rain I’d been obsessing over since day one, yeah. But underneath was a metallic edge that made my wolf’s hackles rise.

“You smell off,” I said, my face inches from her neck.

She didn’t fight my hold. Didn’t demand I let her go or threaten to castrate me with her silver magic. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, giving me better access to her throat.

I grew hard watching her submission. She could’ve been faking it to screw with me again, but my cock didn’t care.

“You’re just not used to my scent,” she said.

My breath ghosted across her skin. This close, I could see the silver flecks in her eyes, could count every freckle on her collarbone. “You mean the Crux scent.”

She bit her bottom lip.

“It’s true. I’m Crux. All your friends back home know it.”