Page 63 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

“What?” His voice was quiet.

I didn’t answer.

He stood, the muscles in his shoulders rippling as he moved. I hated how much my body reacted to it. He was already under my skin, despite all my efforts and knowing better.

“Look at me,” he said.

I didn’t.

“Sable.”

I met his gaze, and he touched the bruise blooming along my jaw. His fingers skimmed my skin, gentle despite his size, and everything in me stilled.

His wolf was closer. He wasn’t just watching me. He was guarding me.

He moved between me and the cave entrance, protective on reflex, and something inside me shifted.

Goddess, help me.

I wanted him to protect me.

“What’s your plan, beautiful?” A shiver went down my spine. “Try to break this blasted bond?”

“Pretty sure that’s a bad idea for now,” I said, forcing my tone to become clinical. “We cloak it. Suppress the signature temporarily so they can’t track us.” I tested my balance. “It’s possible with the right magic.”

“What’s the cost?”

I paused halfway through buckling my knife belt. “Why do you assume there’s a cost?”

He arched a brow. “Because you look like someone about to do something stupid.”

Smart bastard knew me too well already.

“Magic is known to be unstable on active bonds,” I admitted. “It could cause unpredictable effects.”

“On both of us?”

“Probably.”

Before he could argue, a sound cut through the air. Heavy footsteps, not trying for stealth. Too loud to be anything human.

Rhys’s head snapped toward the cave mouth, and he scrambled to dress. “What is that?”

“Trouble for us,” I whispered, silver already curling from my ring.

They were closer, speaking in harsh, guttural tones. Whatever was out there knew where we were and didn’t care about subtlety.

“Duergar,” I breathed.

“You can scent them already?”

My vampire instincts couldn’t stand duergar but used them when necessary when tracking lost Crux. They were dark dwarves. Bounty hunters available to the highest—and sometimes lowest—bidder. I slung my pack over my shoulder. “The vampires must have sent them when their first two scout troops failed to bring you in.”

“Then we fight.”

“We run.” I grabbed his arm. “You’re still healing. Duergar don’t kill you fast. They enjoy breaking you up slowly. And you’re not in top shape at the moment.”

The voices were getting closer. They had us cornered, and they knew it.