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Another kick aimed for his ribs. Lodan twisted, drawing his knees up and deflecting the blow off his thigh. The Sardi warrior snarled and aimed again. Icy rage surged through Lodan, blocking out the pain. When he was fifteen, he swore he’d never be on the ground before a Sardi again.

The Sardi drew back a fist, aiming for his face, and Lodan tensed.

A crack shattered the air, and the Sardi groaned. The warrior took a step, wobbled, then toppled onto his face into the muck.

Lodan blinked the rain from his eyes. Holding a heavy branch, Kassandra stared down at the Sardi, her eyes wide. Never mind she’d swung a branch with enough power to down an Alpha, but she’d attacked a Sardi, one of her people.

Something shifted deep in his chest, pushing aside his rage. He kept trying to dismiss her, telling himself she was a spoiled Sardi, but she wasn’t. She was Kassandra, and she was undefinable. “Impressive, Princess.”

She still stared at the slumped figure. “Is he dead?”

“Probably not. It takes a lot to kill an Alpha.”

She sniffed and walked over to the fallen man. “You would know.” She knelt and patted the warrior’s sides. “We need to move quickly, there are others who aren’t asleep, either.”

“Asleep?”

“I drugged them with valerian root.”

She’d drugged her own people.

Time slowed for a moment. Every inch of his body felt like one big bruise and chilly rain poured over him, but all he could think about was that she’d risked her life to do this. No one else would think of drugging an entire troop of soldiers, but she’d done it. For her supposed enemy.

For him.

“He must have a blade other than a sword,” she muttered. “I need to cut your bonds.”

“Check the thigh.” He clenched his jaw as he watched her grope the Alpha. Watching her touch another man was worse than a kick to the ribs.

She nodded. “Yes, here it is.” Extracting a dagger, she rushed over to him. To reach his wrists, she crouched against him and leaned over his hip. He curled around her as much as possible. Pain screamed up his side, but it was worth it to feel her against him again.

Sawing at the rope, she whispered, “How did they get you? Aren’t you the best fighter in Anatolia?”

“I was distracted.” A ripple of pain seared up his side again, and he flinched.

Her sawing paused. “You’re a mess. What kind of Alpha warriors attack a man tied up on the ground?”

“I’ve broken ribs before.” He sucked in air. “Will again.”

She hissed and sawed faster. “The ropes are wet, this is taking too long.” The bindings loosened a fraction. “How were you distracted, oh mighty warrior?”

Since discovering she’d gone, he’d been distracted in a way he’d never experienced before. He’d leaped onto Stone, only grabbing a sword when Xander shoved it at him as he rode out of camp. Thoughts of all the bad things that could happen to her had chased through his mind. At some point, he’d moved forward on instinct alone. When he stopped to let Stone rest, he swore he smelled her dainty orange blossom scent and charged after it. Too fixed on reaching her, he hadn’t heard the men in the woods or sensed their presence. “I thought I’d found you.”

His wrist bindings fell away.

Gritting his teeth, he rolled to sit up. Kassandra already knelt at his ankles, working the knife on the rope there. Slowly he stretched his arms. He opened and closed his fingers but couldn’t feel anything. His arms and hands were completely numb.

His leg bindings cut faster, and Kassandra tossed them aside after a few hacks of the blade. “Can you get up?”

“No choice.” He jerked his chin toward the fallen soldier. “Grab his sword to take with us.” Sucking in a breath, he pushed himself to his feet. The world tilted, and he swayed. They’d gotten a couple good blows to his head along with his ribs.

Sword angled awkwardly in front of her, Kassandra pressed against his side. “Lean on me.” As they took a step, she groaned. “Why do you have to be the biggest Alpha in Anatolia? Gods above you weigh a solid ton.”

He hissed out a breath. “You like that I’m big.”

She harumphed but didn’t argue. Of course she didn’t argue because he was right. Whenever she didn’t think he was paying attention, she looked at him, and her scent thickened. He suspected it was because she liked what she saw.

The horses were only a few steps away, and she led him to a Sardi horse with four white legs. His Sardi horse. “I’ll hold him so you can get on.”

He raised a brow. “Afraid of horses, huh?” It hadn’t taken him long to find the hoofprints indicating she’d left camp on horseback, and he’d realized she’d deceived him about that.

She ducked her head. “I lied a little about that. I hate lying. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. I would’ve done the same thing.”

Her chin jerked up, her mouth opening. “You would?”

“Clever. Don’t let your enemies know your strengths.” He put his hand on the horse. Instead of swinging its head back to try to bite him like it normally did, it nuzzled at him. “We can ride and get Stone. He isn’t far to the south.”

It wasn’t easy, and his ribs felt like they jabbed his insides, but they got him on the horse.

Kassandra grabbed the bridle.

“What are you doing?” He shifted, trying to lessen the agony in his side. “Get on the horse with me.”

She shook her head. “No, it will be better if I walk and save Zephyr’s strength.”

He pulled the horse to a halt. “I don’t ride if you don’t ride.”

She hissed, but a shout from the camp behind them rang through the air. “You’re such a stubborn idiot. Fine.”

They managed to pull her up on the horse in front of him. Gingerly, he circled his sword arm. The numbness was fading, but white-hot pain shot up his elbow. Not good. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

Kassandra urged Zephyr forward, and they rejoined the road, each strike of the horse’s hooves sounding like thunder on the hard dirt.

“How did you find the Sardi?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I didn’t try to meet up with them. They found me.” She stiffened. “They were looking for me.”

His hands fisted. “Why? How?”

“When you dragged me through Argos in ropes, the City Leader of Argos recognized me and told my brother where I was.”

It took him a moment to fully understand what she’d said. Icy rage punched through him, and he growled. His ribs screamed, but he barely felt it. He pulled the horse to a halt. “Your brother is back there?”

“Come on.” She tugged on the reins. “We need to move.”

All he had to do was turn around, and he’d finally have his vengeance. “Where’s the sword?”

She gestured at the saddlebags slung behind him. “I tied it on Zephyr.”

“We’re turning around.”

“What?” She gripped the reins tighter. “Absolutely not. We need to get you to safety.”

“Your brother—” He cut himself off, staring into the darkness. Rage scorched through him. He didn’t see the forest, or her. All he saw were flames. Dead bodies. Her brother standing over him fifteen years ago, laughing as everything Lodan loved burned to the ground. “He took everything from me.”

She put her arm over his, as if trying to hold him in place. “Even if I helped you turn around to attack my brother, how do you think you would do that? You have no armor, and you can barely move.”

“All I need is the strength for one blow.”

“And then you’ll die when the other warriors discover you. They aren’t all asleep.”

If he pursued her brother tonight, she was right. Most likely he would die, but he faced death in every battle. “Death is an old friend.”

“You’ll spoil all the work I did to sneak you out of camp.” Her voice was higher pitched, and the scent of her fear rose into the air. She trembled.

She was afraid. For him?

If he died, he’d leave her in the forest. Alone.

He needed to protect her. Take care of her.

A force stronger than his anger washed over him, melting the icy rage inside. He looked back over his shoulder for one long moment. “Our meeting will be soon.”

She clucked her tongue and urged the horse onward. Her arm remained on his, and he switched their positions, tucking her hand under his, then threading his fingers with hers. He really should stay quiet and spare his ribs, but some things needed to be said. “We need to talk about Argos.”

She tried to jerk her hand free, but he kept it in his. “Lodan, save your?—”

He growled, and pain stabbed his ribs, chasing the breath from his lungs. He took a beat, trying to find some relief. “My plan was to walk you through the cities.” He bent forward, sucking in another breath. “I wanted to show Anatolia the Blood Laws were only lies. That a Myrdinian could lie with a Sardi.”

She nodded. “You were clear about my role the first day you captured me.”

“Xander knew the old plan. He didn’t know I changed my mind.” Pain lashed up his side, and he grunted. “I didn’t want you paraded through Argos.”

A long pause. “You really changed your mind?”

“I don’t see you as my prisoner anymore,” he gritted out.

Silence stretched as he reined Zephyr off the road onto a game trail where he’d tied Stone.

Why wasn’t she saying anything?

“My brother wants me because he said the Dorians won’t meet with him without me being there, too.”

He growled, injuring the stab in his side again. “Why?”

“I planned to go to Eretria because I think I could have a safe haven there.”

The ice inside turned glacial, and his breath hitched. “No.”

She ignored him. “My brother won’t stop pursuing me if he needs me. And if he knows the people in Eretria are hiding me, he’ll treat them like he treated you tonight. Maybe worse.”

“Yes.” She was seeing the Sardi more clearly, something he’d tried to make her do since he first captured her, but it wasn’t as important as it had been.

She jerked her chin up. “I don’t want to be a pawn in this war. For you, or my brother. I want to decide what I do. Where I go.”

“Come home with me. Not as a prisoner but as my—” The word he wanted was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t say it. Couldn’t say it. “As a protected Omega like Cian.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

He stroked his thumb along her skin. “Have I lied to you?”

A long pause. “No.”

“Come back with me.” This was all that mattered. “Stay with me.”

They reached Stone yet she still hadn’t replied.

She slid off Zephyr. “It will be too difficult for you to change horses. Stay where you are.” She was right, his ribs got worse with every jolt, and changing horses wouldn’t be pleasant.

She untied Stone, swung up, and they returned to the road. The cloud cover thinned, and the road stretched before them like a dark river.

“I didn’t say goodbye to Cian,” she said, reining Stone to the south. “Perhaps I should return with you. At least to do that.”

“He would miss you if you left.” Their gazes met, and he felt a tug deep inside, as if she were pulling him toward her. “He would yearn for you.”

The dark hid her face, but he thought her expression softened. “We need to move as fast as you can.”

Riding through the night was torture. His side felt like it was on fire, but he clutched at it and rode on.

An hour or two before dawn, they slowed to a walk to give the horses a rest.

Kassandra reined closer. “You all right?”

“Talk to me. Distract me.”

“What about?”

“You’ve seen my past. Talk about yours.”

“My past?” At least five minutes passed before she continued, “Well, you know a little about my time in the temple.”

“What about before?”

“I was kept to the palace and the palace grounds most of my life. I met who my father wanted me to meet and when he wanted me to meet them. Otherwise, I was on my own a lot.” She sighed. “It was because I had visions. I was tainted. A disappointment.”

“He was a fool.”

She didn’t respond right away. “I think my father only intended to send me to the temple for a year, to try to make me listen to him and his wishes better, but he died, and my brother refused to bring me back.”

His hands tightened on the reins. Her brother. The shining King Harl. “You didn’t get along with your brother?”

She continued to look straight ahead. “He was ten years older than me, and he was the heir. We barely interacted. When we did, he wasn’t very nice to me. He felt his mother was the true queen and my mother was an impostor. An outsider. When I was five, he told me she was supposed to be a concubine. A mistress hidden in the shadows.” She lifted her chin. “And that I was really just a bastard and had no place in the royal family. Since my father never paid me any attention, it felt like he was right.”

The Sardi took whatever women they wanted all the time. They did treat them as concubines. But her father married her mother. “Outsider? How?”

“She was supposedly the most beautiful woman who walked Anatolia, and he said she had royal blood, but she wasn’t from Sardi territory. I’m not sure where she came from.”

Lodan growled low in his throat. “He wanted her, and he took her.”

She sniffed. “Similar to how you took me.”

She never tempered her tongue when she spoke to him. He enjoyed it. “Not anymore. You aren’t my prisoner any longer.”

They rode a moment in silence. “I don’t have much more to add about my past, but I am curious about yours.” She raised a hand. “But don’t talk. I’ll make guesses, and you can grunt or something.”

She guided Stone closer to his horse. “I know you play chess, but what else do you do? I’m going to try to guess.”

He responded with a low rumbling noise. It was the only noise that didn’t make his side throb.

“Let’s see, you hunt, and when you aren’t hunting, you’re hitting people with swords.”

He frowned and grunted. “Have to do those things.”

“You sure about that?”

He’d battled day and night for so long that warring had become his entire life. He prodded at his side. Still painful, but he could speak a little. “I like making things with my hands. And making things grow.” He stared at the forest, not seeing the swaying pines, he was picturing fields rich with dark soil.

Every day in the spring, he’d walk the rows, looking to see what plants had broken the surface to find the sun. There was a peace to it. A sense of connectedness. “You’d say it’s because I’m a Myrdinian and I’m supposed to farm.”

There was a long pause. “No, I’d say it’s tough to picture you without your armor. Or to think of your hands doing anything but holding a sword.”

“I hold you.”

“Your hands are very skilled.”

Her hand had also gripped him exactly how he liked. His groin tightened. “And yours play the lute. What else do you like to do?”

“You really want to know? Don’t you just want to know how I feel when I’m on my back?”

“I already know how you feel.” He sucked in a breath, waited for the pain in his side to lessen. “When this war is over, and I’ve won, I want to know what you will do with your time.”

She put her hand on her stomach. “Aren’t Omega’s supposed to only spend their time having children?”

His cock twitched. It was what he’d wanted, what he’d intended to use to prove the Blood Laws were gone, however, he’d barely allowed himself to think about a child. Their child. It had always been abstract. Take the Sardi princess. Bed her. Keep her locked away unless he needed her to prove to Anatolia things were different.

“Do you want children?” he asked.

Her shoulders slumped, and he wished he could see her face more fully. “Yes.” She said it so quietly he barely heard her. “But I want my children to grow up in a place where they know they’re loved.”

It was a simple desire. He’d had that. She hadn’t. “And what does that look like? A palace? Servants? A doting Alpha who obeys your every whim?”

She scoffed. “You don’t know me well.”

He’d been working hard not to know her. Already his desire for her surpassed anything he’d ever felt before. It flamed higher each time he touched her. And his thoughts turned to her more than they should, considering he was tracking down the last remnants of the Sardi so he could bring Anatolia the freedom it deserved. “Tell me what you want, then.”

She was silent for a long time, and he thought she wouldn’t answer. “I hated palace life,” she finally said. “I never knew what to say, and I was forced to sit and meet new people or play the lute for them. All the while, they’re watching me, waiting to see if I’ll fall down having fits or show why I’m the unwanted princess. No one says what they truly mean, and you can’t trust anyone. Even my ladies-in-waiting were spies. I would never want that again.” She glanced at him. “That’s what you can expect when you become king and get what you finally want.”

She didn’t know him, either. “Things will be different.”

She shook her head. “I want a simple home somewhere the air smells sweet in the spring and where I feel safe and happy. Where I can walk around without people thinking I’m brain-addled.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a small shrug. “I grew crops at the temple. That was one of the only things I enjoyed doing there. So, I know what you mean about feeling good when things grow. I was proud when we ate things I’d grown, but I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.”

Once it might have been difficult to picture her digging in the dirt, but it wasn’t anymore. So far, she hadn’t complained or turned up her nose at anything in camp. Or at any of the chores he’d assigned to her. She even seemed comfortable in the rough-spun clothes she wore. “Did your plants die?”

“No.”

“Then you did all right.”

She ducked her head and he thought he got a glimpse of a small smile on her lips, but it was impossible to tell in the dark.

“Tell me what you grew.”

Over the next hour, as the rain lightened, they talked about planting, and she told him more about her life in the temple. She was sparse with details, but he could put an image together of the place. She wasn’t allowed more than one blanket, so she was perpetually cold. Everyone knew Omegas ran cold, and Alphas ran hot. Sarda was in a warm climate, where they barely got a frost, even in winter. The cold would have been especially difficult for her to bear.

He didn’t think she’d gotten enough to eat, either. If the point was to make her more dedicated to the temple goddess, he didn’t think it worked.

He stared straight ahead for a long moment.

She really had been a prisoner her entire life.

He pictured her alone in her room, and anger replaced discomfort. How could her father, her brother, abandon her like that? Because she had visions? She was vibrant, clever, and interesting. Sending her to a place like the temple was condemning her spirit to a slow death.

Her brother would pay for that, too.

It didn’t feel that long before they crested a hill, and the lights of Argos twinkled through the forest. A Myrdinian patrol galloped toward them. “Halt.”

He raised a hand. “I’m back.”

“Lodan?”

“He’s hurt. Inform Greta and tell her to get a hot bath ready.” One of the men wheeled back around and charged back to camp. Interesting that they’d obeyed her without a word from him. He didn’t even mind.

As they entered camp, Xander rounded a tent at a fast clip. “What happened?”

Kassandra dismounted. “He needs healing. He can’t talk right now.”

Xander stared at her. “How did he get hurt? What did you do?”

Lodan swung off his horse, his knees almost buckling when he hit the ground. Xander leaped forward and grabbed him, putting one of Lodan’s arms around his shoulders. Every inch of his body screamed in pain, but he turned to Xander. “Kassandra joins us as our second healer.” Every word hurt. “Not a Sardi. Not a prisoner.”

Kassandra grabbed his other arm. “For the gods sake, you can discuss this later. We need to wash his wounds and see how badly he’s hurt.”

They helped him into his tent, where a copper tub was already in place. Several Betas poured jugs of steaming water into it, and Kassandra and Xander helped him step into the tub.

As Kassandra stripped his shirt off, Greta entered, an assistant behind her carrying her box of treatments. Greta pointed next to the tub. “Put the box there.” She eyed him. “Did Kassandra beat you up because of how you treated her?”

“The Sardi attacked him in the woods,” Kassandra said.

“How did the Sardi get anywhere near him? Where are they? Are they a threat?”

“About thirty of them. Fifteen miles to the north. The king is with them.” He leaned back in the tub. “They didn’t pursue.” He nodded toward Kassandra. “She poisoned them.”

Xander’s eyes widened.

“Send a patrol north anyway.”

Xander nodded, turned, and rushed from the tent.

Kassandra grabbed a clean cloth and dabbed at the wound along his brow. He flinched.

“I know,” she said in a low, cooing voice, one he’d never heard from her before. “I’ll take care of all this, and you’ll feel better.”

He looked at Greta’s assistant. “Get dry clothes and a bath for Kassandra.” He grimaced, grabbing his side.

The Beta whirled away, and Kassandra frowned down at him. “I’m fine.”

“No.” He was getting her out of those sodden clothes.

She finished mopping up his face and strode to the table where water, wine, and food stood stacked. She picked up a jug of water and returned to his side. “Drink.” She held the water to his lips herself.

Greta joined them at the tub.

At least Kassandra hadn’t removed his pants—he didn’t need Greta seeing him naked. When Greta scrubbed at the nasty gash on his sword elbow, Kassandra frowned. “I’ll treat him.” She handed him the water jug and took the cloth from Greta. “He’s used to my touch.” She edged the other healer out of the way.

Greta cackled. “I hate treating bonded Alphas. I have to deal both with him and his Omega.”

At the same time, he and Kassandra said, “We aren’t bonded.”

“Right. Because unbonded Alphas pursue a runaway Omega like the world will end.”

Kassandra pulled at the neck of her cloak. “Look. No bite.”

Greta shrugged and bent to her tinctures. She pulled a few out. “Apply these to the worst bruises.”

Kassandra nodded. “How quickly will he heal?”

Greta shot her a sly grin. “Alphas heal very fast and bonded Alphas even faster.”

Kassandra huffed and wiped at his chest, removing dirt and muck from more wounds. Dark bruising was already visible underneath. “I was told bonding made an Alpha weaker.” She paused. “Actually, they said bondmates made an Alpha weaker.”

Greta snorted. “No. Both Alpha and Omega benefit from bonding. I’ve seen it in healing, but I’ve heard they both benefit in other ways, too.” She shrugged. “I don’t know details about that, though.”

Kassandra worked over his torso, and the scrapes and cuts stung as she cleaned them, but it was also soothing to have her near him like this. She kept making small, calming noises in her throat, and he sank back into the tub.

He barely noticed when the Beta returned with the things he’d ordered for Kassandra, or when the Beta and Greta left.

“Can you stand? We need to get your pants off.” Her face turned pink.

He pointed at her clean clothes and the jug of water. “You change, too.”

“I’d have to get in the tub with you.”

Exactly. And she’d be naked. “Yes.”

She let out a long sigh. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

He rolled his shoulders. His ribs still ached, but the warmth had helped his arms, and they felt a bit better. Gripping the side of the tub, he slowly rose.

Without looking at him, Kassandra peeled off her cloak, then her shirt and pants. She shivered violently and snatched the jug of hot water.

He growled, then instantly regretted it as his ribs shrieked in protest. “Get over here. Let me warm you.” He should have demanded she change the instant they arrived.

He put a hand on her waist and helped her into the tub.

They stood staring at each other for a long moment. He gently plucked the jug from her hands. Taking care, he slowly poured it over her shoulders. The water cascaded over her body, and another part of him rose to a standing position.

Tossing the jug aside, he grabbed a clean cloth and wiped away the flecks of dirt and grass stuck to her skin. “I’m supposed to be taking care of you,” she said.

“I won’t be comfortable until you’re comfortable.”

Confusion flickered across her face, and she ducked her head. Just as quickly, she snapped back upright, her face red. “You’re—” she pointed at his groin “—you have a cockstand.”

“You’re naked, of course I do.”

She shook her head. “Your entire body is battered and bruised.”

“Not that part.” He unclasped his pants and peeled them down his legs. His right knee was swollen, and it took a minute to work his leg free.

“I won’t apologize for running away, but I’m sorry you got hurt.”

He cupped her cheek, and she didn’t move away. “I would deal with much worse to find you.”

Her breath fanned against his arm. “You said Myrdinian Alphas are loyal.”

He’d said bonded Myrdinian Alphas were loyal, but the fact he wasn’t bonded to Kassandra hadn’t seemed to matter when he’d noticed she was gone. He’d reacted exactly like a mated Alpha. “And I said I would walk to the ends of the earth to make sure you’re safe.”

She stared up at him. “I rescued you. ”

“Perhaps you’re as loyal as a Myrdinian, too.” He lowered his head to kiss her, but she turned away, grabbing the soap.

She didn’t say anything as she scrubbed at her skin, then stepped out of the bath. Keeping her back to him, she put on her fresh clothes. That gave him a great view of her behind, and he thought of her on the bed on all fours, inviting him to mount her.

“All right, let’s get you dry and put the ointment on you.” She muttered under her breath as she blotted him with a towel, “Probably a few places needed stitches but they’ve stopped bleeding so I’m leaving it.” The white goop she rubbed on him felt like a cool balm, dulling the pain in his ribs a bit more.

Working thoroughly, it took her a while. He wanted her to fuss and touch him as much as possible, so he tried not to flinch when she hit the sore spots.

Things had shifted between them, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do next. He had the odd feeling that he had to … woo her. Before, it was about seducing her, showing her how much she wanted him despite all her arguments. Because of all her arguments. Now, that wasn’t enough.

He needed a new strategy. One to win her heart.