The tent flapped shut behind them, muffling the howls of the pack. For the first time in hours, Vera could hear her own ragged, uneven breaths, too loud in the stillness Rael had commanded.
He didn’t loosen his hold. His hand remained on her arm, holding her firmly in place as though he didn’t trust her legs to support her. She doubted they could, in all honesty. Her side was still throbbing where the wolf had ripped at her with his claws, and her body was still reverberating from the aftershocks of violence. But the pounding of her pulse was louder than the stab of pain. Faster. Harder. Thicker. The heat thrumming through her veins wasn’t blood loss—it was him.
Rael’s grey eyes were bright in the darkness, trained on her. He was picking her apart, wordlessly, bringing her to pieces with
