Chapter Fourteen
1073 Words
Dmitri stepped back into the cottage, naked and streaked with blood, the remnants of the shift still clinging to his breath. His skin steamed faintly from the night air, claw marks angling across his ribs, and dried leaves clung to his tangled hair. He didn’t flinch under Sabrina’s gaze—just met it, steady and unashamed, despite the fresh wounds and the way his body still trembled faintly from the run.
“Looks like I got more than a scratch this time,” he muttered, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, though his voice was raw at the edges.
Sabrina gave him a look—equal parts exasperated and fond—as she grabbed a blanket draped over the armchair and tossed it toward him. “You could at least pretend to feel modest.”
He caught it one-handed, wrapping it lazily around his waist. “Modesty’s a luxury I haven’t had since puberty hit and fur replaced pants. You’d be amazed how fast you stop caring once you wake up naked under a pine tree a few dozen times.”
She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth curved despite herself. She stepped closer, the faint glow of magic already forming at her fingertips. “Hold still. You’re leaking.”
He obeyed, and her hands hovered just above his skin. Light gathered in her palms, warm and steady, before it flowed gently into his wounds. Dmitri exhaled slowly, the pain dulling beneath her touch.
“You know,” he murmured, watching her work, “you really are incredible at this. I barely even feel it anymore.”
“You shouldn’t have to feel it at all,” she replied softly, eyes narrowed with focus. “But you insist on getting into fights like it’s a hobby.”
“That one found me,” he said. “But point taken.”
“That was a close call,” she added, more serious now. “We need to be ready for the next one.”
He nodded. “We should enchant the perimeter. Something subtle, but strong enough to give us an early warning. A tripwire spell, maybe. Or something with teeth.”
“I’ve got a few enchantments that might work. Veil of Shadows to cloak us… maybe something like Warden’s Whisper. I’ll have to tweak them to play nice together.”
“I trust your witchy instincts,” he said, flashing a half-grin. “Just tell me where to dig.”
She didn’t answer at first, too focused on closing a particularly deep gash over his collarbone. But when her hands finally stilled, her gaze flicked to his.
And she realized he hadn’t looked away. Not once.
She turned to gather her scrolls, needing the distance, but his eyes stayed on her—unwavering, quiet, almost reverent. Not just watching. Reading. Like she was a page he was afraid to dog-ear.
“You’re staring,” she said, not looking up.
“Yeah,” he replied, voice low. “I am.”
Sabrina froze mid-reach, fingers brushing the spine of a weathered tome. Slowly, she turned her head, meeting his gaze over her shoulder.
“You thinking about another perimeter spell or… something else?”
His lips curved into a slow, familiar grin. “Definitely not thinking about spells.”
She gave him a flat look, but the heat rising in her cheeks betrayed her. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re kind of hot when you’re bossing me around, all bloodied and fierce.”
She turned fully to face him, arms crossing. “You realize you nearly got mauled tonight, right?”
“Technically, I did get mauled. You just fixed it.”
“You should be resting.”
“There’s a lot I should be doing,” he said, stepping toward her. His voice dropped, rough and low, more serious now. “But this… this feels more important.”
She didn’t step back.
“Sabrina,” he said, softer now. “I know I mess around. It’s easier, sometimes, to deflect. But what I felt when that wolf came at you—it wasn’t fear. Not for me. It was like something in me snapped. Like I’d burn down the forest if it meant keeping you safe.”
The air thickened between them, the glow of the fire flickering shadows along the walls. Outside, the wind stirred the branches. Inside, something older stirred with it—something alive and waiting.
She didn’t speak, not right away. Her eyes searched his, measuring the weight of his words.
“I know,” she said finally, quiet but firm. “I felt it too.”
Dmitri stepped closer still, until there was barely a breath between them.
“Earlier,” he murmured, “when I said I was saving my impromptu naked appearances just for you…”
She arched a brow. “Yes. Unfortunately, I remember.”
He grinned. “I wasn’t just flirting.”
Her expression softened, her voice almost teasing. “You weren’t?”
“Nope. Dead serious. You’re the only one I want seeing me like this.” He glanced down at himself, then back up. “Bloody. Battered. Blanket-clad. And apparently sentimental.”
Sabrina let out a soft laugh, despite the lump forming in her throat. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And yet,” he said, voice dipping low, “you’re still holding my hand.”
Only then did she notice their fingers had laced together. At some point between healing and banter, they had reached for each other without realizing it.
“What now?” he asked, gaze searching hers.
She didn’t look away. “Now… we ward the house. Then maybe, if we’re still standing after all this madness, we figure out what this bond really means.”
His fingers tightened gently around hers. “I want that.”
“I know,” she said, softer still. “Me too.”
They stood there for a long moment, the hum of magic and unspoken things pressing in around them. There were glyphs to carve. Spells to cast. Dangers still lurking just beyond the trees. But right now, none of that mattered.
Not with the warmth of her hand in his.
Not with the promise that maybe, just maybe, this thing between them was becoming something real.
Something worth protecting—not just with magic, but with everything they had left to give.
- Writer
