doubt linger within her subconscious mind forever. “Do you think I’ll need stitches?”
“No, we need to let the wound stay open to heal.” He stared at her leg as the water rinsed over it, then furrowed his brow. “It’ll lower the risk of infection.”
She nodded. The concern in his eyes made her belly flutter in the most pleasant way. There he went again, looking at her like she was his entire world. She knew they had to talk about whatever this bond was between them, but she was almost afraid to ask. Not ready to be direct, she said, “I’m lucky to have such a competent savior.”
“You’re lucky in more ways than you can imagine.” Stormy emotion tightened his features. “I could have lost you, Katie.”
“You barely know me.” Clearly this wasn’t exactly true, and she was pretty sure he already knew that she’d caught on. A surge of courage emboldened her to challenge him to be honest. “Why do you care?”
Rafe averted his eyes and held out his hand. “Let me see the other bite.”
She extended her bent leg, suppressing the urge to whimper when he cradled her ankle and guided it beneath the water. To hell with waiting for Rafe to come clean. If he wasn’t going to come out and address his big revelation, she would. “You told that—“ She paused, hesitant to offend him with her labeling of his brethren. “What do you call yourselves?”
“Just call him a wolf. That’s all he was. A mean-ass wolf.”
Beneath the cold judgment in Rafe’s eyes lurked a hint of shame—for his own kind, she assumed. He was obviously made of different stuff than those animals in the woods, or even his friend, Cooper, who’d urged him to let her die. But why did Rafe care about her seemingly worthless human life when none of the other wolves did? What set him apart? She sensed that it had everything to do with the answer to her next question. “You told that wolf that I was your bond-mate. What did you mean?”
Pain and sorrow radiated from his tense frame. “It’s…complicated.”
“Yes, it does sound complicated.” Katie waited a beat, then said, “Tell me. Please.”
Rafe rattled her with a look of genuine fear. “You were so cold, Katie. So cold. And unresponsive.” He continued to cradle her ankle as he spoke. “You were dying—and I had to do something. So I just…followed my instinct.”
“What did you do?”
He exhaled slowly. “I warmed you just like I did a few minutes ago. I took off my shirt and got beneath the blankets with you, then held you while I focused all my energy on raising your body temperature with mine. And it worked.” Guilt tightened his features. “But something happened. Something I didn’t expect.”
Enough with the build-up. She needed to know. “Rafe—”
His next words came out in a rush. “We bonded. I had no idea it would happen—that it even could happen. It’s rare enough for two werewolves to bond, so I never imagined that it would be possible for me to do it with a human.”
“We bonded?” Katie wrestled with disbelief as he turned off the faucet and opened the drawer beneath the sink. She had no idea why it would be a struggle to accept the concept of bonding souls on a night when she’d seen men transform into wolves, but her logical mind rebelled at the idea. She wasn’t even sure what it meant. “Explain what that involves. Please.”
He avoided her eyes as he uncapped a tube of antibiotic ointment and began spreading it over her wounds. “It means our souls are connected.”
She waited for more. When he didn’t elaborate, she huffed in exasperation. “And?”
“When you hurt, I feel pain.” His fingers glided over her skin, so very careful. “When we’re together, I’m whole. And when we’re apart, we’ll both…feel that loss. Acutely.”
Katie couldn’t wrap her mind around what Rafe was telling her. When she hurt, he felt pain? Did that go both ways? “What do you mean, we’ll feel the loss? How?”
“It’s my understanding that separation will mean tremendous suffering for both of us. But I can’t say for certain…I’ve never experienced it before.” Rafe shook his head and closed his eyes, pausing in his movements. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known…”
“You would have let me die?” In saving her, he’d fundamentally altered the course of her life. Right now she wasn’t certain whether she was better off alive. “Why didn’t you? You could have easily left me in my car.