stomach, I shuffled back into the corral, leaving a trail of blood behind me.
Reed watched me intently. “I knew it would be you,” he whispered as his arms came around me. “That bastard needed to die.”
Despite my injury and the blood that covered us both, I huffed a laugh into his naked chest. “This isn’t awkward, much.”
He pulled back and chuckled too, some of the darkness leaving his gaze. “Nah, I’m not in the least bit turned on by you; you don’t have the right junk for me.” But his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
I collapsed on the bench. “So what happens now?”
He exhaled a heavy breath, seeing the full extent of my laceration. “Shit you need healing. You need Connor.”
I didn’t look, but there probably wasn’t much holding my insides in place. The bench beneath me tilted and turned like I was on a boat in the midst of a storm. “Why?”
Reed looked at me like I was mad. “Because only your soulmate can heal your body. Even without fully mating, a kindred soul can heal another.”
I gripped onto the sides of the bench, waves of nausea washing over me. Closing my eyes didn’t help. “Why don’t I know that?” I whispered more to myself than Reed. Which was a good thing because when I managed to crack open my heavy eyelids, he wasn’t near me.
“Hey!” He banged the cage to get the attention of the guards, swearing viciously when they ignored him. It didn’t matter, the next moment the stairwell doors were flung open. Connor, Myles and Stone ran in.
“Ember!” Connor’s eyes widened when he saw the state of me, his gaze fixing on my stomach. I looked down and groaned. Now my wolf had faded and her power was gone, pain stormed through the layers of skin and tissue that were laid open.
“Hey.” I tried for a smile, but it came out as a sob.
He dropped to his knees by my side and placed his hands against my stomach. Warmth and power tingled through me, easing the pain. Tears burned my eyes. It was over, for today at least. I began to shake uncontrollably. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I wouldn't think about the people I’d killed, and possibly condemned to an eternity of unrest. I wouldn't...
“Don’t you shed any tears for them, Firecracker. You did what you had to do to survive and keep your wolf alive. Never forget that.”
Stone stood at Connor’s shoulder, looking down at me. “No mercy.” He dipped his chin before his gaze shifted to where Connor’s hands healed me. For a moment, his expression softened. He was ridiculously handsome when the hardness left his features. But it soon returned. “If you are still here, you fought well,” he said stiffly before moving away.
Connor met my gaze, his eyes shining damply. “You fought more than fucking well. You’re fucking amazing.”
“Hey.” I tried to give him a reassuring smile, even as my heart squeezed. I don’t think I’d ever seen Connor look like he might cry. “I’ll be fine. I’m here and tomorrow’s another day.”
I looked over at Myles who had his big hands around the back of Reed’s head and was kissing him desperately, before he peppered small kisses over his face and neck, not looking in the least bit bothered by who was watching. Reed looked stunned.
The pain began to ease in my stomach and heaviness blanketed me, dragging my eyelids closed. “Connor, I need to sleep.”
“I know.” He took his tee-shirt off and helped me sit up and put it on. He pulled back and grinned apologetically. “Don’t junk-punch me, but I’m carrying you back to my cell. Okay?”
I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more than to be in the arms of the man I loved. I reached up. In a moment, I was cradled against his chest. I turned my face into him and inhaled deeply, his scent a balm to my frayed soul. I wanted to purr at the softness of his skin against my cheek.
“If you try that with me, I will definitely junk-punch you.” Reed’s pissed off declaration made me smile.
“Then walk,” demanded Myles.
Still smiling, I kissed Connor’s chest, then let myself drift into oblivion where no pain existed and blood didn’t cover my hands or my soul.
Chapter 24
Connor.
* * *
The next day Stone and D waited to be summoned. Stone refused to even look at D. He sat off to one side. The worst of it was, none of us knew if they’d