Chapter 2

Through the poor-excuse-of-a-hiding space I was at, my eyes widened as I took the form of the figure that had its both arms around a female wolven. She seemed to be in her early twenties, or younger. Pale hair streaked with blood flowed across her chest as the creature cradled her closer. Its mouth on the crook of her neck, as it took large gulps of blood.

I didn’t think my eyes could widen more than they already have, or I could feel colder than I already did.

But I did. I'd taken my focus off the wolven and glanced at the figure. Its eyes were bloodshot, black veins crawling underneath them till they reached the sides of its jaw. I could make out the exact shape of its head, the hair on it barely a handful. I trailed my gaze to the arms he had around the now slumped body of the wolven. Claws longer and darker than any I'd ever seen on a wolven accompanied fingers that looked like melted flesh. Shaken out of my shock, I tightened my grip on the dagger and shot forward.

But I didn't make it far. I'd barely taken a step when an arm slid across abdomen, tugging me back and a hand pressed against my mouth to shut whatever that was about to fly out of my mouth.

“Don't.” A voice breathed on the skin of my ear, making all the hairs on my body stand. Alarm ran through me as loud and clear, like the bells they rang in the mornings at the Jade temples.

I thrashed. Wiggling violently against the hold of the person who had his hands on me. And when that didn't work, because it just had to be someone who had the strength of a war horse, I did the next thing I could think of.

I slammed my head back, expecting to collide with at least the jaw of whoever held me. I was quickly reminded just how shorter than the average male wolven I was. The embers in my chest threatened to flare in reaction to my frustration. My teeth grinded against each other as I reined them back, locking them away.

“Stay still.” The male behind me hissed, pressing me more against him. “Things won't end well for you and I if that thing finds out we’re here.”

The moment he lets me go, things won't end well for him.

Knowledge of what he said rose my eyebrows even higher, as I snapped my gaze back to where I'd spotted the thing of nightmares. Yep, I was never going anywhere with Keyleth ever again.

It was leaning on legs that appeared to be hinges. One that reminded me of the sorry excuse of a horse I'd tried to draw when I was younger.

And then, it growled. The sound sent a shiver through me. My eyes zeroed on the creature unable to take them away as I watched it shake what appeared to be wolven fur off him. He leaned back some more, going down on all fours and took off.

I stood pressed against the male behind me, the shock of what I just witnessed enough to have me rooted on the spot. And then I snapped, biting the hand that was on my mouth.

The male behind me yanked his hand back, uncurling his arms around me and took a step back. At the same time I whirled and threw my dagger hard and fast at him. He stepped aside so fast, it felt like a blur, snapping his hand out to catch the dagger mid flight. By the blade.

“You should be careful,” he said, rolling the blade between his fingers. “I get excited when people try to kill me.”

My feet moved on their own, as I took a step back. I couldn’t sense anything from him. “Who are you?”

“Is that how your people show gratitude?” He cocked his head at me, his voice a deep and rich mix o—

I cut myself off from thinking about how his voice sounded as I eyed him. A black cloak covered his broad shoulders down to his mid thigh, the hood down and his face uncovered. Black short hair adorned a face that looked like it was sculpted by the gods themselves. Strands of it flicking across his eyebrows and ears, his jaw, a sharp cut and eyes, a brownish gold.

My jaw ticked as I took him in, grazing the side of the pants I wore underneath the cloak for a second dagger. I came up with nothing as I remembered Keyleth feeling my sides earlier and brushing against it. Fucking Keyleth. I was relieved to know she had some sort of protection with her but not happy it had to be my dagger.

It would be smarter to not entertain any of this but he'd saved my life, or saved me from making a very terrible life choice. My head jerked back to the spot where I saw the creature, the human he'd been feeding on was nothing more than bones and the linen clothing she'd been wearing. Which was now smeared with blood. “What was that…thing?” I heard myself say, barely a whisper as I eyed the spot. A shiver rocked through me, sending my gaze back to the…wolven?

“You're a wolven?” I spat, confusion pushing away any other question I had.

One eyebrow lifted, “So are you.”

I knew that, obviously. But I hadn’t felt him earlier. It was like a…blank canvas. My wolven instinct had shut down, unable to sense anything from him.

“And to answer your question, I have no idea either. This is my second time coming across one.”

“Second time?” There were more of those things? I dusted my hands against my cloak, gravel crunching underneath my boots as I moved away from him, halting when I realized he still had my dagger. He watched me for a moment, his expression unreadable, as if he was deciding something I had no say in. A cold awareness slid down my spine.

“Yes. Second time. I'm as curious as you are to what those things are. They seem to have gone into—”

“—Bloodlust.” I came to whatever he wanted to conclude, remembering the colour of its eyes.

The wolven in front of me nodded, his lips pressed in a straight line as he spun my dagger in his hand, stopping and holding it at the hilt. “Other than that, it is quite difficult to know if they're wolvens or not.”

Eyeing my dagger and how he tossed it like his own, I met his gaze. His eyes lit with dark amusement as he lengthened the eye contact.

I wish he didn't miss the throw of my dagger.

Taking my mind away from where it drifted briefly, my eyebrows furrowed. “Its legs. It was a like a mix of wolf and horse.”

The wolven in front of me nodded once more, his eyes darkened as he stared at me, analysing me. And then, I saw them change. It was so fast. And if I'd blinked I would have missed it.

“Y—your eyes.” I stuttered, the flash of blue still evident in my head. Fear shot down my spine, as I really looked at the male wolven in front of me. There was no denying what I just saw. The reason why I couldn't sense he was a wolven.

“You're an alpha.”