Chapter Five

Daron’s POV

“Lily, run now. I will distract them,” I said, my voice sharp as the giant bees closed in.

The buzzing was deafening. The air vibrated with it. Each bee was the size of a grown wolf, stingers long as my forearm.

She stood frozen beside me for one second, golden eyes wide before she snapped out of it. “Well, I am sorry. I was never raised to be a coward, and I certainly can save myself,” she said, staring me down.

That damn attitude of hers…defiant even in the face of death. It should have irritated me more than it did. Instead, something primal stirred in my chest.

I sliced through the rope binding her wrists with my dagger. “Fine. Fight then.”

Before I could say another word, she snatched a sturdy piece of driftwood from the ground and worked with terrifying speed, carving and shaping it into a makeshift bow while I slashed at the nearest bees. The creatures were enormous, each one the size of a large wolf, with venomous stingers glinting under the moonlight. My dagger barely slowed them. Even if I shifted into my wolf form, I wasn’t sure I could take them all.

A sharp yell cut through the chaos. 

One of the bees had gotten through. It stung her in the shoulder. She dropped the bow, stumbling back.

“Lily!” I roared, cutting down another bee as I rushed to her. Even though she’s my enemy, I can’t deny the fact that she’s my comrade in this desert. My wolf wouldn’t let me watch her die.

She collapsed before I reached her, just as distant shouts echoed across the dunes.

“My Lord! Young master! Daron!” several voices were shouting my name.

Torchlight flickered in the distance. Tan and my warriors crested the nearest dune, flames blazing in their hands.

I finally heaved a sigh of relief. My wolf settled a fraction.

“Use the fire!” I shouted.

Tan and the guards charged in, waving their torches. The bees recoiled from the flames, some scattering into the night while others burned with high-pitched shrieks. A few still got through, stinging several of my men. Painful, but not fatal.

“Lily… Lily…” I checked her breathing. Shallow, but there. She had only passed out. The venom was strong.

“Tan!” I yelled. “Let’s retreat out of this desert.”

“Everyone retreat now!” Tan yelled. Two of my guards lifted Lily between them as we ran from the bees, the buzzing fading behind us.

***

Back at the camp, the night air carried the familiar scent of burning wood and desert herbs. I sat beside Lily in my tent, watching her unconscious form on the low bed. The sting had left an angry red mark on her side, but the wolf doctor assured me she would recover with rest.

Tan entered, carrying fresh clothes. “The wolf doctor said she has to change out of that cloth into this,” Tan said, signaling to the fresh clothes he was holding. “What do we do now? There’s no female here in the camp.”

I looked at Lily. Her cloak was torn, covered in sand and blood from the bee sting. Her lips were turning blue from the cold.

“Just leave it. I will change her clothes myself,” I said to Tan.

“What?” Tan yelled, staring at me with a cold glare. Then he dropped into friendship mode, lowering his voice. “Daron, didn’t you tell me she’s a lady? You changing her clothes means seeing her whole nakedness.”

“And what do you suggest we do?” I snapped. “Leave her to die in that cloth? Her clothes are dirty and torn, plus she’s unconscious. Someone has to help her.”

He hesitated, glancing between us, then sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Take this,” I said, passing him the bow Lily made during the attack. She made it from scraps in minutes. The design resembles the Three-Arrow crossbow.

“You are right about that,” Tan said, turning it over in his hands. “She’s talented and resourceful just by looking at this.”

“Her name is Lily,” I said. “Inform our spies in the Red Moon Pack to find out more about her and the connection she has with the Weapon House.”

“Understood.” Tan paused at the tent flap. “We need to move out soon. The Alpha King sent word…the Moonlight Ceremony is in five days, right before the Wolf Lord selection. He wants you back.”

“Fine. We set out tomorrow back to the pack,” I said. “Did my brother send any news about that old geezer Zhang?”

“Not at all,” Tan said, smirking. “After what you did to him before we left the pack, I am sure he will lay low for now.”

“Alright. You may leave now.”

Tan left the tent, looking at Lily one last time before the flap closed.

I went over to the bed and sat down beside her. The fire in the brazier made the tent warm. Outside, I could hear my men talking, laughing.

I wouldn’t have done this in any circumstances, I said in my head, but I don’t want her to die. At least not yet. And there’s no way she’s going to escape from me.

My wolf stirred, a low growl rumbling inside my chest as I touched her. He wanted to claim, to mark, to possess. I pushed it down.

I started with her cloak, then the torn inner tunic. As the fabric fell away, I froze.

Her body was breathtaking.

Fair skin glowed softly in the lantern light, smooth and unblemished except for the fresh sting mark and a few old scars that spoke of years spent at a forge. She was athletic…strong shoulders and toned arms from blacksmithing, a narrow waist that flared into subtle, feminine hips. Her breasts were full and perfectly shaped, rising and falling with each shallow breath. Long, dark brown hair spilled across the furs, and those golden eyes remained closed, lashes casting faint shadows on her cheeks.

Heat surged through me. My wolf howled, urging me closer, demanding I take what was ours. The scent of her…warm skin, faint smoke from the fire, and something uniquely her…hit me like a drug. My cock hardened painfully against my trousers. I wanted to taste every inch of her, to bury myself inside her until she screamed my name.

I fought for control, fists clenched at my sides. She was vulnerable. My enemy. My captive. But the pull was undeniable…this obsessive need to keep her close, to make her mine.

I grabbed the fresh clothes from where Tan left them. It was still a male tunic and trousers, but clean. They’d hang loose on her, considering she was wearing a male outfit when I held her captive. Better than nothing.

I dressed her as fast as I could, not looking more than I had to, though my wolf memorized every inch. I was tying the knot in her cloak, right beside her breast, my knuckles brushing her skin, when she stirred.

She groaned and her eyes opened groggily. Then they snapped open fully.

She stared at me for a while, confused, then her eyes dropped to my hand. She realized my hand was currently on the knot right beside her breast.

In one fast move, she pushed me hard. I lost my balance and she turned us over, her hands on my chest. Now she was above me, straddling my waist, her face full of rage.

“You bastard,” she said, her voice shaking with anger. “How could you change my clothes?”