Mended and Marked

Chapter Five - Duri

Coolness seeps in through the burning of my flesh, slowly waking me until my eyelids agree to lift. Nothing makes sense for a moment, the odd shapes clinging to the ceiling confusing me until I realize I stare at the roof of a cave. I turn my head and see nothing but drab gray surfaces and faint light glimmering off speckled minerals.

Swinging my attention in the other direction, I suck in a startled sound as I meet eyes so reflective they seem white instead of light blue.

"Where—"

"Oh, thank the gods you're awake." Henna, the woman who kept me sturdy through the most strenuous moments of my life, lays her hand on mine and speaks in a rush. "I thought you wouldn't want to wake up in the dark, so I asked him to wait here until you woke."

I blink at her sunburnt face until my neck aches. Another blink later and I finally realize why

the angle is so odd—I'm still cradled in the alpha's arms, so the top of her head barely reaches my hip.

My stomach does a weird somersault. In response, the new life in my womb jerks and kicks.

Relief sweeps through me, but sandpaper scratches the back of my eyes instead of tears.

"C'mon, little females. Let's get you the water your bodies so desperately need."

The world spins as he turns to move further away from the faint sunlight.

"Thank you, but I can walk."

My hoarse voice does not imbue confidence, but the alpha stops and lowers my feet to the ground. His movements hold a reluctance I feel in my marrow, but it doesn't seem fair for him to carry me when everyone else walks.

I lift my foot to take a step and flail as my toe catches on a rock. Before I fall too far forward, massive arms wrap around me and haul me upward.

With one arm under my belly and the other across my shoulders, the massive brute plasters my back against his front.

Before I can decide if my ears are faulty or if he makes a strained sound, his rumbly voice destroys my concentration.

"I'll carry you, since you can't seem to put one foot in front of the other without performing a gravity check."

Even with the humor tinting his voice, his suggestion of my natural aptitude for accidents embarrasses me more than I care to admit.

"I just couldn't see anything. I'll be fine to walk."

Warm fabric rubs against the top of my head, and I shake as I realize he ghosts his covered lips across my hair in an unexpectedly intimate caress.

"You're trembling."

My bones try to melt into goo, but I swallow so hard the pain in my throat keeps me tense.

"I can still w—"

"After you get some food, water, and rest. Don't argue, little mama, or I might decide to never set you down."

Stunned at how easily he declares such a monumental statement, I don't fight when he shifts me around until I lay cradled in his arms again.

It feels right.

My shaking worsens as the realization sinks into my mind. The buzz of worry and fear I've carried in my chest my entire life eases when I'm in his arms. Even in our dire circumstances, something behind my sternum reaches toward him, yearning for things I don't have words for.

As the darkness thickens around us, my ears pick up Henna's footsteps, my hearing heightening to make up for the loss of my vision. Even knowing

I can't make out his features, I train my gaze toward his face, struggling with my ridiculous thoughts.