Harwal, book 3

Chapter 42

I wake up to Erel's tight grip on my hand. I jerk my head up, but groan immediately. My whole body feels like I was tumbling down a hill in the forest.

“Did I sleep long?” I whisper, my throat dryer than the sand outside.

Erel sits next to me, his eyes honed in on something behind me. I roll to my side, hissing, but there's nothing. We're up in a loft bedroom and we can see down to a giant window that shows the forest. The forest that Erel is glaring at.

“Shit,” I mutter and struggle to my knees. “Are they coming?” I pat his cheeks, gaining his attention. His expression softens for just a moment, but he returns to glaring down at the window.

“Don't go between, hide, and…” I mutter as I wobble to the side of the bed. I don't fucking remember if he said something else. Just as I'm about to get up, Erel wraps his arm around me and pulls me back to the bed, right on his lap.

“I'm…not as out of it as I expected,” he whispers and takes a deep breath of my head. “They stopped at the border of the forest. It will be difficult for them to come closer.”

“Maybe you're not as out of it because I'm human,” I whisper, unsure if it's a good thing. Would it mean that I can't be marked?

Erel grunts. “Unlikely. It's more likely to be an exaggerated lie that was spread by my people.” He nuzzles his head against mine and grunts again. “I can't deny feeling incredibly agitated and unwilling to leave. Also…” He strokes my bare thigh. “I want you constantly.”

I reach back to palm his cheek, and suck in the horrified gasp that I want to let out. My arm is full of bites. And my chest. And my legs.

“What the fuck,” I mutter, examining myself. No wonder I'm hurting all over. The bites aren't deep, but you can clearly see what they're from.

“Sorry…” the culprit says. “I don't think I was in my right mind most of the time.”

“Don't you think it's a little overboard? I can't go anywhere like…this.” I lift my arm for us to inspect.

“Good,” he rumbles, hugging me tighter.

I smack his arm and wince at the amount of movement it requires. “It's not ‘good’. You have sharp teeth.”

“Are you in pain?” He asks, stroking my arm gently. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

“I'm…a bit sore, but it's not unbearable.”

“It must be because I'm leaving,” he says and I turn just in time to see him lick his teeth. He shuts his mouth and grunts. “You need to be marked.”

“Well…I'm definitely marked,” I say with a snort. What else can I do? It's ridiculous. And oddly adorable.
“You were so worried about the effect of your bite that I'm surprised you went at it this hard.”

I meant it as a joke, but his body tenses. “How…how do you feel?”

Seeing his worried gaze melts my heart, but I want to have a little payback. So I pretend to think about it, I close my eyes and hum in thought. To be honest, during sex the bites felt…more than good. But considering I look like this, it might be better that it doesn't happen too often.

“Hial?”

I snap my eyes open and poke his nose with a smile. “I feel great. Just sore, but that's a granted. But no more excessive biting.”

Erel grunts, clearly catching my plot. He lifts my chin up and gives me a soft kiss, but nips his canine on a sore spot as he retreats. I grunt and test if it's bleeding, but luckily it's not. He must nick the same spot every time.