HARDIN
Even though she was hurt and barely able to move, Elara still found the strength to shove my hand away when I tried to lift her off the ground.
"Go…" she rasped, her voice rough and uneven, barely even loud enough to hear if I wasn't so close to her mouth.
I ignored it. I wasn't leaving her like this. I pulled her arm gently over the back of my neck, slid one arm around her back just beneath her armpit, and hooked the other under her knees. Then I lifted her carefully. Too carefully for someone like me.
When I reached the bed, I knelt on both knees at the edge and laid her down as gently as I could, my muscles tight with the effort of holding back.
Without hesitating, my fingers quickly flew down the buttons of my shirt, yanking them open like time was running out, as if I'd lose her if I didn't move quicker. The last button came undone. I ripped the shirt off and grabbed her hand.
Blood was still pouring. The sight hit me harder than I expected. Something in my chest wrenched violently, a sharp, twisting pain that stopped my breath for a second. Lyon stirred inside me with a low, pained whine that echoed through my ribs. It wasn't just me that felt the pain, Lyon felt it too, technically, he felt it more as my wolf. And that… that actually scared me. I'd taken blades to my chest in fights before and never felt anything close to what I felt now.
But this? This felt like my own skin was being ripped from the inside out.
I forced myself to focus as I wiped the blood away from her upper arm down to her wrist, steadying my hands before moving to her palm.
"Eish…" she whimpered with a low groan, weakly trying to pull away even with her eyes still shut.
I waited patiently, watching as she drifted back into uneasy unconsciousness. Hell, if she wasn't unconscious, I didn't know the kind of courage it'd take me to do this... Slowly, I took her wrist more carefully this time and eased her palm open.
My breath almost choked in my lungs. "Fuck…" I muttered, confused.
The wound was deep, three long, ragged claw marks stretching from her thumb across her palm, bold and sour to the sight. The pattern was unmistakable. I didn't need instinct to tell me it was werewolf claws. But how the hell had she gotten something like this when she'd been alone in her room?
Her skin burned against my fingers when I touched her forehead. She's too weak to survive such deep wound for a woman, especially since her wolf hasn't awoken.
Shit!
My shirt was too thick to wrap her wound properly, so I ripped off my singlet and bound it tightly around her hand, just enough to slow the bleeding.
I didn't have time to question the wound. My mind was already scrambling for something cold, anything to bring the fever down. I couldn't just stand here and watch her shake like this.
I turned toward the bathroom and nearly lost it when the tap gave nothing but a dry, mocking sputter.
"Are you serious?" I growled, frustration snapping through me like a whip to my bare skin.
Just because the electricity was out now, the whole damn building decided to stop working?
I dragged a hand through my hair, fighting the violent urge to drive my fist into the useless tap. I'd never felt this helpless before. I didn't have to. And now, the one time it actually mattered, I was standing here useless while she suffered and I was suddenly reduced to some pathetic, fumbling idiot who couldn't even get her a cold cloth. What kind of alpha was I if I couldn't protect my own mate from whatever the hell this was?
Lyon's voice cut through my head, raw and still strained with real worry now. Hardin… this is bad. She's burning up and bleeding like hell. I can feel her pain echoing in us. We're losing her if we don't do something fast. Don't just stand there, man. Think.
"Shut the hell up, Lyon," I growled under my breath. "I'm fucking trying."
He went silent, but the damage was done. The fear in his tone only fed the ugly knot of self-doubt twisting tighter in my head. I hate that he was right and I hated more I was in this damn mess… Since when did I let one girl reduce me to this? Pacing like a caged animal, my heart hammering, completely powerless? This was so messed up. Standing here watching her tremble while I had nothing useful to offer.
My gaze dropped back to Elara. There was one option left. My blood. My Alpha blood could heal her… but she hadn't awakened her wolf yet. Forcing it on her would do the opposite of healing.
It would kill her. "Fuck."
Before I could take a step toward the door, Elara's faint voice stopped me cold. "Please… don't go… Hardin."
The crack in her voice hit me straight down my spine it made something inside me snap. I moved back to her like a speeding car, dropping beside the bed in one fluid motion.
She shifted on her own, resting her head against my lap like it belonged there. My entire body went stiff. Heat suddenly crawled up my neck, igniting every nerve as if she'd set fire to my blood. I didn't know if it was her… or the bond… or both. The mate pull roared through me, thick and demanding, making my chest tighten painfully. "How are you feeling now?" I managed, my voice tighter than I wanted to admit.
I kept my hands fisted at my sides. Because if I touched her… I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop.
"It's hot…" she breathed, her fingers tugging weakly at her shirt like she wanted to rip it off.
Fuck. Don't do that, Elara.
"It's okay… I'm here," I said, my jaw clenched so hard it ached.
She shifted again, rolling just enough for the moonlight glow to spill across her face. Her lips were dry and pale red, the fever still burning beneath her skin even if it had eased just a little. Then suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed mine. Before I could react, she dragged it to her chest. My heart slammed against my bones, like it wanted to break free. I tried to pull away instantly, but her grip was damn too strong for someone in her state.
"Please… take it off…" she whispered, her eyes still sealed shut, like she wasn't even fully aware of what she was asking.
I knew better. I knew I should stop. But my hand moved anyway, slow at first, then faster. My fingers worked the buttons of her shirt until the fabric fell open, exposing the red lace of her bra. I swallowed hard. I should have been focused on her condition, on the claw marks, on the blood. Instead my eyes betrayed me, dragging over the rise and fall of her chest, the way her skin glowed under the dim moonlight.
"Are you… alright now?" I asked, quieter this time.
She didn't answer right away. For a second I thought she'd passed out again. Then her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the strength.
"Have you always been this beautiful…" I muttered under my breath, tracing the lines of her face with my eyes. My chest tightened further, my pulse beating frantically in my ears as I forced myself to look away.
Lyon stirred restlessly inside me, feeding the chaos instead of calming it. Hardin… she's burning. The bond is pulling her under. We have to be careful, she's not ready for this yet. His voice carried pure worry with no trace of his usual smugness.
Lyon was right. I should control myself which meant I needed space. Hell, I should move away from her. But her bare skin against mine made everything worse. "Get it together," I told myself quietly, my voice barely audible. Because I was this close to losing control completely.
Before I could spiral further, I forced my hands back to her shirt, fumbling slightly as I pulled the fabric closed, just enough to cover her again. At least I could end the torture for a moment.
And then… her eyes suddenly snapped open. They locked onto mine, and for the first time since I met her, I saw something bigger than confusion or the heat she'd always tried to hide.
At first I almost believed it was anger. Until I realized… it was fear. Real, cold fear. Like she'd already decided exactly what I was capable of.
And that? That hit me harder than any wound I'd ever taken. Before I could explain… before I could say a single word
She—