Tallius (Spoils of War Book 2)

by Susan Bliler

  “Wh-what are you doing?”

  Head snapping up, Tallius’s eyes locked on Mira’s face as she blinked groggily and stared at him in confusion.

  Chapter 8

  Fuck! This looks bad!

  Immediately jerking his hands back, Tallius snatched up a blanket and quickly covered Mira.

  “You’re hurt!” he rushed out lamely. “I was checking for other injuries.” Swallowing hard, he asked, “How do . . . How do you feel?”

  Mira groaned and closed her eyes. For a second, Tallius thought she passed out, but then her tongue peeked out and licked her lips before she croaked. “Are . . . Are you naked?”

  She kept her eyes closed so she didn’t see Tallius look down at himself. He’d only covered her back up, so his erect cock was on full display and pointing right at her.

  Scrambling off Mira, he grabbed the other blanket and wrapped it around his waist. “Uhhh. Yeah. But only because you were freezing to death and needed body heat.”

  Mira’s eyes opened a fraction and she shot him a look.

  “You’ve been out for a while, Mira. You took a hard hit and we were both buried in that avalanche. I dug us out and brought you back here. Your lips were turning blue and I couldn’t wake you.” The more he talked, the less guilty he felt until finally he demanded, “Tell me how you’re feeling. Where do you hurt?”

  Eyes closing, the only sound that filled the room for tense minutes was the sound of Mira’s breathing before she finally said, “My head and my back.”

  Shit! “Can you move?” he asked.

  Relief flooded him when Mira’s arm snaked out from beneath the blanket as she lifted a hand to cover her eyes with a groaned, “It’s so bright.”

  His relief faded quickly because the windows were all buried in snow and the only real light in the room was coming from the fire. “It’s not, Mira. It’s pretty dark. Fuck!” Shoving to his feet he snatched his clothes up off the floor and re-dressed quickly. “You’re hurt.”

  Mira kept the back of her hand over her eyes as she snorted, “No shit. Give it a minute, it’ll pass.”

  But Tallius was worried. There was a lot that shifters could heal from, but a serious head injury wasn’t one of them.

  Kneeling at Mira’s feet, he shoved the blanket up and stared at her polished toes. “Move your feet.”

  She didn’t argue, just wiggled her toes and then rolled her ankles.

  Dropping to his ass, Tallius reached for his boots and pulled them onto his feet. “I’m going for help!”

  “Don’t,” Mira breathed. “Give me a minute.”

  “I’m not giving you a fucking minute. If you have a brain injury, you’ll be dead in a minute. I’m going!”

  He was up and striding for the window when Mira begged, “Don’t leave!”

  Tallius slowed and looked over his shoulder at her.

  “I’m not dying, Tally. I just . . . I need a minute.”

  Something about her using his nickname had him turning to walk slowly back to her. “Mira, you . . .”

  “No,” she cut him off. Lowering her hand, she blinked her eyes open and stared at him. “I banged my head and tweaked my back. Don’t leave me up here alone. If there’s a secondary avalanche, I won’t be able to get out on my own. I’ll die buried under the snow.”

  She was right.

  “Besides,” she continued, “if the avalanche was as bad as you make it sound, then no one can get up to us anyway, right?”

  That part wasn’t true. He could get down to where there was cell service and . . . Ffffffuck! Slapping his hands against his pockets, he felt his heart sink as he realized they were empty. Stalking to Mira’s clothes, he riffled through them. Her cell was missing too! Son of a bitch!

  “I can get to the ski resort and call War. He can send a healer.”

  “You don’t know if the resort was buried too. If it is, you’ll have to go all the way down the mountain.”

  “You need help!” he snapped.

  “I need rest,” she growled. “And you leaving me alone and defenseless is heartless. But I guess that’s what I should expect!”

  Her words rocked him. “I don’t want to leave you, Mira! I’m trying to get you help.”

  Closing her eyes, she turned her chin away from him, but he caught her swiping at moisture on her cheek. “You know what? Go! Do whatever the fuck you wanna do, War God. I’ll take care of myself, just like I always do.”

  Tallius was torn. He was trying to do the right thing and get Mira help, but she was making it sound like he was abandoning her. Pissed and scared, he let a growl rattle its way up his throat as he stood torn between leaving and staying. Turning his head, he eyed the window then looked back to Mira. He felt it the instant his wolf made up his mind. His beast wasn’t going to leave Mira, not now.

  Fisting his hands, he shook his arms hard and mouthed, “Fuck!”

  Stalking back to the fire, he squatted and loaded more logs onto it as he tried to talk his wolf into going for help. It was like talking to a brick wall.

  Turning his head, he frowned hard at Mira and snarled, “If I’m not going for help, then you need to shift. Your wolf can heal you better that way.”

  Slowly rolling her head toward him, Mira blinked up at him with those expressive blue eyes of hers.

  “I’ll stay,” he repeated, “but you gotta shift, Mira.”

  “In a bit.”

  “No,” he growled. “Now.”

  A sad smile tweaked her lips and she muttered, “Let it wait, Tally.” Looking up at the ceiling, she said more quietly, “Let me rest for now.”

  He watched her lashes flutter closed and was torn all over again. Yeah, his animal didn’t want to leave her because she’d practically begged him to stay with her, and Mira didn’t beg for shit ever. But seeing her slip so easily back into unconsciousness had him worried that something was seriously wrong.

  Eyeing the window, he wondered if she’d sleep through him racing down the mountain just to see how bad the avalanche had been.

  A rumble outside had him tensing before he abandoned his place by the fire and crossed to crouch beside Mira, prepared to protect her if needed. She didn’t wake at the sound. Eyeing the ceiling, Tallius wondered if the cabin could hold up to a second avalanche, but the rumbling lasted just long enough to convince him that leaving Mira alone was a bad idea. A good idea, though, was taking advantage of the opportunity to at least go out and search the hole he’d dug them out of to see if he could find either of their cell phones. The odds were slim, but it was worth a shot.

  Chapter 9

  Mira dreamt of Tallius. It wasn’t the dream she usually had of him where he was glaring at her over the body of the dead FourClaws Beta. No, this Tallius was different. He was close and warm, and for once she wasn’t afraid of him. This Tallius held her protectively in the cocoon of his hard body. She was facing him, and his arms were warm around her. Her knees were tucked between his and made Mira feel . . . cherished. This Tallius was such a stark contrast to the way she normally saw him that all she could do was stay tucked up close to him, her hands curled into fists and pressed against his chest as she stared up at him curiously, wondering what it was that he was keeping her safe from.

  Trapped in his gaze, Mira admitted to herself that she was attracted to him. He was a beautiful creature. Somewhere from the back of her mind, a voice whispered, “A deadly creature too.” Still, knowing how lethal he could be, she couldn’t help but part her lips when his head lowered a fraction. His gaze was intense, his sky-blue eyes flashing with the promise of something as one hand slid to her hip while the other captured her jaw. She should pull away, she knew she should, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

  Tallius’s head dipped lower, and against her lips he breathed, “Mira.”

  Letting her eyes drift closed, she arched her neck in offering, waiting for the gentle assault she knew would come. “Tallius . . .”

  “Mira.”

  Her name sou
nded more firmly, and the warmth of the dream slowly evaporated leaving a residue of longing.

  “Mira.”

  Blinking her eyes open, she saw Tallius leaning over her, his expression one of concern.

  “Jesus, fuck!” he breathed in relief. “I’ve been trying to wake you for ten minutes. You scared the shit outta me! Are you alright? How you feeling?”

  Swallowing down the bitter remains of the dream, she threw up her defensive walls. “Tired,” she griped. “Why’d you wake me? I need rest.”

  She still felt like shit, and it hadn’t lessened any since she’d been awake last, which was scary. Her shifter healing should be working faster. Worse, she’d tried to shift into wolf form earlier when she’d come to the cabin, but had been unable to do so. She didn’t admit it to Tallius because she knew he’d worry and use it as an excuse to go for help, and she didn’t want to be left alone on the mountain. Shifters didn’t have many fears. They were beasts in and of their own right, but that didn’t change the fact that Mira was terrified of confined spaces. She’d dealt with claustrophobia her whole life, and the thought of being buried beneath a mountain of snow all alone had fear tightening her gut. She didn’t even want to be in the cabin now, but knew getting Tallius to try to get her down the mountain wasn’t going to happen right now.

  “You were talking in your sleep,” Tallius answered.

  His response had her dream flooding back as heat singed her cheeks. Aww, God! She’d been having a near-erotic dream about the WG Beta, and it didn’t make sense. She hated him . . . right? “What . . .” She licked her lips. “What did I say?”

  “My name.”

  She expected him to tease, but he just looked worried.

  “You just kept saying my name over and over. You don’t need to worry, Mira. I’m not leaving you.”

  She swallowed, relieved that he thought her dream was a result of worry and nothing else. “Yeah,” she muttered, looking anywhere but at him. “I was dreaming about the avalanche.” The second the lie was out, her eyes shot to his, and she saw the instant he scented it. His eyes narrowed on her a fraction. “How long was I out?” she rushed out.

  Blinking at her, it took Tallius a minute to tear his eyes from her to glance at the wall clock. “A few hours.”

  A few hours! Worry filled her and she couldn’t help but admit, “I don’t feel much better.”

  “Could you eat something?”

  Flaring her nostrils, she scented cooked meat. She wasn’t hungry in the least but figured it might help. “Yeah. I should try.”

  She made to shove up off the couch, but Tallius bent and lifted her in an effortless move. She realized that sometime during her slumber he’d moved her to the couch. Now, as he carried her to the kitchen, she could see a place set at the table with a steaming bowl of something and a large glass of juice. She expected Tallius to set her in the chair. Instead, he sat and settled her on his lap.

  “I think I can manage on my own.”

  He shook his head. “Not until you get your strength back.”

  She wanted to argue but didn’t because honestly she didn’t know if she actually could manage sitting on her own and feeding herself. As it was, she was still wrapped in a blanket, and from the feel of the material against her skin, she knew she was still naked beneath it. Arms tucked inside, she couldn’t even reach for the spoon or the glass.

  “You’ll need to . . .” She’d been about to ask Tallius to unwrap her enough to get her arms out, but he lifted a spoonful of stew to his lips, blew on it, then held it out to her.

  “I can feed myself,” she argued. “You just need to help me get my arms out.”

  “You’re hurt, Mira. Just give me this, okay? I’ve been feeling pretty helpless all afternoon while you’ve been resting, and aside from trying to dig out your bedroom, this is the most useful I’ve felt all damn day.”

  She knew she should say no. She could feel it deep down, but for some reason she dipped her head in a nod and parted her lips when he lifted the spoon to her mouth. She told herself that she didn’t have the energy to argue right now, but that wasn’t true. For some reason she couldn’t fathom, she allowed Tallius to care of her.

  For long minutes, Tallius fed her in silence, and it felt awkward, so Mira asked, “How bad is the damage from the avalanche?”

  That started Tallius on a good rant about how the whole cabin had been damn near buried. Her car, the road, everything was just gone, wiped out in the blink of an eye. He’d dug a tunnel, gotten her inside, and worked all while she slept on checking supplies in the cabin, finding a saw and other equipment they’d need down in the cellar, and then spent most of his time trying to dig out her room, but he had to carry each bucket of snow up and out of the tunnel and he was worried it was letting too much heat out of the cabin.

  After another bite of stew, Mira chewed lethargically. It suddenly felt like her energy had been zapped. Swallowing, she ignored the next bite he held up and slumped her head against his shoulder. His throat was inches from her nose, and even over the scent of the stew, she picked up his masculine scent. Pine and smoke and Alpha male. He smelled delicious and had an odd sensation stirring to life in her belly.

  “What’s wrong?” He set the spoon in the bowl. “You’re wiped, aren’t you?”

  She didn’t bother lying. “Yeah.”

  Without another word, he carried her back to the couch and was gentle as he settled her onto it. Taking the time to tuck her in, he hovered over her as he asked, “Need anything?”

  His attention made her uncomfortable. No one had ever done that before, not even in the FourClaws. She’d always just been a pack member, and aside from the few guys she’d had short flings with, she wasn’t used to male attention, any attention really.

  She’d been raised in the pack by her great aunt after her mom died, and when Aunt Marnie passed when Mira was just thirteen, she’d been given her aunt’s home on pack lands and checked up on frequently by the pack, but really she’d just been alone.

  “N-no,” she stammered, and then looked away from Tallius, who was stirring up all kinds of strange emotions inside her. “I’m fine, thanks.” Slamming her eyes closed, she tried to force sleep.

  ***

  Staring down at Mira’s beautiful face, Tallius couldn’t shake the worry that was plaguing him. It wasn’t all he felt when he looked at her. He was feeling possessive and protective and a whole slew of other emotions he had no business feeling for Mira of the former FourClaws. He got that a lot of it had to do with his fucked-up obsession with earning her forgiveness, but once she’d been injured in the avalanche, everything had changed. Right now it didn’t matter to him if she forgave him or not, because he was being ruled by this inexplicable need to take care of her. He had to keep her safe, he just had to, and it had nothing to do with the fear of the Fury Beta dying at the mutual meet. He didn’t give a fuck what her Alpha or her pack thought. Hell, he didn’t care what War or the rest of the WG thought. All he cared about was taking care of Mira, and it was so all-consuming that it had him on edge. It was mostly because the nice guy that he’d promised himself he’d be while up here was slowly being replaced by the dominant beast that resided within him, and the more that beast came forward and the longer he had his attention on Mira, the worse things were going to be for the both of them. His wolf was forming bonds, and as fucked up as it was, Tallius couldn’t keep the animal from doing so. He tried, he really did, but every damn time he had a stern self-talking to, Mira did some shit that had both man and beast feeling just a little bit more for her. She was a complicated person. In his experience, most women were easy to read. Well, that wasn’t fair. The only women he knew, besides Nora, who’d just come to the WG, were the females he and the other enforcers met in town. They were the women at the bars that hung out and waited for a specific kind of male attention. They were openly flirtations and hid nothing. Mira wasn’t like that. She was so damn guarded that he was having a hard time finding a chink in he
r armor. But he was going to find it! Straightening, he stared down at her and admired her sooty lashes resting against her pale skin. Her pillowy lips were begging for attention and had him spinning away with an internal snarl as his thoughts went back to the acridly sweet lie he’d scented on her earlier. She’d said she was calling his name in her sleep because she’d been dreaming of the avalanche. It was a lie. A lie that had him wondering what it was she’d really been dreaming of that had him calling his name.

  Chapter 10

  For two days, Tallius dug and dug. He was worried about the weight of the snow on top of the cabin. Fear of it caving in on Mira had him making snow removal a top priority. For the two days that Mira was in and out, he cleared the roof of the cabin, and after that he started digging out the front of the cabin. All throughout the days, Mira slept. When she woke, he fed her until exhaustion claimed her and she slept again. It had Tallius really worried. She should have been a lot better by now, but her energy level seemed about the same as it was on that first day. Worse, Tallius had dug her suitcase out from where she’d left it on her bed, and after he’d hung some of her clothes by the fire to dry and went to dress her, he’d seen that the bruising on her back wasn’t healing.

  Shifter healing was strong and quick, and her still bearing a black-and-purple bruise all along the left side of her spine from her neck to just above her ass made no sense. He’d tried scenting her wolf, but only smelled the woman. That pungent rose scent that always covered her was absent, and it had him worried that the trauma had sent Mira’s wolf cowering deep inside her. It wasn’t uncommon. When something really bad happened, wolves were prone to PTSD. They’d tuck themselves up so deep inside their human that it was like they weren’t even shifters at all. It had him fearful that’s what was happening to Mira. In order to coax her back out, Tallius talked to Mira’s wolf every time she slept. He promised to keep the wolf safe and begged the animal to take care of Mira, but so far it hadn’t done any good.