“Torin!”
His eyes popped open, darting around until they found her. She rushed back to him, slipping her palms over his cheeks.
“Torin, you’re...you again.”
He smiled up at her, still trying to charm her as he bled all over the snow. He opened his mouth, and she laugh-cried at him, knowing he’d be saying something to make her blush or roll her eyes at him. Maybe even both. But instead, his eyes rolled back in his head as it went limp beneath her hands.
Her smile vanished as she shook her head. “No,” she groaned. “Please.” Her fingers brushed the blood strands of hair from his face. “Say something.” She speared her fingers through his hair, damp and sticky with blood. “C’mon, Torin. You always have something to say.”
But he remained silent, unmoving. A sob tore from her as her chest squeezed the breath out of her. Her gaze darted over his body, cataloging his many wounds. Wounds she didn’t know to heal. She had no special ability. She was human. Just a simple, useless human.
She lay her body down beside him, her tears slipping over his skin as she nestled into the crook of his neck.
“I smell him. He’s over here.”
“Blackmoon’s men have gone back into their territory,” another male voice reported.
“Who’s that with him?”
“Son of a bitch, there’s so much blood,” the older male cursed, and she recognized the voice. Talon. “It’s that red-haired girl.”
“Is she hurt?” the younger male asked. She lifted her head, seeing blurry faces in the dim light. “She seems okay,” he answered himself.
“Get off him, girl,” Talon snapped as his face came into focus.
She furrowed her brows, clinging to Torin tighter.
The younger male squatted next to her. He looked familiar. Torin had introduced him as his best friend, but she couldn’t recall his name. Not that she cared right now. “Sweetheart, we need to get him to the healer. Please, step away.”
She hesitated, reluctant to leave him for fear she’d never see him again.
“He’s in good hands, I promise.”
A healer, he’d said. Well, they were taking him to someone who had some skills. Because he wasn’t getting any better with her help.
She took a breath and nodded, rising from the ground to watch him begin to hoist Torin over his shoulder.
Talon scowled at her before he took Torin from the younger male and took off running.
She glared at his back.
The younger male whistled beside her, making her jump. She’d forgotten all about him. “Talon does not like you, does he?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, thinking a moment and then shrugging.
He nodded. “Best not to care, anyway. Torin doesn’t seem to.”
Now, that was news. Why wouldn’t Torin care what his own father thought of her. Family was...well, family, right?
“C’mon, sweetheart. I’ll show you where our hard-ass Alpha is taking him. He’ll want to see you when he wakes up, I’m sure.”
She gave him a weak smile as tears welled in her eyes again, laying a hand on his arm in thanks.
He smiled back at her as he began to follow Talon’s prints through the snow. “No need to thank me. Anyone who cares for my man, Torin, which you obviously do, is A-okay in my book.”
She sniffled and nodded at him. He seemed okay in her book, too.
***
“I think he’s waking up.”
Torin didn’t recognize the soft, lilting voice, but it permeated the thick fog of his mind.
“Yes, I believe so,” his mother said. “I’ll give you a few minutes with him before I call the healer in.”
“Thank you,” the beautiful voice responded and his mother shuffled out the room.
Someone brushed his hair from his forehead. Soft and gentle. A whisper of a touch, but he felt it down to his toes. An all-too-familiar scent wafted over him, awakening his whole body.
“Autumn,” he sighed, peeling his heavy lids open. “You’re here.”
A wave of relief swept through him as he saw her smiling down at him. She was safe. That big, black mutt hadn’t gotten his filthy paws on her. And she was here. By his side. He’d thought his shifting might’ve scared her off for good.
She closed her eyes. “Yes, Torin. I’m here.”
Oh, man. Hearing that gorgeous voice make music with his name made him want to thank his parents for naming him so perfectly. He lifted his arm, finding his muscles groaning in protest. Laying his hand over her fingers that danced over his face, he smiled up at her. “I could listen to you talk forever.”
Her cheeks flushed as she looked away. When she didn’t respond, he pouted. “Oh, c’mon. Don’t stop already,” he teased.
She began to fidget, pulling her hand away.
Frowning, he tried to sit up and was greeted by a sharp pain in his ribs. “Did...did I say something wrong?”
Her brilliant green gaze finally met his again, but she didn’t say anything.
“I won’t know what I’m doing to upset you if you won’t tell me,” he coaxed. “And I don’t want to upset you if I can help it. Please, Autumn.”
He could tell she was mulling it over, and he tried to practice some patience. She deserved at least that much.
“The other men,” she whispered, suddenly very interested in the window. “They also...enjoyed my voice. The more I used it to beg and scream for them to stop, the more they wanted to continue.”
Well, if that wasn’t a hella good reason to stay silent all this time. That whole goddamn village had to be burned to the ground.
She slowly turned her head, forcing herself to look at him. “This voice has brought me nothing but misery.”
His chest ached and he felt his eyes starting to sting. He had known she had suffered, the scar on her face making that obvious, but to hear it in her own voice made him want to hold her close and protect her from all the evil in this wretched world. And go downright medieval on those evil bastards that scarred her.
Scooping her hand up in his, he brought it to his mouth, placing a tender kiss on her knuckles. He gazed up at her, finding her struggling to breath. Although she didn’t have that doe-eyed look of terror on her face.
“I am so sorry for what has happened to you,” he murmured, hearing his voice crack through the tears he shed. “If you never want to speak again, I understand.”
She stared at him for a long moment, tilting her head to the side. “Why are you crying?”
He sniffled and looked away, swiping at his damp face. “What they did to you...it’s deplorable.” Glancing back at her, he saw her eyes shimmering, haunted with the painful memories. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you.”
Biting her lip as a tear slid down her rosy cheek, she took a deep breath. “No one could have saved me. My mother tried, but she was sick and weak. I don’t even know when exactly she died. Nadene told me a few months after Jaxon bought me.”
Out of instinct, he squeezed her hand. “Your mother was very brave and obviously loved you.”
A few tears spilled onto her lap as she sniffled nodded her head. “Yes. I’m just...I’m not used to anyone caring about me. I haven’t known what that feels like since I was four. And you...seem to care. But...you’re one of them. A monster with a handsome face.”
Being called a monster made him cringe. His own family (and pack, for that matter) had never viewed their shifting forms as anything other than a part of them. He could honestly say he’d feel lost without the ability. But he understood why she thought of him that way. Think positive.
“So, you think I’m handsome, huh?” he teased. Might as well try to lighten the mood.
Raising her eyebrow, she gave him a confused look. “Yes. I just said that. You are the only man I’ve ever actually enjoyed looking at.”
The teasing smirk on his face faded away as he stared in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
She shrugged, still looking confused. �
��Why would I lie about that?”
Well, shit. That just lightened his mood up like the sun. He felt downright giddy about that little tidbit of information.
His mother peeked her head through the door, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “Torin, dear, your father wants to speak with you for a few moments.”
Autumn practically ran from the room. He glared at his father as he pushed through the door and stood at the foot of his bed.
‘How are you feeling today, son?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Torin snickered. “Great. Considering I almost got eaten alive.”
His father raised a brow. “It’s your own fault. If you’d listened to me and gave the girl back, Bearpaw wouldn’t have been in our territory in the first place.”
He heard himself growl at his old man. “Get out,” he snapped.
His father’s gaze narrowed. “Do not take that tone of voice with me, boy.”
Torin glared. “Fine. Get out, sir.”
“Torin,” his father growled back. After a long moment of angry glares, his father sighed. “No matter. Bearpaw won’t be coming back again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“What are you planning on doing?” Because if they were attacking Blackmoon, he need to heal faster and get in on that shit.
His father turned and walked toward the door. “I’m taking the girl back to Blackmoon. Myself. This has gone far enough. I’m not losing my only son because he can’t accept the politics of how our world operates.”
“What?!” Torin jumped from the bed, clasping his side as pain ripped through his ribs. “You can’t do that!”
His father turned to give him a hard stare. “I am the Alpha of this pack. And I will not let you put all of us in jeopardy.”
Limping towards his father, he yelled, “I will not let you take her back to that hellhole!”
Sadness flickered across his father’s eyes for a moment before he hardened his face once more. “You will thank me for this one day, son,” he muttered and walked out the door.
Torin tried to follow, but his legs wobbled, his body protesting his every step. He tore the door open. “No!” he screamed, catching his mother and Kay’s attention in the hallway. His father’s boots stomped down the hardwood at the other end of the long hallway. He couldn’t let this happen. Autumn couldn’t go back to Blackmoon. She’d suffered enough, and someone had to save her. He couldn’t prevent all the damage Blackmoon had done before he’d met her, but now…there was only one way.
“I claim her!” he shouted, making all three members of his family snap their gazes towards him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
His father looked furious. “What did you just say?”
Yeah, you heard me right, old man. He looked his father dead in the eye. “I claim her as my mate.”
Boots clomping down the hallway, his father got in his face. “This is not something you do on a whim, son. Claiming a mate is a lifetime commitment. You can’t just take it back once you get what you want.”
Torin set his jaw, leaning into his father’s face. “She is mine. And you can’t take her from me.”
“He’s right, Talon.” His mother stepped towards them, giving his father a nasty look. “Once he claims a mate, she is automatically protected by the pack.”
“Stay out of this, Lauren!” his father snapped, making his mother’s nostrils flare. His father ignored it, turning back towards him. “You can’t claim her. I won’t allow it.”
“You can’t do that!” Torin and his mother yelled in unison. “What the hell is your problem? Nessie can claim a fucking bloodsucker as a mate, but I can’t claim Autumn?”
“Charlie didn’t cause a war! Nessie had claimed him even before Blackmoon took him. Blackmoon stole him from us. They technically broke Pack Law, not us. But you commited a crime stealing that girl. She is their property.”
“No,” Torin snapped, getting right in his father’s face. “She is mine. And as my mate, she isn’t property. She is a member of this pack.”
His father snarled at him before turning on his heel. Torin watched as his father stomped back down the hallway, determination and guilt bubbling in his clawed up chest. He may have just saved Autumn, but he probably just sentenced his pack to war.
***
Autumn reached out and caught Torin as he tripped over another boulder. Despite Nikoli, the healer, warning him against this little trip, Torin had insisted on going for for a walk. “You should be resting. Not gallivanting through the forest,” she said.
Torin waved a hand. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a few scratches.”
She rolled her eyes. Stubborn man.
Autumn rolled her eyes. Stubborn man. He tripped over another boulder and she reached for his arm to steady him. He pursed his lips as she helped him climb further up the hill. Not used to having a woman lend you a hand? Well, it was a novelty for her too. But a novelty she could get used to perhaps.
A few minutes later, he stopped and smiled over at her. “Okay. Almost there now. Close your eyes. It’s a surprise.”
She raised a brow at him, her lips tilting in response to his obvious excitement. “You’re really a fan of surprises, aren’t you?”
His grin widened. “Oh, you have no idea, gorgeous.”
She huffed. “Would you stop calling me that? You know my name now.”
He leaned over towards her, waggling his eyebrows. “That’s gorgeous, too. Now, c’mon. Close those beautiful peepers.”
Sighing, she complied. A zing of excitement creeping up her spine. Maybe she was a fan of surprises, too. Well, the Torin surprises, at least.
She felt his hand slide into hers as he pulled her forward.
“No peeking,” he said, making her roll her eyes under her lids.
The incline of the hill steepened a bit, slowing their ascent. Eventually, though, Torin stopped and took a breath.
“You are gonna love this,” he whispered, sending shivers over her skin that had nothing to do with the brisk breeze blowing against her face.
Raising her brows at him, she teased. “Really? You think you know me that well?” He certainly sounded confident.
He brushed his cheek over her ear. “Not as well as I’d like,” he murmured against her skin.
Oh, the things that voice did to her. Even knowing what he was, he still got under her skin. Making her feel things she didn’t always understand, but wanted more of nonetheless.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” she breathed, the small caress not enough to quench the fire he’d stoked with one small stroke of his cheek.
“Okay. Open your eyes,” he said, laying his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped her up in his arms.
Open my? Oh, right. Get your head out of the gutter, girl. That was certainly a first. Her? Thinking dirty? What was he doing to her?
She peeled her lids open and all naughty thoughts melted away as she gaped at the scene before her.
On the edge of a cliff, she stood with Torin’s body pressed against her back. The wind blowing through her wild hair as she took in all the beauty she never knew this world had to offer. In the valley below, two lakes nestled, patches of ice kissing the edges. The dark trees were dusted with white and a mountain stood tall and proud in the distance, its snowy peaks meeting the bright, blue sky.
“Oh, my...it’s amazing,” she breathed. Her fingers curled as she ached for a brush.
She felt Torin smiling against her shoulder. “See, I told you you’d love it.”
Still enraptured by the landscape, she simply nodded.
“I have another surprise for you, though,” he chirped, moving away from her.
She managed to pull her gaze away as she turned to see what he was up to. “Do you give everyone this many surprises?”
Rummaging through the backpack he’d brought along, he shook his head. “Not usually.”
“What makes me so special, then?”
His eyes snapped up to h
ers as his gaze roamed over her face. “Do you really want to know?”
Ummm, yes. She was dying to know why he treated her so differently than all the other men. What made him want to be so nice to her? Protect her? Give her presents?
“Well, I’ll tell you after you’re done,” he said.
Done? Done what?
Out of his backpack came all of her painting supplies that he’d given her. She clapped her hands over her mouth, stifling an excited cry.
He gave her a big, goofy grin and got to work setting up her easel. When he was finished, he came over and grabbed her hand. “I hope I set it up right.”
Her eyes shimmered as she stared at the easel set just in front of the breathtaking scene. Pulling her hand out of his, he looked back and gave her a confused look. She grasped the sides of that handsome face and gave him a big old smooth. A well-deserving one. “It’s perfect,” she whispered as she pulled away and gazed into his dazzled eyes.
Those smoochable lips curved into a sly smile. “And you wonder why I like surprising you so much…”
She blushed, scrunching her nose at his teasing. Rubbing her hands together, she gave the easel a little stroke. “Best get started then.”
***
She really is amazingly talented, Torin thought as he sat on the blanket and watched the scene come to life with each stroke of Autumn’s brush across the canvas. She captured each shadow of the distant mountains, every unique shade of green the forest below held, and even the plain white snow was made beautiful.
And with her attention on the canvas, he was able to ogle every inch of her at his leisure. The breeze rustled the stray strands of her wild, red hair that feel loose from the knot she’d tied on top of her head.
So engrossed in her work, she didn’t seem to notice that her stomach was rumbling loud enough for even him to hear. Chuckling to himself, he got up and walked up behind her.
Kiss of Fire: A Dystopian Shifter Romance (The Whitemoon Warriors #2) (The Whitemoon Warriors Series) Page 12