Page 31 of The Last Guardian

I struggled against the animal’s weight, and… A dark, metal object collided with the wolf. Something erupted around us, and blood splattered my face—but not mine.

Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. Not mine.

These words repeated in my mind in echoes.

Another impact hit the wolf. A growl rumbled in its chest. Its whole body collapsed on top of me. I closed my eyes in shock.

It didn’t budge.

No breath.

No growl.

I breathed a sigh of relief. A relief that quickly dissipated.

Someone was here… Someone had killed the wolf.

Was It Haedeon?

No. No. No.

He’d come to bring me back to the palace.

I couldn’t go back there. No!

The animal’s weight lifted from my body. My lungs begged for air to breathe.

But—who was there? My heart stumbled in my chest. I opened my eyes to face whoever it was, but my vision blurred. I couldn’t make out their face… just a dagger in their hands, stained with wolf blood.

Were they going to kill me, too?

The stars twinkled slowly overhead as a dark figure knelt beside me.

Something pressed against my injured leg… and I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t feel the tip of the dagger digging into my skin.

It was a hand pressing against my wound.

With the last of my strength, my eyes fell on the hand resting on my leg. On the design dancing around their veins.

The mark.

THE GROUND WAS breathing beneath me, moving in a soft, gentle rocking rhythm. It sent a faint rolling in my stomach as I turned in bed. With a light pulse beating in my ears, syncing with a slow rise and fall, distant creaks and groans of shifting woods echoed far away with a soft lap of water crashing against them.

I turned in the bed again, the comfy, soft mattress moving with my movement, and plunged my head into the pillow to stay in my sleep. A little longer. With a deep inhale, the scent left on the sheets tickled my nostrils, a salty dampness with something green—earthy. It prickled against my skin. I moved, trying to turn around, but—a white pain spread along my legs. Burned.

Flashes came back again…

I miss your taste, touching you.

You always say “no” when you mean “yes.”

You won’t remember. Just like always, gorgeous.

Your blood sings for me.

Just a drop of your sweet blood.

Nevan. Father. Haedeon. The wolf.