Page 81 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
Wolf let her down to her feet and then looked to Duke, whose eyes were dutifully scanning the surrounding area.
“If he sensed something out there, he’d let us know.”
“How?”
“It depends, but he’ll whine and lay down. Sometimes he will point or snarl, and the hair on his back will stand up. Trust me, you’ll know.” Wolf grabbed her hand as they ambled toward the front door of the cottage.
“What would you like to eat,” Wolf asked as they walked inside.
The shade was nice and instantly soothing. It was strange for it to be so hot in the fall. “I don’t care, whatever we have. Do you want me to help make something?”
Wolf tossed over a bottle of water from the fridge and shook his head no.
“I’m good. Go sit and relax for a bit because I plan on working you hard later.”
He smirked, making her laugh. Whatever she’d done to this man, she had no intentions of ever turning it off.
She sat down, and as soon as she did, Duke began to growl at her. “What is it? Did I take your spot?”
Wolf whipped around to face them, and as he did, all the blood drained from his face. Before she could even ask what was wrong, he pulled the knife he kept at his waist and threw it at her. She watched the blade spin through the air. Regaining her senses from the initial shock, she ducked toward Duke and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The knife landed with a thud.
She spun around to see if the blade was intended for someone else or if Wolf had lost his mind. As soon as her eyes found the knife, she screamed and leaped over Duke to get away from the large snake that was now skewered by its head to the wall. The forked tongue hung out of a cottonmouth snake.
“Oh my god,” she stumbled back as Wolf wrapped his arms around her.
“Are you okay?” He looked her all over and made her turn in a circle for him. She was shaking but nodded her head.
“How did that get in here?”
Wolf shrugged.
“Under a door or small hole in the floor. They can get into smaller places than you’d think.” Wolf walked forward and gave Duke a pat on the head. “Good boy.”
Maeve shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, unable to tear her eyes away from one of the most venomous snakes in the world. That thing was inches away from her head. She would’ve been dead for sure if it had bitten her in the neck.
Wolf reached forward and wrapped his hand around the neck of the snake before pulling the knife free. Holding the dead reptile up, she didn’t like that it was almost as long as Wolf was tall.
“I’m going to dispose of this. I’ll be right back.”
Maeve began bouncing her eyes around the space. Every dark corner of the place felt dangerous now. She’d spent years in the desert but had never ever been that close to a snake. She covered her mouth as a fit of giggles consumed her.
“What’s so funny,” Wolf asked as he walked back inside.
“I was thinking about how my non-warrior side was just showing.” She laughed again as she pictured what she must have looked like crawling over a dog to get away from the snake.
“We all have that thing that will make us freak out and lose our mind.” Wolf walked over and pushed her unruly hair away from her face.
“Oh yeah, and what’s your thing?” She smiled as she teased him, but his face grew serious as he searched hers.
“You.” He hesitated, and his voice was clogged with emotion as he continued to speak. “If something happened to you, that would be my breaking point.”
Maeve didn’t know what to say. Her throat closed up as he lowered his head and kissed her like she was his whole world. It wasn’t until this moment when he said he loved her that she understood and felt it right down to her bones. There was something so comforting and terrifying about that. It was like she didn’t believe that someone could love another that much, but as she searched her own heart, she knew she’d be the same way.
Breaking the kiss, Wolf locked eyes with her. He kissed the tip of her nose, something she found endearing. He looked over his shoulder at Duke, who was passed out on the floor with his eyes closed.
“Well, I guess you have your answer about what he’ll do when he senses danger.”
