RILEY'S POV
I had been pacing around my room.
Back and forth. Back and forth. The furs worn thin under my boots. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My chest wouldn't stop aching.
I needed to know Kael was fine.
All of a sudden I cared. After ruining everything. I ruined it all. I changed everything he worked for. Just to imprison him. With little or no plan.
What was I thinking?
Calling him my mate.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I wasn't thinking.
I stopped pacing. Looked at the door. At the camp outside. At the cell where they were healing him.
I walked.
---
The healers' tent was crowded. Wolves in leather aprons. Bowls of bloody water. The sharp sting of herbs and silver.
And him.
Kael lay on a cot in the center. Shirtless. Bandages wrapped around his chest, his arms, his ribs. Fresh pink lines where silver had carved into his skin. His face was still swollen. His lip still split. But they'd cleaned the blood. Stitched the worst wounds. He was breathing easier than before.
