The Wild (The Lycans 6)

“Lass?” There was clear confusion and concern in his voice.

“For something that hurts so much, I can’t believe how small it is.” When I was met with silence, I looked at Odhran. He had a confused expression on his face before finally his lips curved into a smile.

“My sweet, soft-hearted girl can find humor in darkness.” His voice was deep and tight, but his smile was still in place.

If I died right now, with the ocean air filling the room, the sound of the waves lulling me into a sense of well-being, and the feel of my mate so close, his touch so solidifying and right, I would die contently.

He adjusted the bandage, pulled my shirt back down, and covered me with the blanket. It had been so long since I had the healing properties of natural bodies of water, and I knew I’d been starved for it. I’d yearned for it. And although the water was healing, it wasn’t a miracle, wasn’t laced in magic. There was still pain, still weakness. I’d most definitely be scarred. But I’d be alive, and that was all that mattered.

“Ye’ve been in and out of it for a few days. I managed tae get some broth intae ye while ye were conscious enough tae swallow, made sure yer wound was clean, took ye out of the dirty clothes and slipped my shirt on ye.” He glanced away quickly, and I watched as his throat bobbed when he swallowed. “If ye’re worried that I was inappropriate—”

“—never.” I waited until he glanced at me before continuing. “I know you’re honorable, a gentleman.” It was my turn to squeeze his hand. “I know you’d never do anything to hurt me.”

He cleared his throat again and, dare I say… looked sheepish. I laughed softly.

“I love that sound,” he said, and my laughter faded off at the clear heat in his voice. “Nothing sounds as sweet as yer voice.”

Oh my heart.

“What next? What happens when I’m healed and we don’t have to be here?”

“I’ll take ye tae yer family home but, lass—”

“I know,” I said, cutting him off. “I know they aren’t there any longer. I can feel it in my heart, have for years. But I still want to go.”

He nodded, a fierce look on his face. “After that, we’ll journey tae Scotland.”

“What’s in Scotland?”

His eyes flashed blue, but I wasn’t afraid. I felt protected and safe, knowing his inner animal wouldn’t let anything hurt me. I could see it in his face, smell it in the air, and knew he’d rather die than feel like he betrayed me.

I stared at his face, saw the jagged scar he sported, remembered how he got it so long ago, how he’d fought so bravely and determinedly.

“Home, darlin’. Home is what’s in Scotland.”

Chapter

Twelve

Larkin

“Home, darlin’. Home is what’s in Scotland.”

“And if I want home to be somewhere else?”

He leaned in and brought his face close to mine, his lips a hairsbreadth away from my own. “Home is where ye are. Where ye go, I follow.”

I thought back to what he said two nights ago, how if I wanted to go to the ends of the earth, he’d follow, and my heart did this painful twist in my chest.

My days since that conversation had been spent resting in bed, with Odhran tending to my wound and making sure I had enough to eat and drink.

He carried me outside to the ocean in the mornings and evenings, insisting on holding me the entire time as he walked into the water and submerged us to my chest.

Never did he rush me while in the water, and I always found myself drifting off into a sort of trance as I felt it lap around me in gentle motions. I felt my strength slowly grow with each passing day.

I exhaled, thinking of my mate. Always thinking of him. He’d left the bedroom twenty minutes before, telling me he’d make me dinner, something more substantial than the broth I’d been trying to keep down.

I couldn’t help but feel a little strange at the attention he gave me, not because it was from him, but because I’d gone without an act of kindness for so long that it made me feel a little confused and uncomfortable.