What The Fox? (Completely Free!)

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Alix's words haunted me even after we retired to our tent for the night. It was the way his cold eyes glimmered with cruelty as he threatened to "come for me," if he were in Julong's place. Would Alix make good on his promise to set me free if I should deliver the prince to him?

I didn't know the answer to that question. It was absolutely horrible being a mortal woman without any powers except her own wits. Now, Alix was sitting on the pile of pelts which made up our bed with his wounded shoulder held out from his body. He winced as he tried to roll his shoulder back.

An Alpha wolf who was so badly wounded would be easy prey to the Imperial Army if they should arrive here within the next day or two. I wonder if he knew that the odds of winning the battle were not in his favor unless he healed up with superhuman speed.

The cut was deep and I could see the raw twisted muscle fibers and white chalky bits of bone. I approached him with his waterskin and I offered to pour its contents over the wound to decontaminate it. Alix shook his head. He motioned toward his sword that laid beside the small fire at the center of our room. He wanted me to purify the wound with fire.

"You're not a faint hearted fox demoness, are you?" He joked. His bare chest, heaving pain from every movement of his shoulder, was still stained with Dead Fox's blood. I wasn't a faint hearted lady by any means, but at the same time I didn't know why he decided to task me with this particular job. Couldn't he have asked one of his new she wolf hussies? They seemed awfully eager to taste a piece of their new Alpha back in the fireside ring.

Why didn't he stick to his own kind?

Was I really supposed to believe that he had chosen me for his soulmate?

No, he must have been lying back then in the general's stable.

Yet there he was, lounging back in the bed with only a pelt to cover his bulging male organs, while he waited for me to tend his wounds.

Why would he do such a thing?

Didn't he know that if I got that close to his body with a piece of metal could just as easily bring his sword down across his throat?

He was wounded after all. He hadn't allowed his pack to see how much the wound affected him. Yet here he was, sitting on his bed, wincing with every movement. He was showing his weakness to me — the villainous fox — who had every motive to want his head on a pike.

I picked up his sword. It was impossibly heavy in my delicate human hands. I swore a little under my breathe but I managed to stick the tip into the fire. It burned red-hot at the tip and the heat radiated to my skin even though I was standing a distance away.

I dragged the sword back to the bed where Alix had laid out his wounded arm.

"Go ahead," he ordered. "I know you enjoy inflicting pain."

"Oh shut up," I snapped. "Try not to cry like the useless mongrel that you are."

With a heave of my arms, the hot blade sizzled against his mangled flesh. He didn't cry but a grunt escaped his lips. His arm trembled under the flat portion of my blade and I smelled the burned flesh even before I saw it but he didn't jerk away.

"There," I said as I finally withdrew the sword. I allowed it to the fall to the floor in one loud heap, strings of Alix's charred flesh were still hanging off of the metal tip. "All better. Now the infection won't kill you. The Imperial Army, though, they might not be so easily thwarted."

"That's a thought for tomorrow," Alix said and kicked his feet up onto the bed. He reached for me with his good arm. I didn't take his outstretched hand even though my heart ached for him. Poor boy, he was trying so hard to maintain an outward look of strength. How will he hide his wound in the eyes of his men? Wolves were not forgiving of weakness. It was unfortunate that the wound had been caused by the claws of another wolf. Had it been a common weapon, he would have healed faster.

This was the price one paid to be the Alpha. I understood their brutal practices but at the same time, I hated it.

"Come, take my hand," Alix insisted and offered his open palm to me once more. "Let's not fight together, my dear. We both need to rest."

"And why should I? Why would I want to sleep next to a filthy stinking wolf?"

"Because this wolf saved you from being poisoned tonight. Doesn't that count for anything?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Reluctantly, I placed my hand in Alix's dirt covered palm. His large hand enveloped mine with warm, passionate flesh. I felt myself stir down below, as though I wished his palms were doing more than simply embracing my hand.

He tugged me toward him. In his newfound strength, I tumbled down across his broad chest like a rag doll. My hair was a mess across his battle-torn body and I could smell the blood and charred flesh more clearly than ever.

All the same, it didn't disgust me. I was a creature born of war as any other. This was my home, and he knew it.

"Will you let me go if I fulfill my end of the bargain, Alix?" I demanded as I laid against his beating heart.

"Perhaps," Alix replied and kissed the top of my head. "Or perhaps, you will not want to leave."