The Cowgirl Rogue

Chapter 24

After a few more hours of fighting each other, the order started to fade, and Brickson was slowly starting to slow down his attacks while his eyes started to turn back to their normal color.

I kept my guard up and dodged most of the attacks he sent my way while giving him a few more blows that he easily blocked.

Sweat, dirt, and blood covered us both, and there was no clean spot on our bodies except for those that were covered by our clothes.

And even then, those spots weren't that clean because there were times when we were able to get the other on their back and drag them a bit before we were able to get up and get back into the fight.

Finally, Brickson took a deep breath and shuddered while he backed away from me, and I stopped mid attack and made sure that he wasn't able to grab my arm and use it against me.

"Well?" I asked when he took another deep breath and released it while he slowly started to relax. I made sure that I was still ready to defend myself, but I didn't attack him again.

Brickson didn't respond and placed his hands on his legs. "Ow," he finally said while he tried to catch his breath. "Holy fuck."

I narrowed my eyes but relaxed a little more. I was also breathing heavily, but I wasn't breathing as heavily as him, especially since I had done this before not too long ago.

My mate wiped his brow and looked at me to see that I wasn't standing like him nor did I have my guard down. "Are you ok?" he asked, and I shrugged and pressed my lips into a thin line.

He scowled and narrowed his eyes when I didn't answer. "I am serious, Kel," he said coldly. "Are you ok? Did I hurt you badly?"

"It's not something that I am not used to," I replied and slowly lowered my guard. I didn't show any pain while I looked at my mate, my breathing slowly becoming even and not as labored. "What about you?"

Brickson scowled and narrowed his eyes further while he waited for me to answer, and I stayed unfazed and slowly blinked.

Finally, my mate sighed and shook his head before he cleared his throat. "I think it might be best for me to get back to my pack," he said. He hesitated and shifted on his feet. "Can I see you later?" he asked almost hesitantly, and I raised my eyebrow in question. "Please?"

"I will be at the stable to take Aimu back to this pack in a couple of hours," I replied. "I will see you then if you are able to get away from him. If not, then we'll work something out."

Brickson pressed his lips into a thin line, and I could tell that he did not like that idea. "Aren't you here to do the weekend event?" he asked and raised an eyebrow while he looked at me through narrowed eyes.

I shrugged but grimaced. "I was going to, but I don't think that I will," I replied honestly. "I have work that I hadn't planned, so it's best for me to have my horse here instead of at your stables."

"Bu-"

I shook my head no, and he sighed and nodded because he knew that I would not change my mind. "I don't want him to be in the way of everyone else," I said. "He also won't let anyone deal with him instead of me."

Brickson pressed his lips into a thinner line before he slowly nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to change my mind.

Finally, he bit back a small yawn and cleared his throat while he shifted on his feet, his wolf slowly starting to heal his wounds. "Do you think you can let me know before you head out?" he asked, and I nodded.

"I will," I said before I cleared my throat and put my hands behind my back. "Get some rest and shower. I'll see you in a couple of hours at the barn."

Brickson nodded before he looked towards the pack and then at me. Worry and guilt filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he wanted to know everything about the girl that I protected from him. "The girl?" he asked and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"She'll be safe," I replied. "I am not sure that you should know what is going to happen to her because I don't know if you'll have to tell the Alpha or not. I am not sure if the Alpha will ask about her or not, but he doesn't need to know about her or what I did with her."

Brickson pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He cleared his throat and moved a hand through his hair. "Should... we get some sleep before we meet?" he asked, and I could tell that he was tired.

I was about to shake my head but stopped when I looked at him. "Get some sleep," I said, not talking about myself. "I will get Aimu and then we can meet up later. I do want to get the little girl settled and see if I can't find something about her family."

"But you need sleep, too," he said and gave me a pointed look, and I shrugged and grimaced, acting indifferent.

I knew that I needed sleep, my wolf grumbling about wanting it, but we both knew that we couldn't get it just yet. There was too much to do before we could, and most of it had to deal with the little girl that Brickson had by her throat.

"I know," I replied. "I will get some sleep later. I want to make sure that everything is fine before I do."

"And if it isn't?" Brickson asked and raised an eyebrow.

I smirked and dipped my chin to my chest while I stared at him, and my wolf growled and pushed a little forwards so that he could see my wolf's eyes. "Then I guess that means I won't get any sleep," I replied, "at least not until you are safe and out of his control."

Brickson shook his head and a small smile appeared on his face. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to change my mind, so he wasn't going to do it. "Then don't die, Miss Rice," he said with a small hum in his voice. "That is all that I am asking from you."

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there to watch his back.

"I won't," I hummed as soon as he was out of earshot. "But that doesn't mean I will be fully capable of doing everything that I need to do without the chance of dying over the back of my head."

And with that, I started to walk back to my cabin in the pack, praying that the Moon Goddess would keep him safe.

I wasn't sure what I'd do if he died, but I knew that it wouldn't be pretty.