The fight was brutal and primal. The snow turned crimson beneath them. The wolf writhed, screeched, but Eddie’s rage didn’t waver. She fought with purpose—love.
And that made her unstoppable.
She hurled the creature, sending it crashing against a tree. It landed hard and struggled to rise. It fled into the forest, disappearing into the white blur of the storm.
Eddie stood there with her chest heaving, her sides streaked with blood that wasn’t all hers. Her talons flexed, but the bear’s fury subsided as the new scent hit her.
Liana’s fear.
She turned toward the car. Through the slush and shattered snow, she could see movement. A brown face behind the windshield.
Liana.
Her mate.
Her heart thudded painfully.
Eddie fell down on all fours and lumbered toward the car until she reached the driver’s side.She could smell Laina’s panic. The sharp tang of adrenaline mixed with cold and tears.
Slowly, she stepped back and forced herself to calm down. Her body trembled as she shifted. Her bones ground together, and fur pulled back into flesh until she stood naked and human again. Steam rose from her skin in the frigid temperatures. She pressed a hand to the window.
“Liana,” she said. She cleared her throat. The sound of her voice was rough. “It’s me.”
Liana’s eyes were wild with shock, then relief filled them.
Eddie yanked on the frozen handle. Her muscles strained until it gave. The door flew open with a groan, and the rush of icy air hit them. Liana’s body trembled in the driver’s seat. She reached over and grabbed a bag and tossed items in it. She frantically gathered the things she’d come for. Eddie watched her and had to bite back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
“Eddie,” Liana gasped. “It was out there?—”
“I know,” Eddie said. Her voice was firm but trembled. She crouched and scooped Liana up without another word. Her skin burned against the freezing air, but she didn’t care. She couldfeel how cold Liana was. How close she’d come to real danger.
She held Liana tight to her chest. Liana buried her face against Eddie’s neck.
“I just wanted?—”
“Don’t,” Eddie interjected. Her voice was low and sharp. “Not right now.”
The wind howled louder as the snow bit at her bare skin. She turned and trudged back toward the cabin. Each step was heavy. The weight of her anger matched the storm around them.
Her mate was safe and alive.
But her fury scorched through the relief like acid. She’d nearly lost her—again.
The snow charred Eddie’s bare skin like fire, but she didn’t slow. Liana’s shivering form was clutched tightly to her chest, her heartbeat racing rapidly. Eddie’s strides ate up the distance, her breath forming thick clouds in the frozen air.
By the time the cabin came into view, its outline blurred by the storm, her legs ached and her lungs stung from the cold. The world was pure silence and white fury with only the gentle hum of the generator breaking up the monotony.
She climbed the porch steps in two strides and kicked the door open with her bare foot. Warm air hit her like a sigh of relief. Inside, she lowered Liana carefully onto the thick rug in front of the hearth.
A sense of déjà vu overtook her.
The fire had dimmed to glowing embers. She moved over to it and fed it a few logs and tried to coax the flames back to life. Within a few minutes, the fire roared and bathed the room in light and warmth.
“Eddie, I?—”
“Don’t,” Eddie rasped. She stood and watched the flames. She didn’t look at her. She couldn’t. “You could have died out there. Again.”
Silence blanketed the room.