Page 328 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

I drop into a crouch against the brick wall, both hands coming up to cover my face. Scarred palms pressing against exposed teeth, against exposed muscle, against everything that's wrong with me.

Hiding is all I know how to fucking do.

The sound that comes out of me is nothing I've heard before. A feral roar from somewhere so deep in my bones it feels like it's tearing loose from the fucking marrow.

I'm going to die.

I'm going to fucking die.

Chapter 69

Ivy

My mate is falling apart in my arms.

And I am calm.

Completely, perfectly fucking calm, because one of us has to be and it isn't going to be him.

"Breathe," I whisper into his scarred throat. "Just breathe. I'm right here."

My hands shake so hard they skip across his back.

Okay.

Mostly calm.

My purr rattles out of me, thin and uneven. I press my whole body against his, trying to push the vibration into him through his shirt.

"You're okay," I murmur. "You're safe. Nobody's back here."

A growl rips through him. His fingers dig harder into his face, and I catch his wrists before he can hurt himself. He jerks away from me so violently his elbow clips the brick wall.

"Hey."

His head snaps up.

Bright blue eyes lock on mine between the dark fall of his hair and his scarred hands.

I hesitate, palms raised.

"It's me," I say softly. "Just me."

His nostrils flare. He drags in one breath through his nose, then another. His eyes stay on mine, but the recognition in them keeps slipping. It's there one second, gone the next.

Shit.

I need Valek.

Wraith trusts Thane completely, but Thane is hours away. Valek is close, and terrifyingly competent. He doesn't have a car right now, but I know he'll find a way to get to me if I need him.

I know he will.

I keep one hand on Wraith's forearm and dig my phone out of my coat pocket with the other.

The screen won't fucking unlock.

My thumb skids across it. I try again, but my hand is shaking too badly to hit the numbers in the right order. The phone slips against my palm and bounces off the walkway.