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Another blow, and again, I didn’t blame him for it. There was nothing I could do or say to convince him otherwise, and I understood why.

“When you’re finished gorging yourself on our food after your comfortable sleep in my bed, I’d like you to get the fuck out of my territory.”

I didn’t remind him that he was the one who’d brought me here.

My clothes were folded on the chair by the bed, and I reached out and grabbed them. “I’ll leave now.” I looked back up at him. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but thank you for saving my life.”

“I saved your dog. You were just lucky enough to benefit from it.”

And there it was, the final blow to make sure I didn’t darken his door again. “Understood.”

His jaw worked for several seconds like he was battling with himself, his eyes flashing to his wolf and back. “You need to watch yourself,” he barked at me suddenly, making me jump, anger still in his voice. “The woods aren’t safe. You’re clumsy and inexperienced, and I sure as fuck won’t be there next time to save you.”

Was that concern behind the anger in his voice? “Thanks for the warning.” No, of course not. He just wanted to make sure I stayed out of his forest, that he wasn’t forced to save me again.

His expression darkened further.

I pulled on my shirt, and he didn’t look away. He watched me with those cold green eyes, impatience in every flexing muscle. He was going to personally escort me out of here.

I awkwardly shoved my jeans under the covers to pull them on, then stood and swayed to the side when I was hit with a wave of dizziness. I would have collided with the rough stone wall if Draven hadn’t moved like lightning and grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“For fuck’s sake, I said, watch yourself,” he snarled.

I looked up at him, my heart beating faster being this close to him. “I guess I still have a bit of venom pumping around in there.”

“Venom?”

“It’s this whole thing…but long story short, Mother Nature inhabited a serpent, bit me, which is how I got the new ‘ink’ on my thigh,” I said, adding air quotes. “And thanks to you, I survived, so next up is passing whatever task she has planned for me.”

His expression showed his disgust, and when I had my balance, he released me like I was the carrier of an infectious disease. “I thought it was some kind of magic that had knocked you out, not…” He scowled. “That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, agreed, the whole thing is just freaking weird. But that’s the way it’s always been.” I shoved my feet in my boots and glanced up at him.

He’d gotten closer, and, again, his nearness made my skin tingle like he’d hit me with an electric charge. Draven was impressive at any distance, but this close, he seemed a whole lot bigger. He towered over me, and then he leaned closer still, his gaze suddenly becoming all predator.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I didn’t dare move. The male was unpredictable and unstable. So we stood there like that for long, tense seconds. Me, staring into the eyes of his beast, while the beast stared right on back. Then his head dipped and he scented me. I’d seen shifters do it before, mainly Warrick to Willow, but I had no clue why Draven was doing it to me now.

“Draven?” I whispered.

His head jerked away, and his gaze flashed back to its usual green.

“What are you…”

“Move. I want you gone.”

Was that desperation I heard in his voice?

I quickly did as he said, calling for Nia as I rushed for the door, and thankfully didn’t fall on my ass. The dizziness was still there, though. I hadn’t fully recovered, and I didn’t have one of Else’s elixirs to help me. She’d made several while Willow was in the middle of this last year.

God, my family would be worried out of their minds. “Do you have my phone?”

Draven pulled it from his pocket and handed it to me. It was dead. Shit.

“You can charge it in my truck,” he said and walked ahead.

I followed him downstairs, where several of his pack mates were gathered in a massive dining room—all warriors, without doubt.

And they looked at me as if I were an unwelcome rodent.