Boots stepped into her line of vision, and then she was in Lukin’s arms. He didn’t say anything, but he was tense, and the scent of the animal’s blood that covered them both had her nearly retching.
“Our sweet mate, are you okay?”
She nodded and rested her head on his chest. “I’ll be okay.”
“Fuck, Minka, I shouldn’t have taken you out of the cave, and not without telling my brothers.” He sounded angry, and she knew it was because he was upset with himself.
“It wasn’t your fault, and you did protect me, Lukin.”
He curled his hands into her body and kissed the top of her head. “We will get you healed as soon as we have you back in the cave.” He held her tighter, and his voice had gone deadly hard. “But my brothers are going to kick my ass, and rightly so.”
She knew everything would be okay, but what would Brawn and Thorque say when they realized what happened? She was just as much to blame as Lukin. Minka had willingly left the cave, but she knew she had never been in any real danger, and aside from her head and cut palms, Lukin protected her from the real threat.
9
They arrived at the cave, and Lukin kept her in his arms as he moved through the tunnels. Aside from her head hurting and her palms being scraped up, she was okay. But Lukin refused to allow her to walk, and she would be lying if she didn’t admit that she liked being in his arms.
They entered the main part of the cave, and she instantly saw Brawn and Thorque. They stood side by side, dressed in their leathers and boots, fierce and angry expressions on their faces.
“What the fuck, Lukin,” Brawn growled out and moved forward.
“Wait, it was my fault for leaving too.” She shifted in Lukin’s arms until he set her down and then took a step toward Brawn. He was staring at Lukin, and his rage was tangible. “Please, it wasn’t his fault. He was leaving to get more water, and I asked to go with him to get out and see what my new home was like. I wanted to leave. It was nice, up until....” She shrugged.
“You’re hurt,” Thorque said and moved closer to her. He grabbed her hands and looked at them, then looked at her head. When he touched the back of it, she winced. “Let me get you something to heal them.” He was gone and moving toward the cooking area to grab a few vials off of a ledge.
Brawn took another step, and she held her hand out, placing it on his warm chest.
“I understand why you’re mad—”
“Do you?” Brawn clipped out the word, his anger evident. “If he would have let us know, we could have gone together. It is even more dangerous during the night, and we would have not wanted you out there with only Lukin to watch over you.”
“I can watch over our mate just as well as the two of you.” Lukin sounded enraged. “She fell, and I took care of the Hellion that came after us.”
“There was a fucking Hellion that came after you?” Brawn was positively shaking now, and she moved back an inch.
Thorque had her in his arms and was leading her into the sleeping chamber seconds later. When she was sitting down, she heard flesh hitting flesh, of things breaking, and of the clear fight she should stop.
“No, you’re not going out there when they need to get this out,” Thorque said determinedly. “He shouldn’t have taken you out in the first place, and especially not without letting us know. You are all of ours, Minka.” He grabbed a hide rag and poured some of the gel in one vial on it.
When he grabbed her hand and placed the rag on it, the pain instantly vanished. He held it there for a few seconds, then placed it on the other one. She looked at her palms once he removed the hide and was amazed that the open cuts were now sealed.
“That’s amazing.” The sound of something else crashing in the other room prompted her to stand. “What if they kill each other?”
“I assure you they will not, but they need to get this out or they will be huffing and growling until they do.” He handed her the vial. “Drink, and it’ll heal the wounds from the inside out.”
She grabbed the small black piece of rock, removed the wax-like lid, and then took the substance. It didn’t taste like anything, but warmth filled her as it traveled down her throat. The pain in her head might have faded, but she was left with the memories of that horrid beast.
Brawn and Lukin were out there right now fighting over this situation that she put herself in, and she didn’t want that, but she didn’t know them well enough to understand why they did the things they did. They were a species that was strong and feared by many, so it was only natural, she supposed, that they needed violence to ease their energy.