Read Online Coveted by Stacey Brutger - Free Book Online

him
step-for-step, but ended up stumbling over the craggy surface, nearly taking a
tumble. Aiden reached out to steady her, not even giving her a glance, as if he
knew her exact position. Then he quickly dropped her arm as if disgusted by her
ungainliness.
    Not wanting to be
more of a burden, Shayla reached for the strap of her satchel. “I can carry it.”
    Aiden just nudged her
forward. “I can manage.”
    Shayla cocked her head
at his gruff tone, a little taken aback at the rage that hovered around him. No
matter what she did, it only made it worse.
    “My phone! Do you
still have it?” She bit back a groan, feeling like an idiot for not asking sooner.
    She swore she heard
his teeth grind at her question.
    He hunched his
shoulders, refusing to even look at her. “I dropped it in the struggle.”
    And any thought of
rescue slowly faded.
    He sounded so furious
that Shayla clamped her mouth shut to keep from asking more. He marched ahead,
a slight limp to his gait, and her brows furrowed in consternation. “Did that
dog bite you?”
    Aiden clenched his fists,
cursing his weakness. He could not allow her to doubt his ability to keep her
safe.
    The past few months
of inactivity made him slow.
    Made healing sluggish.
    The only way to
reverse the affects would be to shift. Impossible to do so while in her
presence unless he wanted her to run. He was so focused on listening to her
breathe, reassured by her light steps behind him, that his foot landed wrong
and he went down on one knee.
    Agony shot up his
injured leg.
    Aiden gritted his
teeth, mortified at the simple misstep. When he tried to rise, his arms shook
under his weight. Neither of them could go on like this. No matter how much it
pained him to admit it, how much he wanted to deny it, he was worthless to her
in his current condition.
    He had to keep her
safe and that meant getting rid of the threat. For that, he needed a
distraction, a way to keep her busy and out of harm’s way while he dealt with
the problem.
    “Are you all right?”
    “Fine.” He brushed
away her hands when she reached for him, nearly shoving her off her feet. Heat
spread up his face, his humiliation complete. When he stretched out his arm to steady
her, she flinched. Shame tightened his shoulders, and he turned away.
    She was a human, damn
it.
    So why did it matter
that she thought him an oafish boor?
    “You’ll be able to
move faster without me. Head north. Follow the path. We are at the perimeter of
my land. The hounds won’t venture beyond the border.” Werewolves were the
bigger predators. The scent of so many wolves would stop the search dead in its
tracks. “The patrols will find you. Tell them I sent you.”
    Shayla was already
shaking her head. “You can’t ask me to leave you in the middle of nowhere.
You’re injured.”
    “My men will come
back for me.” He peered into the darkness, unable to look her in the eye as he abandoned
her. Without her near, he’d be able to loop back and stop those who wanted to
harm her.
    His wolf whiffled in
agreement.
    He heard her rise and
tensed.
    She slowly circled,
her dainty shoes coming into view when she stopped in front of him. He followed
the curvy line of her legs, past her lush hips, the nip in her waist up to the
gorgeous set of—
    “Eyes up here,
mister.”
    Aiden blinked and
snapped his head up. A wave of heat flashed through him at being caught gawking
like an awkward teenager. The blush on her face eased his discomfort, and the
corner of his lips curled, ridiculously pleased to know that he had the same
effect on her.
    Then he frowned.
    Flirting when he
should be formulating a plan to keep her safe.
    His wolf’s tale thumped
once in playfulness, before he went back to healing the damage his body had
sustained as best he could with what limited energy that remained. All the
restlessness of being imprisoned should have left him a raging beast. He’d
expected his wolf to burst out of his skin at the first opportunity,