19. Chapter Nineteen

One by one, wolves left the great hall where Riaz and a handful of pack members remained. Cortana lingered, stricken by the same agony that shrouded the room. A pulsating thread connected her to Riaz, his unending misery a knife in her gut.

Somewhere, deep within, her soul had recognized his.

She didn't question how she keyed into his emotions, focusing instead on how to help him. The savage growl that prickled through the air when the healers attempted to see to his wounds demonstrated just how deeply Riaz had been affected by Benny's death.

Her feet were moving before she'd even formed the thought. Cortana didn't stop until she stood before him, her fingers cinching around his.

Vaguely, she was aware that Ava had intercepted Renata on her way to Riaz, but Cortana's attention fully centered on the alpha male. She'd seen him give of himself to the pack, soothing and embracing, responding to crisis, and calming down their extreme emotions and panic for hours.

Now, Riaz looked like a blank slate wiped clean of emotion, staring down at her with no expectation. No words were exchanged as she studied the broken wolf that peered through his eyes.

It undid her.

Neither consciously decided they'd leave together, but when she found herself outside of Riaz's quarters, there was no hesitation before entering through the creaking door.

Covered in crimson red blood, the wolf she'd accompanied into his personal territory stripped out of his soiled shirt, the saturated material falling to the floor. Gasping, Cortana realized the extent of his injuries in the next moment.

Gashes carved deeply into his torso, jagged wounds that wept blood with every movement. Bite marks left puncture wounds, deep and raw, along both arms. She glanced around the room to find something to ease the pain.

Riaz, seeing her concern, merely tugged on a sweatshirt. His hand found hers in the next instant, and in place of words, she tightened her fingers around his and tugged him to the bed.

Decadently soft, falling into his bed was like climbing into a cloud. Though she tried to be conscious of his wounds, no sounds of pain or discomfort escaped him. The wolf caged her in his embrace, the heat from his core enveloping her in a protective layer. Nothing had ever felt so right.

When she laid her head on his chest, he blinked down at her as if trying to discern if she was real or not. Tentatively, she stroked the rugged line of his jaw, the barest of flinches shuddering through him.

Blazing orange eyes shut the next instant, as though he were savoring her touch. A treacherous thrumming of desire tickled through her, and she could see it mirrored in the man opposite her. Dark eyebrows drew together, a line forming between them when he looked at her once more. The vulnerability in his features broke her.

Before she could think better of it, she touched her lips to his mouth, softly at first. Each tender kiss was both a question and an answer, a building tie that cinched them together. Inhaling deeply, Cortana's blood heated at the pull of his proximity, an unnerving need that drove her onward. Arching into him, she deepened the kiss, moving past timidity as he followed her headlong into passion.

Unable to withstand the lure, Riaz gave in to her demands, clutching her against him as though he'd die if he didn't. Falling together into the wild, the sorrow fell away, forgotten in the haze of a craving neither could suppress.

Neither took their encounter further. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Cortana fell into the sleep of her kind, tangled with Riaz beneath the blankets.

***

She awoke alone, surrounded by the tangled bedding. Ensconced among the fluff, she gradually adjusted to the environment in which she found herself. Potent, the heady tang of Riaz's blood underscored the cedar aroma the clung to his sheets, and she had the wildest desire to pull them close and inhale until she'd had her fill of the marvelous aroma.

The smile that teased on her lips fell when she remembered the tragedy of the previous night.

How had Benny become rabid? The question consumed her, weighing on her mind like a thousand-pound anvil. She'd seen him only an hour before he'd succumbed, lingering on the fringes of Riaz's briefing of the scout's mission. When Riaz ran to him at the edges of pack territory, he'd been frothing at the mouth and unresponsive, clearly having been shot.

As her mind combed through the possibilities, a clanking of keys sounded against the wooden door of the apartment, the creaking of its hinges announcing entry. Instantly, Cortana took stock of her surroundings.

Where she lay in Riaz's bed, the open entrance of his bedroom led into a larger living area, black couches framing a laughably large television on the opposite wall. She'd caught sight of an office or den just off the living quarters, and there was a small kitchen across the space—but it was too far away to reach anything of use.

Inside the room, the bloody sweatshirt Riaz had worn last night lingered on a bench, forgotten. A bathroom was to her right, a towel thrown over the top of the shower wall that she was certain hadn't been there last night. No trace of humidity heated the air; Riaz clearly had showered and left his quarters ages ago.

Heat bloomed in her gut as she thought about what that entailed, but her mind shut down the sensuous thoughts as the door slammed shut in the living room.

In the two seconds it took for the intruder to enter Riaz's bedroom, Cortana was already on her feet, waiting silently for the other woman.

Renata.

Renata's flawless features took on a darker look as she regarded Cortana with unconcealed hatred. Fangs lengthening in her mouth, she could feel her heart accelerating. Her eyes frosted blue in warning, and Cortana didn't give the she-wolf a chance to speak.

"Do you commonly invade Riaz's bedroom when uninvited?"

A vicious smile parted Renata's lips. "Oh, I could ask you the same thing, vampire. Taking advantage of my alpha when he isn't in a place to fend off your charm is low, even for you, scum."

"Riaz needed a friend last night, Renata, not a leech," she countered, nails biting into her palms. "And really, ‘scum'? Is that the best you can do?"

Teeth bared, Renata moved closer, standing across the clearly slept-in bed. "I know what you're doing, vampire, don't think you can get away with it. I won't let you and your malicious poison sink into my man."

"Green really isn't your color, she-wolf. Why are you so threatened by me?"

"I'm no more threatened of you than a mountain lion is of a mouse," she scoffed.

"Then why did you feel the need to come over here and mark your territory?" Cortana infused her tone with all the humor she felt over the ridiculous situation. How she wished she had her daggers.

"I'm just reminding you of your place, vampire. Mine is by Riaz's side. While he may be temporarily using you to sate his physical needs, you'll be tossed out with the trash in good time. I have no doubt."

Cortana smirked. "Whatever you need to tell yourself to fall asleep at night. Alone. In your own bed."

The guttural growl that left the other woman had Cortana's neck prickling with warning, but she couldn't halt the words.

"Run along, pup," Cortana said. "I'm going to shower in Riaz's bathroom, then roll around in his sheets a few more times just to make sure he knows who's claimed him."

Eyes wide and enraged, Cortana had no doubt that the other predator would've went for the throat in the next minute, but a custom chime from Renata's cell phone beckoned her attention first.

The malicious smile that came over her breathtaking features turned smug. "That would be Riaz asking for my presence. I'll see to him from here on out, Fang Tart."

Cortana was left alone in Riaz's quarters in the next breath, an uneasy feeling sweeping through her limbs. Bitter jealousy was a pit in her stomach, the biting stab of confusion pulling her eyebrows together.

Had she truly been fighting with another woman for a spot at Riaz's side? Jealousy swelled in the wake of his text to Renata, so she couldn't truly deny it. If her goal was to maintain her—albeit faltering—professionalism among the wolves, even sleeping in his quarters last night hadn't been wise.

There'd never been a question about it, once it was clear how much he needed her support. Neither she nor Riaz had voiced their desires, but the truth of it was that this was his space, and she'd stayed of her own intent.

Shaking her head to clear the murky thoughts, she glanced at his bathroom. While the spiteful voice within urged her to make good on her promise to shower here, her logical mind thought better. Gathering what little she'd had on her when she arrived in his bedroom, she exited, stage left.