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. Your backisn t healed.I can feel it.Not sure you should try. There are rifles and bullets in the closet. Elijah said.Hunting for food wasn t something heliked, but he d done it before and he could do it again.He wasn t going to sit on his ass and act like aprince who never lifted a finger in his life.He meant it when he said he wasn t weak he could takecare of himself.Unless he got shot in the back with a silver bullet, it seemed. Fine.Don t wonder far, Rowan grumbled and tossed the wood into his growing pile.Elijah paused at the door.That thing in his chest squeezed, urging him closer to Rowan s side. That s sweet.Are you worried about me? Rowan balanced the axe on his shoulder and took a sharp breath.The air colored his cheeks rosy,and his auburn hair stood out like blood in the sea of white. I m willing to admit we need to worktogether to get out of this alive. Elijah shrugged. Hunters aren t the only things we need to worry about.The Butcher runs theseborderlands.I m sure the CIA has tabs on him. Rowan froze, mid swing, and slowly lowered the axe to his side.His lips pursed into a thin line. That s a good reason for us to get away as soon as possible. Elijah stared for a moment.What Rowan didn t say was, despite the snow trapping them inplace, the only escape would be through hunter infested territory or Old One territory.Either onecould get them killed.The omega didn t mention it either.They d find a way to survive he hadn tlived this long for nothing.He slipped inside to grab the gun.The rifle was ancient by his standards.But it was clean andpowerful enough to kill a deer.Elijah slung it over his shoulder, slipped a knife into his pocket, just incase, and trudged back out into the snow.His stomach gurgled for food.The wound in his back ached,coupled by Rowan s injuries.Maybe the alpha was right about it, but they needed to eat.They needed meat.Elijah got clear of the cabin, into the woods, and the chill raked up his body.The snow nearlycame to his waist.He needed to kill something big something that would feed them long enough tosurvive another couple of days.The world felt like it held still, but that wasn't the case.Things moved outside this frozenbubble.Those hunters could descend on them as soon as the snow cleared.Elijah had no idea how longthat would take in this part of Slovakia.Then he and Rowan could go back to being enemies the world s order restored.Elijah s breath caught in his throat.Those sharp things dug deeper into his heart, almost like hecould feel them clamping on it like a pair of iron jaws.His body sensed Rowan s no matter how farapart they traveled he d always know where the alpha was.They d always find each other.Which meant they d either kill each other.Ignore the sensation for the rest of their lives.Orthey d claim each other.His skin prickled at the last one.It warmed him, and he realized Rowan must ve stepped inside.He must be in front of the fire bynow, heating himself and giving part of his warmth to Elijah in turn.Even if neither of them admittedthe truth, this feeling wouldn t go away.Once bound they could never be unbound that s what theold legends said.Elijah smiled.Yue was as stubborn as he was. He found a tree with edible tips and crouched downwind in wait.From the condition of thesnow, it looked like deer fed on it regularly.He hoped they returned before long.If it weren t for Rowan s distant warmth, he probably would ve frozen a long time ago.Hedidn t have a watch, but it felt like he was out there for hours.Elijah almost turned and gave up whenhe heard the slight trudge of a body moving through the snow.The buck was young, only a year or two old by the look of his antlers.Elijah steadied the rifle onhis shoulder and let out a slow breath.He knew how to snipe, but he preferred killing up close.Doingit at a distance was so impersonal.His fingers trembled from the cold, the metal chilling them further.The buck reached for thesoft tree tips, his coat dusted with snow, and Elijah steadied himself for the kick.A far off shout broke through the silent forest.The buck perked its ears and jumped. Fuck! Elijah cried and turned.The snow slowed him, and unlike the buck, Elijah couldn t leap into the air.He cursed under hisbreath and followed the sound.He had to see what made that noise.When he got to the top of the hill he stopped.There, through the trees, stood the castle theyescaped from five days before.It swarmed with cars, expensive SUVs.The reek of silver filled the air,even with the snow billowing into Elijah s face.That far away, he couldn t make out any voices.Thewind snatched them before they reached his ears.Rowan wasn t lying they were much closer to town than he realized.Too close.Elijah s gut twisted, and he hated the fear that held him still.It reminded him of the darknessand pain that haunted his entire childhood.He didn t have to see the man s face.Elijah rememberedthat stench anywhere even in this frozen place.The Butcher was down there.He came to see how Banik got himself killed.And he brought anarmy of hunters to swarm the castle s walls.Two wolves couldn t fight that many they d never survive.His heart pounded, and his hands shook.Shit! He had to get back to the cabin and warn Rowan.As he turned to leave, another shout rang through the air.Distance didn t jumble the word thistime; Elijah heard it loud and clear. Vlk. He almost laughed.He used the same thing against Rowan, and now it bit him in the ass.Elijah tried to run.It didn t work.Even when he went back the way he came, the oversized boots made it impossible to movequickly.He d either have to sit in wait or hide.He hated the sound of both options the great Elijah Kane didn t hide.Not anymore.Silver stung his nose.Fuck!They were close.He closed his eyes and listened, for only a moment.Elijah heard three others in the vicinity.Three hunters he had to contend with while healing.Not bad odds, but he d need to shift in order tofight properly.And that meant stripping down in freezing weather beforehand.Or he could take themout with an old rifle and a hunting knife.Neither choice appealed to him.A cross bolt buzzed through the air, and he ducked.The silver burned the tip of his ear. Too close!He bent to shift, but a huge rusty wolf leapt from the trees.One of the hunters screamed, and itturned into nothing more than a gurgle.Elijah felt the heat of the blood against his fur no, that was Rowan s fur.A tree creaked over Elijah s head, and he spotted a woman in it.She gripped a cross bow, hereyes narrowed and her face covered.At least she wasn t paying attention to him.Her gaze was onRowan.He knelt, slipped another bullet in the chamber and shot.She tumbled out of the tree with an oomph, a cloud of white rising around her body.He listenedfor her heartbeat to fade, and it did.Two down and one to go.But where the hell was the bastard?The snow and cold dulled his senses.With Rowan so close, it was difficult to pay attention toanything else
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