Free Bending Steele by Sadie Hart Page B

bedroom. Nothing.
Relief sank down into his bones and Hexe wanted nothing more than
to strip out of these snow covered clothes and get warm again.
    But one glance back towards his front door
and it stopped him cold. The carnage there brought a dangerous
growl to his lips. A chair was knocked over, wood splintered over
the floor. Blood spotted the hardwood in his doorway. Snow had
blown in and lay in piles, half hiding the evidence of the
struggle, but a table lay smashed. The picture of his parents was
in the middle of the hall.
    She’d fought the killer here before she’d
fled.
    “He didn’t get what he wanted,” Steele said
softly. “In the end, she didn’t give him that.”
    Hexe lifted one hand to rake it through his
hair and froze. His hand trembled. Shit. Steele stepped up beside
him and he startled, the muscles in his back tensing. Readying for
a fight, but she just caught his shaking hand in hers and held it.
Held him, until he stopped trembling.
    “You cool?”
    He blew out a soft breath and nodded. “Yeah.
Just...”
    He waved at the empty room. They’d been in
his house. In his territory. And he’d failed her. “She’s dead and
he’s still out there.”
    “Hopefully freezing to death himself.” But
even as she said it, Steele looked at the front door, her jaw
tense. She didn’t like cowering inside any more than he did. She
wanted to be out there hunting down the man who’d attacked
them.
    And so did he.
     
    ***
     
    Steele slumped down onto the couch across
from the fire. Hexe had a nice flame going now, but it didn’t seem
to ward off the chill that lingered through the house. Exhausted,
Steele lay her head back against the luscious cushions and closed
her eyes, the only sounds in the house the crackle of the nearby
fire and the steady thrum of Hexe’s breathing. In and out.
Calming.
    They’d both changed out of their frozen
clothes, she’d borrowed some of Hexe’s stuff. It felt weird wearing
his scent, but she wasn’t going to complain. They were dry and
warm. And more importantly, she could still fight in them if the
killer came back.
    “You okay?” His deep voice rumbled through
the small cabin, drawing a skating shiver down her spine.
    The floor creaked under his weight and Steele
blew out a harsh breath. No. She wasn’t okay. She didn’t like not
knowing if that man was dead or alive. She wanted him dead, his
blood on her hands. Her teeth ground together and she shook her
head.
    “No.” Her gaze to cut to his. Hexe leaned
against the counter, arms folded over his chest as he watched her.
She could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his muscles
flexed in his arms as if he had to hold himself back. A low growl
rippled out of him.
    Obviously he didn’t like being caged in here
by the storm either.
    “How long do you think it’ll last?” she said
with a tilt of her head towards the door.
    Hexe shook his head and shrugged. “You would
know better than me. Normally I don’t care. I have enough food
stored in the cellar out back to last me a few weeks and I’d keep
myself busy.”
    His jaw flexed.
    This was a version of the man she hadn’t seen
before. She’d seen the ruthless King when he’d been with the tribe,
she’d seen the soft man when he’d been trying to lure her trust…but
this was different. The man standing in the room with her now was
both of those combined. The King in him wanted to protect his
people, wanted to be out there hunting. He cared, and that
compassion lent him a ruthless, lethal edge that stalked his gaze
now.
    Caring didn’t make him weak, at least now. It
made him all the more dangerous.
    Steele leaned back against the couch and
watched him. His inner struggle played out over his face, a dark
storm raging in those green-gold eyes.
    “You cared about her,” Steele said. Hexe
started to shake his head and Steele snorted. “Don’t bullshit me.
It’s driving you nuts that she died.”
    “I was her King. This bastard is striking on
my