KERES POV
A kick to the throat woke me up.
Not a metaphor.
My mate’s foot connected with my windpipe like she had trained it personally for murder, and I came awake choking, blinking into the dark, with my face somewhere dangerously close to the promised land and my dignity dead on arrival.
Typical.
Perse slept like a feral little starfish when she was exhausted.
A lethal one.
I coughed once, silently, because the room was still dark and warm and full of sleeping wolves, then wrapped my hand around her ankle and moved her foot away from my neck.
Gently.
Mostly because I liked breathing.
Also because I liked her feet exactly where they currently were.
Near my face.
Between my hands.
Attached to thighs I had a very healthy, very spiritual relationship with.
I shifted lower on t
