Ileus, however, ignored him. His chest rumbled with a dark, ominous, low growl that Kaizan knew was meant as a warning to him to stay away from his female. 

Werewolves were ferociously territorial and Anastasia was not just his wife, she was his mate. The problem was that Anastasia had spent that one month with him and had come to rely on him. Though in a long time he had seen her… buzzing with excitement. He wanted to tell her that it was natural, but given her current state, it was better that she was given less jolts. 

Anastasia looked at Kaizan with worry in her eyes and said, "You are hurt? Why didn't you mention that to me? Show me your back." 

Kaizan stared at her with disbelief. Realization hit him about the situation Ileus had put himself in. How could he not accept Anastasia's offer? "Ah! It really hurts badly, Anastasia, but you don't have to worry," he sighed. "I will take care of myself." He could play the same game as his friend. He ignored the anger that peeled off from Ileus like wisps of shadows. 

"No way!" Anastasia retorted. She pointed to a gray rock against a canopy of trees and directed, "You sit over there and show me your back." She was feeling guilty that this man had taken such good care of her and he didn't even let her know about his injury. 

Anger flittered wildly through him, as he followed Kaizan ambling to the rock. He sat on it with leisure, facing away from her, took off his shirt and hunched in the front to show it to her. He stifled his laugh because he knew that his back was healthy and there wasn't a spot on it. Gods, how he loved to throw Ileus under the bus. A soft hand would check his skin and then he would have a hearty laugh when Anastasia would scold Ileus. He couldn't wait for the showdown. This would teach his sneaky friend a big lesson. 

However, his anticipation was short lived. He heard a gasp, a sudden movement, bristle of air and then as if some heavy object was launched on him. The next moment he found him beneath his friend. He was doubled over his thigh as Ileus sat over him and his lower back hurt as if it was  temporarily hit by a tornado. 

"This is where he was injured," said Ileus in a concerned voice, as he pressed his elbow near the lower spine of Kaizan. He dug his fingers in his back, in the flesh so deep that Kaizan winced in pain. "Come see it yourself Anastasia!" Ileus said. 

"I am not—" Kaizan protested, but was cut off by Anastasia's vicinity who was fussing over him. 

"Oh my god!" she said. "You have such a huge purple and blue patch here, Kaizan. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" 

"Patch? What patch?" he asked, baffled as hell. It wasn't there at all. 

"For the rest of the day, I will not climb on your back," she said decidedly. "I will walk if I have to but I won't burden you." 

Ileus watched his wife triumphantly. All it took was to rush to Kaizan the moment he tossed his shirt aside and punched him on the lower back. The whole thing was over before Anastasia could even blink one. When Anastasia inspected him visually, Ileus simply jumped off the rock, leaving a confused Kaizan to his own. He brushed his hands and said, "We have to be very careful with Kaizan. He is not well. In fact, we should allow him to come at his own pace." 

"But only he knows the way to the fortress," Anastasia said with thick concern. 

"We have to go southwest. It's not so big to find it," Ileus replied. "And if you feel tired, you can tell me. I will carry you." 

"And why would I ride on your back?" she asked as she huffed and turned to walk. 

Kaizan looked at Ileus with utter disbelief, as he watched the duo striding uphill. Suddenly he saw Ileus taking off his shirt and walking in front of Anastasia, flexing his shoulder muscles as to show, to exhibit them. The great shameless peacock! 

Anastasia found herself blushing at the sheer masculinity of the man in front of him. Lips parted, she was trying to look everywhere other than those muscles, that smooth skin and gods, his scent that came in wafts every time he took a step forward. Mist swirled around him like wisps of smoky veil and droplets of water clung to the taut muscles. Wasn't he feeling cold? Anastasia gulped and looked at the trees, at the sun dappled pathway and at the marshmallow clouds in the skies that played hide and seek with the sun, but her eyes would go back to the tautly muscled slopes of his arms and shoulders. Once he had turned to face her on the pretext of cutting an overhead branch and had sliced the thin branch very slowly. And she glanced at the tiny water droplets in the dark, curly hair on his chest. 

Anastasia was mortified at her own thoughts for they scattered like chaff before wind. She froze in her place as she allowed him to cut the branch. When he had sufficiently displayed his body for her to see nicely, he turned and started walking. In an hour of silence that followed, Anastasia was a bundle of nerves. The man was just too hot to handle. Why didn't she ever feel like that for Kaizan? 

When Ileus once again sliced a thin vine on her side to make way for her that was twice as broad as her, she said, "Am I so fat? Or are my hips so wide?" 

Ileus's eyes were hooded when he replied, "Your hips are as perfect as they can be. I just don't want these poisonous plants touching your skin." 

And by God, she felt heated like a thousand suns because she could see him measuring the size of her hips. Where the hell was Kaizan? She wanted to distract her thoughts to the man who was injured, but she wasn't feeling a least bit guilty for ogling at the fine specimen in front of her. Her wings rustled with tension. 

The overhead skies where only the lazy clouds drifted were now cast with dense gray. It was about to rain heavily, and if they didn't find a place to cover, they would be drenched and who knew what calamity the rains would bring. It surely slowed their pace. 

Ileus looked frantically for anything that would cover them temporarily. There was nothing, except thick canopies everywhere. Even as he was thinking on what to do next, the clouds broke with thunder and it started pouring. "Fuck!' he let out a spew of curses and then scooped her up despite protests. He darted upwards with her. He found a small crevice by a ledge of the mountain and set her over there before climbing behind her. The place was just enough for them to stand. He slid his hand around her and pressed her inside as he stood with his back facing the deluge. 

Every part of her body quivered at his touch. 

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