Chapter 115
Six and a Half Years Ago
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The satehouse was barely more than a converted hunting cabin tucked into the edge of the preserve far enough Silverclaw territory to avoid suspicion, but close enough that I could keep watch without losing sleep
h from
thadn’t planned on bringing her here. Hell, I hadn’t planned on finding her at all. One moment, I was on patrol, watching a group of rogue women pick their way through the trees–wary but bot hostile. ind the next, my entire world shifted
She turned toward me, and everything else disappeared. The second our eyes met, I felt it. So did she. The bond hit hard and fast,
ancient and undeniable.
I didn’t know her name. I didn’t know why she was with them. But anew she was mine. And walking away wasn’t an option
Her name was Mia
At lealt, that’s what she’d told me. Her voice was quiet when she said it, like she wasn’t even sure it belonged to her.
She hadn’t asked where we were going when I walked her to my truck. She hadn’t asked again when I parked in front of the
cabin
Bart now, sitting cross–legged on the edge of the cot, she looked at me like she was still deciding whether or not I was a threat
“Here,” I said, handing her a folded pile of clothes. A hoodie and sweatpants from my emergency stash. They’d swallow her whole, but they were clean. “They’ll be big, but they’re warm.
She hesitated then took them. “Thank you.”
“Talso brought food.” I held out the takeout container. I’d grabbed the first hot thing I could find. Chicken and rice from a roadside diner, “It’s not great, but ”
Her stomach growled audibly. Her cheeks flushed, and she grabbed the container with a muttered, “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” I sat down across from her on the opposite wall, elbows on my knees. She picked at the food, cautious but hungry.
It wasn’t until she rolled up her sleeve to reach for the water bottle that I saw the wound on her arm…
It wasn’t fresh, but it hadn’t healed properly either–half–wrapped in a fraying strip of gauze, crusted with dried blood.
“Let me see that,” I said, rising to my feet.
She hesitated, eyeing me.
‘m not going to hurt you,” I added
“I know,” she said quietly, “I just… I’m not used to people offering”
That sat heavy in my chest.
I fetched the first aid kit and sat beside her, gently reaching for her arm. “This might sting.” I murmured, unwrapping the
She flinched when I touched her, but didn’t pull away. Just clenched her jaw and looked off to the side. “This is the worst first date I’ve ever been on,” she muttered under her breath.
hutted a laugh. “This is a date?”
“Hey, you brought food and medical care.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Low bar ”
Chapter 115
I shook my head, but didn’t argue. My lingers moved slower after at Softer. Her skin was warmer than I expected
Wehrwelt heat. Fragile, But alive.
When I was done, I reached for the wrap to the off the new bandage, but something shifted in the air between us.
She was watching me.
And I was watching her.
I forced myself to look away, rising to give her space. But before could step back, her hand caught mine.
I stilled
“Why?” she asked.
Tlooked at her. “Why what?”
“Why are you helping me?” Her voice didn’t accuse–it just wanted to understand. “You don’t even
My heart pounded once, hard.
“You’re my mate,” I said. “I couldn’t leave you there ”
Her lips parted. Something unreadable flashed in her eyes. Fear, maybe. Or hope.
know me.
She didn’t say anything else. Just pulled my hand a little closer. The heat of her fingers soaked into my skin like sunlight.
And then I kissed her.
It wasn’t planned. Wasn’t perfect.
It was tentative. Breathless. The kind of kiss that started as a question are you real?-and ended as an answer.
She kissed me back like she’d been holding her breath for years. Like I was the first breath she’d taken in a long, long time.
My hands found her waist. Hers threaded through my hair. She trembled, and I pulled her closer.
We didn’t rush. There was no room for urgency here just this aching need to be close. To feel.
The bond flared, hot and sure, like a current running beneath my skin. She inhaled lustily and the voltage increased.
Then her hands were everywhere, pulling at my shirt, tugging it up and over my head. I wasted no time returning the favor.
It had been a while since I had made love to anyone, but my fingers came alive with sense memory, skimming the soft planes of her body in hungry strokes, wanting to feel everything, taste everything
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