Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“You must have been scared out of your mind.”
“I was, but not as scared as I would have been if some sleazeball had purchased me and raped me. I suspected Mitchel would kill me, but I didn’t care anymore. I would rather die than be sold for sex.”
Navin cups my ass and pulls me closer, holding me tight. “I’m so fucking glad Pryce and Orion found you, Little love.”
“Me, too,” I admit. “When Mitchel stopped the car and opened the trunk, I knew I was dead. No one would ever find my body. He tossed me over his shoulder and carried me deeper into the woods before dumping me on the ground. It happened so fast. One second I was scrambling to get to my feet, the next second, he pulled out a huge knife, held me down, and stabbed me in the leg. He laughed as blood poured out of the wound. He was still laughing as he backed away, telling me how gruesome it was going to be when animals found me and tore me limb from limb. He thought it was funny that I might not bleed to death before wild animals ate me.” I lick my lips. “He even suggested I might get eaten by lions.”
Navin closes his eyes and takes deep breaths before looking at me again. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Little love. But I’m not sorry you’re here now. I’ve waited years to find a mate. It isn’t ideal that you didn’t have a say in my decision to save your life by claiming you, but I hope you can forgive me for making that selfish decision. You’re mine now. No one will ever terrorize you again.”
Chapter Eight
Navin
I watch my mate as she sleeps. She was exhausted after telling me what happened to her, and I’m still shaking with fury. It’s hard to imagine a world in which one’s own brothers would commit such a heinous crime in order to pay for a drug addiction.
Of course I will hunt down her brothers because I need to know where they are. I’m not sure what I will do with them when I find them, but I’ll cross that bridge at another time.
Right now, my focus is on Mitchel, the man who attempted to murder my mate in the woods yesterday. He’s a dead man.
I’ve texted a few of my brothers to meet me outside, and I’m aware they’ve gathered. I can sense their presence in the clearing.
My mate is safe, but I hate leaving her alone. I’ve piled pillows up on both sides of her so she won’t roll off the edge of the bed. I’ve also covered her with blankets to ensure she’s warm.
She is my world, and I back out of my room, not looking away until I have to. As soon as I finally spin around, I hurry out the front door and skip the three steps in favor of leaping off the porch.
Orion and Pryce are in the clearing. So are Quinn, Ronan, and Sylas. Half of us. The others are out managing our logging business.
“Thank you for coming,” I say to my brothers. “I’m worried about my mate’s safety.”
Orion nods. “I’m not surprised, since someone obviously left her for dead yesterday. Has she told you who it was?”
“Yes. His name is Mitchel. That’s all she knows. Judging by how long it took him to drive her up into the mountains, I’d say he lives in the nearest town. He kept her in a basement for the past several days before attempting to murder her yesterday. He’s scum of the Earth, and I intend to rid this world of his presence as soon as possible.”
“Do you think he’ll come after her?” Pryce asks.
I shake my head. “Not unless he catches wind that she’s not dead. He has to believe she died yesterday. I doubt he’ll even return to the spot where he left her because he wouldn’t believe there would be anything left to find. She would have been devoured by wild animals by now. He expected them to catch the scent of her blood and make her death very unpleasant.”
Orion winces. “Fuck.”
‘Thank heavens we found her,” Pryce mutters.
The other three stand with their hands on their hips, brows furrowed. They’re pissed. I can feel it wafting off all of them. Lion shifters don’t take kindly to anyone fucking with their mates. It doesn’t matter that I had not yet claimed her as my own when Mitchel left her for dead. I have now, and all of my pride members know it. They can scent our bond even from outside my cabin.
When a lion shifter takes a mate, everyone in the pride can scent the change. It’s powerful. In addition, the fact that I’ve claimed Brea keeps anyone else from feeling any sort of connection to her. They will be kind and protective, but none of them will be drawn to her the way I am.