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“You almost rely on someone to act decently and ultimately make the right decision.” She shook her head sadly. “We couldn’t express or speak our truth to each other. We couldn’t talk freely. To avoid alerting anyone to our communication, we had to use scents, gestures, and guesswork when we spoke.” Her voice was empty and bitter. She cleared her throat to free herself of the dry lump that had suddenly formed.
“Why were you worried they would hear you communicate?” he asked softly.
“We didn’t want to be separated because we couldn’t handle being alone. To be separated would be like losing a part of yourself that made you not a beast. On our own, all that remains is instinct, the beast, and darkness. There would be no hope and no companionship.” To be alone under those circumstances was nearly unthinkable.
“Harper,” he said, anguish evident in his voice.
Her fingers tightened around his. “Because of this, you were the perfect rescuer for us. Even though you didn’t know the faces of the people you were freeing, you still did it anyway because you knew it was wrong. Without you and Lila, where would we be? There are smaller parts to the cog that liberated us, however, the two with the biggest hearts are our major saviours, and one of them is you,” she admitted fiercely.
There was no doubt in her mind that Number’s belief in humans and their potential was due to him. He and Lila were indispensable to their survival. Without them, they would be trapped in darkness, distrusting everyone.
“You make me sound like a damn hero,” he complained, sucking his cheeks in and pressing his glass against them to cool off.
She saw his lips tilt up and his eyes soften as she spoke. “You are one.” Knocking his knee with hers, she joked, “You are a knight in shining armour.”
He chuckled. “I wish someone had told me I would have worn something sparkling and silver.” As he stroked his finger over her pulse point, he shook his head. “How come you always make me feel better about things I thought I would be moping about for months?”
Her wide smile and bright eyes grew as she teasingly replied, “Isn’t that what friends and partners do?”
Chapter 3
Nick
It was near impossible for him to contain his rage and pain when he saw his beautiful female defending him. “Yes, that’s what partners are supposed to do.”
Her eyes lit up with interest, and he swore that the fragile woman she used to be, was a thing of the past. To Nick, she was the beautiful, brilliant female she was today.
He almost laughed again as his attention was inexplicably drawn to the broken shards of glass piled up along with the blackened and rock-hard food on the tray. He doubted whether she intended to do it this way, but she succeeded in making him feel better.
“Is this why you didn’t want to see me?” she hesitantly asked.
Her chestnut hair fell forward in a wave of golden fire, covering her soulful eyes and silvery scars. The shiny strands begged him to run his fingers through them, preferably with her underneath him.
He swore he spent half his time thinking about what he would do to her.
“Yes, that’s why I kept you away,” he confessed, swallowing the thoughts that plagued him.
They were thoughts about wrapping her up so she would be safe and bloody thoughts about getting revenge on this traitor. Looking closely at the bottom of the glass, he swirled the liquid. Drinking didn’t help him to keep his mind from wandering despite his efforts.
He found the sound so sweet whenever she growled, like a kitten trying to roar. When her beast made noises, mentioning how cute she sounded would be foolish. He wouldn’t say anything to antagonise her because the last thing he wanted was to lose his balls.
“There is a good chance that whoever it was is keeping an eye on you, so they must know that we talk. Will it make much difference if we stop seeing each other?” she innocently asked.
Considering what she said, he stiffened and nearly leapt out of his chair. Would the bastard attack her if she had been seen by him?
The two of them spent a considerable amount of time together in the evenings. Nevertheless, they kept it between themselves in order to determine how far they wanted to go without others interfering.
They were likely to have been noticed by the traitor. Since his team was observant, they were the best, so the traitor must also be observant.
He groaned, rubbing his head in irritation.
She lived close to Alpha Drey, but what would happen if she were alone? Her house was on the main path rather than set back like some homes. If the traitor approached her home, she couldn’t get to Drey’s house without being seen.
Knowing the weapons his people possessed, he doubted she could survive a hit. It would only take one bullet to end her life if the traitor appeared with his gun loaded. Nick glanced at her and imagined a world without her. He imagined how he would feel if her life had ended prematurely.
His eyes bulged, his breath quickened, and he froze as a rush of fear crawled up his spine. “You have a point. You should stay here,” he said quickly and without much thought.
“What?” Her eyes were comically wide.
