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As the night deepened, Santee decided to keep watch. He’d wait upstairs until Marvell left the house again then follow him. He had to know the truth. If Marvell was involved with the illegal hunting, Santee would have to find a way to stop him.
How? He had no freaking clue.
Hours passed, and finally, Marvell slipped out the back door. Santee waited a few moments then quietly followed. Marvell moved swiftly through the forest, his steps light and deliberate. Santee struggled to keep up.
They arrived at a clearing, where a group of men stood around a fire. Santee’s heart sank as he recognized some of them as the hunters he’d seen earlier. Marvell approached them, his voice low and deliberate.
Santee listened in horror as Marvell negotiated a deal with them. Somehow the humans knew shifters existed, and they wanted to hunt them like they did wild animals.
“We just don’t know who’s human and who isn’t,” one guy said. “Give us names and we’ll pay you handsomely.”
“I want the money upfront,” Marvell replied.
“I still wanna know how you have this information,” another guy said.
Marvell smiled, winking at the guy. “I have my ways.”
Santee’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His own brother was selling out their kind.
Making sure no one saw or heard him, Santee eased backward, and then took off, his bunny feet carrying him away. When he made it home, Santee ran upstairs, slammed his bedroom closed, and collapsed on the bed, breathing heavily from running so fast and so far.
Should he call his parents? What could they do when they were so far away? The sheriff? Santee didn’t even know who those men were, so he couldn’t name them. If he said Marvell was involved, his brother would only lie, because Santee had no proof. Then Marvell would literally kill him for going to the cops. Or he’d give those hunters Santee’s name.
Should he tell Beckett? Did Santee want to get him involved? What if those vile hunters killed his mate for snooping around?
Santee had no idea what to do.
Sheriff Harper had come by Beckett’s house. He knew about the problem. Santee would just let him handle it. That way, Marvell would think the sheriff had found out on his own and wouldn’t kill Santee for ratting him out.
It was the only plan he could think of, but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty as hell for not telling anyone.
He curled onto his bed, wishing he’d stayed at Beckett’s. He hadn’t had a chance to get to know his mate before he’d taken off.
Now he missed the cheetah like crazy.
Chapter Three
Beckett closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath before he opened his eyes again. The room was empty, and the window was open. He walked over to the window and looked at the ground below.
Santee wasn’t there, but Beckett hadn’t expected he would be.
Spinning on his heel, he jogged downstairs, pissed that his mate had taken off. He could have talked to Beckett, told him he couldn’t stay. It wasn’t as if his mate had been a prisoner.
“What’s wrong?” Bran asked as he looked at Beckett from the couch.
“Santee took off.” Beckett headed straight for the door, but Bran jumped up and ran to block his exit.
“Hang on.” Bran held up his hands. “There has to be a reason for him leaving.”
The only reason Beckett was allowing Bran to block his way was because he not only liked the human but Hayden would skin him alive if Beckett forcefully moved Bran aside. “Your point?”
“Do you remember when I jumped out the window and used the roof of the porch to escape?”
“Yes.” Beckett and Duncan had been prowling around in the backyard in their cat forms when they’d spotted Bran making a break for it, as naked as the day he’d been born. They’d chased him down, trying to stop him from leaving until Hayden had made it outside.
“I was running because I’d just found out that Hayden was a shifter, but I was also running from my past.”
“But Santee has nothing to be afraid of,” Beckett argued. “He’s a shifter, so finding out I’m one too shouldn’t scare him.”
