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.
Quinn nods. “Ronan and I will go into town first thing tomorrow for supplies. Text us a list of what your mate needs, and we’ll get it. In addition, we’ll find out where this asshole lives and scope out his surroundings. Even without his surname, he shouldn’t be difficult to find.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your support.”
Sylas growls. “You know you have more than our support, Navin. Even though it’s been years since any of us have witnessed a man finding his mate, we’re not so far removed that we don’t recall what it’s like. Before we broke off from the larger pride, I was around when my older brother met his mate. Suffice to say, we understand your devotion to her, and we will help you get the revenge she deserves.”
I nod. There’s no need to reiterate my appreciation. They all know that if any of them ever need me for a similar problem, I will be there in a heartbeat.
Sensing my mate rousing, I turn my head to listen for her. My sense of hearing is much better than a human’s. I can hear her whimpering restlessly. She’s not fully awake, but she will be soon.
“Go,” Ronan says. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow when Quinn and I return from town.”
I give them another nod and hurry back into the cabin, shutting the door quietly before taking quick strides toward the bedroom. Sure enough, Brea is sitting up between the piles of pillows.
She looks like an angel as she lifts her head to meet my gaze. Her hair is tussled around her pretty face from sleeping. Her T-shirt has risen up so I can see her pink panties. The scar on her leg looks even better than it did this morning.
She lowers her gaze to her thigh as if reading my mind. “I can’t believe I’m alive, let alone that you somehow healed me with your saliva.”
I come to her and sit on the edge of the bed. Planting my hands on either side of her knees, I look closer. The scar is pink, but it’s not infected. It really is healing nicely. It will never fully go away. It will always be there as a reminder that a very bad man tried to kill her. I hate that for her. I hate that every time she looks down at her thigh, she will cringe.
“I’ll remove the stitches tomorrow,” I say softly. “Let’s give them another day to be sure the gash is healing on the inside, too.”
“It’s hard to believe you could possibly take out these stitches two days after putting them in. Unreal.”
I reach up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
