AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cheered by the thought, she chewed and swallowed. “I’m Nari, by the way.”
“Magnus.” He sipped his coffee before feeding her the buttery corner of his toast.
Silence. It was a comfortable one. The birds outside had woken up and were singing to one another. The scent ofbreakfast mingled with those of the forest and that spicy, woodsy one that came from the man cradling her.
She was quite enjoying herself, though she wasn’t sure if she could say the same for her mate. She snuggled closer.
But then the forest grew silent, and the impulse fled just as quickly.
Freezing as claws of fear gripped her, Nari strained to try to hear anything else. Woodland creatures only went quiet like that when there was something that shouldn’t be there. Something threatening.
Magnus’s arms tightened around her. “What’s wrong?” He appeared to be listening to the woods too, turning his head as if he was trying to pick up any sounds from outside.
The birds started up again, and she relaxed. “Nothing.”
His body softened a little before he methodically finished feeding her a portion of his breakfast. She barely managed a third of the massive plate she’d prepared for him while he finished it off in what seemed like two bites.
He picked her up off his lap and set her on the counter to sit next to the sink as he washed up and replaced everything in the appropriate cupboards and drawers. It felt so … normal. Like they did it every day. She found that she liked the idea very much. The feeling fizzed away, however, when he turned to her and crossed his huge arms over his massive chest. The weight of his gaze pinned her to the spot.
“So, are you going to tell me why you’ve been hiding out in my woods and stealing my shit when you could have just come straight to me?”
She swallowed. “Would you believe I was testing my survival skills?”
Magnus continued to stare at her.
“I didn’t want to drag you into my troubles.”
He leaned against the counter, his arms on either side ofher, effectively caging her. It wouldn’t be hard to escape, and she instinctively knew he wasn’t trying to intimidate her. He only wanted answers.
“I’m assuming you sensed I was your mate. So why, instead of coming straight to me, did you decide to practically kill yourself in the woods?”
Was that what was bothering him?
Nari let it all come out in a rush. As if that would make it somehow easier to tell. “I was snatched when I was shopping in Seoul.”
Shock stiffened his limbs.
“Yeah. I know. Big surprise I’m not local. The next thing I know, I wake up in a crate with this collar on my neck. It keeps me from shifting and stifles most of my abilities. They held me in a camp on the other side of the woods. I overheard some conversation about how they were going to get a big payoff from some guys who were going to hunt me. Apparently, it’s this big event. Every year, it’s someone and somewhere different. Anyway, I managed to escape and hid out in the forest near here until I could figure out my next move. I noticed that they wouldn’t come anywhere near you, so I stuck close.” She looked up at him. “But can you really blame me for keeping my distance when they could hurt you for protecting me? Besides, it wasn’t like you were putting out any welcome signs.”
If possible, his face grew harder. “Where?”
She tried not to shrink back from the low growl of the word. “Where what? It doesn’t matter. I got away. I’m safe now.”
“You think you’re safe with them still out there?” He glowered at her. “Then why were you hiding?”
Nari flinched. He’d gotten her there. “They’ll forget about me soon enough.” At least she could hope they would. Then she would find a way of getting rid of the collar, take them down, and then perhaps she could figure out how to connect with her mate.
“And then they’ll take someone else for this hunt.”
That hadn’t occurred to her. She’d been so focused on her own survival and keeping him out of it that she didn’t think about the consequences for anyone else. They couldn’t be allowed to hurt any other unsuspecting shifter. What if they weren’t able to do as she had and get away?
She stared into his beautiful eyes. “Will you help me take them down? Or are you going to let me go so I can do it myself?”
Chapter Three
It would have been so easy to let her leave. He didn’t need a mate. He didn’t want a mate. It was probably the sanest thing to do but, like it or not, he was involved now. How could he, in good conscience, let her back out into danger as ill-prepared as she was?
She had barely survived before he’d caught her, and there was no telling how long she’d last if she tried to do it on her own again. Not to mention there were wolves out there after her. It was a miracle they hadn’t found her already.
