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The request was simple enough. Daphne didn’t work at the dining hall anymore because Giselle was healthy again. As far as I knew, Gabriel had yet to find Daphne another job.
I realized that clearly Daphne didn’t want to be useless to the sleuth but she didn’t want to say her concern out loud, lest she draw attention to the fact that she wasn’t working. Though I would personally have had words with anyone who dared call her a freeloader. I was sure Gabriel would find something for her to do soon.
In the meantime I saw no reason to deny her request. She would have something to do if she went hunting with us, and I would be able to keep my mate close to my side. I saw only benefits from agreeing to this arrangement.
“Sure, you can come with us.”
Daphne smiled. “Thank you.”
We all undressed, not wanting to destroy our clothes – an occurrence that was common these days with Victor’s sudden attacks and the quick shifts we had to do. I blocked the view of my mate from the other men; Daphne chuckled, seeing my stormy expression.
“What’s so funny?” I asked in an annoyed tone.
Daphne touched my furrowed brows. “We’re all shifters here. Nudity isn’t that big of a deal. Besides, it’s only for a moment.”
“It matters to me.” I knew I was acting grumpy, but so be it. I didn’t want the others to see my mate naked.
I gave the others orders about which side of our territory to go to. For safety reasons we didn’t hunt alone anymore. Everyone had to stay with two others. Running into Victor’s goons at our borders these days was too likely to happen. I didn’t want our people to die just because they were alone during the hunt.
I decided Daphne would stay with me and Jaime. We shifted into our animal forms and ran out of the village through the gate the guards opened for us.
Running as a bear was exhilarating. The bushes rustled as I brushed against them. The birds of paradise flew above our heads. I felt free, unbound by human problems. I loved this feeling. I glanced to my side to see my mate, a smaller bear running next to me. The sight made me even happier. We were hunting together. I wasn’t alone now, I had my mate close.
I noticed, however, that Daphne still favored her right front foot. In human form she had her arm bandaged. She didn’t heal anywhere as quickly as a full bear shifter did but, on a hunt, whether she was completely healed or not didn’t matter as much. She still moved around with grace and swiftness.
At least I thought her injury would be of no consequence, until I heard a growl coming from our right. Daphne stopped and turned her head towards the sound – just then, a big bear jumped out of the bushes and sank his teeth into her right front leg.
Daphne whined in pain. Even if her injured leg weren’t the one being attacked, a bear’s bite was still painful.
Her cry was all I needed for the red haze to overwhelm me. My mate was in danger. I needed to kill every enemy that was after my woman.
I threw myself at the bear who had attacked her and noticed two others emerge from the bushes. I growled at Daphne to remain behind me. She hung her head low, submitting to my command. Jaime moved in close to me, and together we attacked the three animals who had to be Victor’s goons.
We weren’t even close to the border. What in the world was the meaning of this assault? What were they doing so deep into our territory?
But the answers to these questions mattered little right now. I swung my claws and bit into their hides until I killed two of them. The fight was bloody, and I cared little about my own pain. Mauled by my onslaught, their bodies fell into pools of blood. I turned to see Jaime finishing off the third.
I growled at Jaime that he should look around for more attackers. He responded and ran off in the direction from where those three bears seemed to have come.
I shifted back to human form and ran up to Daphne. Seeing me as a human, she decided to change back as well.
I took a good look at her injury. The wound on her arm had opened up and was seeping blood.
“Fuck,” I cursed. “Damn it.”
Daphne chuckled, but her voice broke. She seemed terrified.
Wait, was she scared of me? I searched her face. She didn’t seem to shy away from my touch but I had just gone berserk in front of her. I had mauled those two bears into bloody pulp. I hadn’t pulled my punches. I hadn’t-
“Whatever you’re thinking right now – stop,” Daphne said in a soothing tone.
“But… you just saw me be so brutal. Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
Daphne shook her head. “You only did that to protect me. I was in danger and you’re my mate, so of course you jumped into defense mode.”
I bit my lip and looked away. I had to tell her the truth. “That may be why I did it this time, but this isn’t the first time bloodlust has overtaken me. Every time I feel threatened, my thirst for combat is so overwhelming… I’ve even attacked people of my own sleuth before. I had reasons, but still… that’s not how an Alpha should behave.”
Daphne looked at me curiously. “I always thought you were someone with a good grip on your emotions.”
