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“Lexi, where have you been?”
Her pain and fear permeate the small space. I taste the terror pulsing off her as she stares at the floor, her body trembling.
Without thinking, I go toward her, feeling the need to hold her until she’s whole again. Except, the moment my hands brush against her cold skin, she screams and flinches away.
“Don’t touch me,” she hisses, backing against the wall and giving me her back.
Well, this isn’t fucking good.
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I ignore the call, watching Lexi instead, but it starts to ring again.
“What?” I answer without looking at the screen.
“Where the hell are you?” River’s voice asks with excitement. “The girls think they can beat us in a snowball fight. We need you.”
“I’m not going to make it.” The moment I say the words, Lexi looks up at me and watches as I keep speaking. “The storm is worse up here. I can’t fly out of these mountains with the amount of ice on my wings I know I’ll get. I’ll have to try in the morning.”
“Shit,” he says. “Did you find the woman?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And what?”
There’s silence on the other end of the line for several beats before River speaks again. “Do you need to tell me something?”
“Not yet.”
“Alright, but you’ll call the moment that changes?” he asks, showing me the trust we’ve built together over the years.
“I will.”
“Be safe, Lykem.”
The call ends and I expect Lexi to turn away from me again, but she keeps my stare. “Like-him? What kind of name is that?”
Her slow pronunciation makes me smile. “A strong dragon one.”
Normally this is where I’d tell a beautiful woman it’s also pronounced “Lick-em”, but something tells me that pick-up line won’t work on this wolf shifter.
She lowers her gaze again. “I didn’t mean to freak out when you…”
“You don’t need to apologize,” I tell her. “I’m only here to help.”
“But you’re my…”
I nod. “Mate. Yes, that’s right.”
She turns for the small two-person couch behind us and takes a seat. I look around for somewhere else to sit that won’t make it seem as if I’m crowding her, but there isn’t even a dining table or bed in here. Just the threadbare couch and a small kitchenette.
Deciding it’s better to stay standing, I lean against the wall and watch her. A curtain of white-blonde hair falls around her face as she twists her fingers together, breathing slowly.
“I escaped from somewhere,” she admits. “I ran for five days before I couldn’t run anymore. I stole another shifter’s phone after…” Her cheeks go red, and I decide that’s information I don’t need. More accurately, my dragon doesn’t need to know. “I remembered the protector group from before. I found the number and tossed the phone.”
She escaped, which means she was kept against her will. I move my hands behind my back so she can’t see how tightly they’re clenched.
“Who held you captive?” I ask, knowing I won’t rest until they’re dead.
