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“You did, huh?Come here, you rascal.”
Yasmin lifted him high and blew raspberries on his tummy to his delighted squeals.He was always his most playful in the morning.She might have missed waking him up, but she was going to get in her kisses.
“Mom!Stop!I gotta pee!”Mikey said, gasping with laughter.“We can’t be late today, we are gonna learn about rockets and the moon!”
“Ooh, that sounds awesome.Alright, go potty.We’ll make pancakes when you come out,” she said, kissing his head before releasing him to run to the bathroom.
An hour later, and she had him dressed and settled in his preschool where his teachers regaled him with all sorts of exciting things his little super brain just absorbed.She didn’t know where he got it from, certainly not her or his idiot father.But Mikey was one smart cub, and she was proud of him.
She looked down at her worn sneakers and track shorts.It was her day off, and she was going to go for a jog but what she really wanted was a run.But when in Rome, or in this case New York, she had to do what the locals did.Jogging, it was.
Imagine her surprise when her feet took er back toThe Stripe Club.It was still too early for anyone to be there, but a quick look told her Konstantin’s gunmetal gray Mercedes G-Class 650 was still there.She bit her lip, wondering if she should intrude.
Aunt Lisa was right.Yasmin was an adult, and last night might have been nothing for him, but it had meant something to her.She might not be rich or particularly beautiful, but she was a person and she believed in honesty.More than that, she needed to be honest with him.
Her Lioness chuffed in approval and Yasmin walked to the back door and put in the code to the alarm system before pushing it open.The place looked different in the morning.It was empty and the stale scent of bodies and food an alcohol lingered beneath the cleaning sprays.That was what happened after years of use, she figured and took the corridor that led to Konstantin’s office.
Yasmin paused and sniffed.Panic stuck in her throat as the familiar coppery scent reached her.She didn’t hesitate before running up the stairs.That familiar scent was blood.
Konstantin’s blood.
“Konstantin!”she called out his name, grabbing the doorknob.
When she pushed it open, she saw the lights off and no one was there.Searching for the light switch proved fruitful, Yasmin switched it on and blinked against the sudden flood of fluorescent light.
There, in the middle of the room, tied to a chair was Konstantin.He was bound, gagged, and naked.He was also unconscious with blood seeping from several wounds.Shifters could take a lot, but not even a Tiger could recover from that much blood loss.
“Hold on, baby,” she murmured and unleashed her claws using them to slice through the binds.
The chains were heavy and thick and took several swipes for her to slash through them.Hell, she even broke one of her claws in the process, but Yasmin was too panicked to care.She pulled him down, off the chair and felt for his pulse.It was thready and weak.
Oh no.No no no.NO!
“Konstantin, can you hear me?Baby please?Open your eyes!”
She ripped off her t-shirt and tried to put pressure on the worst of his wounds.But there were so many.And he was losing too much blood too fast.What was she going to do?Yasmin couldn’t let him die.
There were old stories of course.Things she’d heard when she was just a cub, about mates and biting claims.It was the stuff of Shifter legend.The same stuff that spoke of fate and destiny.Deep down, Yasmin believed.Always had.Even if he hated her afterwards, she couldn’t let him die.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered dropping a kiss on his cold lips, she saw his eyes flutter open.
“Moya,” he whispered.
She could have sworn his eyes widen with recognition.That was all the push she needed to do the impossible.Pulling on the strength of her Lioness, Yasmin felt her fangs descend.She leaned down close to his face.
“I don’t know if this will help, but I have to try.I love you,” she confessed, then tilting his head to the side Yasmin bit down on that space between his neck and shoulder.
Her Lioness roared inside the metaphysical plane where the she beast waited, claiming the Tiger as her mate with her bite.And as she sucked and swallowed his life’s essence, Yasmin poured herself into the claiming.She transferred her strength, her energy, her blood, to him.
Theirmatebondglowed and pulsed around them, like so much thread binding them tight.Then she felt Konstantin move, he sucked in air greedily and his heart began to pound and thud inside his chest.
“Moya,” he growled, tightening his arms around her with renewed strength.
Yasmin, lifted her head, lapping at the wound.She cleaned and sealed it with the help of some special enzymes in her saliva.Tears were rolling down her face and she smiled as his hands came up to cup hers.
“Mine,” he said, speaking English this time.
Then he pulled her down for a toe-curling kiss that had her heart beating like an Olympian’s.He should be too weak for this, but Konstantin showed no signs of any physical duress.
