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There was no containing the rumble in his chest. He was eager to see how the hunter named Carter handled being on the other end of that barbed whip. How many women who’d been held by the hunters bore scars from it? How many women were here? How many hadn’t survived for this moment? It tore at his soul, especially as the wails of some filled the air.
“They’re already starting to get some of the women out,” Jensen told him. “You can head back to your mate.”
It didn’t surprise him that Jensen had picked up on that. Fletch suspected anyone who’d been in that clearing with them had taken note of the possessive way he’d hovered over her. He knew his brother and Brock had noted his claim on her also. Hell, even Jemma had probably picked up on it. Had his mate realized before she’d passed out?
“Fletch?” Jensen asked, pulling him back into the moment.
“There are more hunters in here,” Fletch fired back. “I’m not leaving until we’ve gotten them all.”
Jensen nodded. “We need a few more to interrogate. We’ve got to find as many of these places as we can. Quickly.”
“Let’s get moving then.”
With that, Fletch headed toward the pit, glancing down to check on his brother. There was plenty of blood and carnage, not all of it from hunters. Milo had shifted back to his human skin, as well. Though he was covered in blood, Fletch could tell little to none of it actually came from Milo.
Turning away, he headed back into the thick of things, ready to weed out any hunters still lurking in the caverns. Only once the entire cavern had been explored and cleared would he be able to go find his mate again. Both he and his bear were desperate to have her in sight again.
Chapter Four
Helen woke to the cool and quiet. Not the oppressive silence that brought fear nor the cold that seeped into the bones and leached every bit of warmth from the skin. This was…comfort. A weird sensation to have since it had become alien over the past years. Peeking her eyes open, she tried to scout her surroundings from underneath her lashes. She was lying on a mattress. A real, honest to goodness mattress. It was soft, cushiony, the sheets silky against her skin. Feeling it had tears pooling in her eyes.
“You’re awake.”
Movement drew her gaze to the most beautiful male she’d ever seen. His scent filled her senses as he sat on the bed at her side.
“I… Where am I?”
“We found you in the woods. You were flown back to the Holloway den,” he told her.
She nodded. She remembered making her way out. The sun. The air. Dirt under her feet. A polar bear.
“You’ve been here for twelve days. You ran a fever for the first week. I…didn’t know if you’d make it. It was touch and go. Then the fever broke, and you still wouldn’t wake up.”
He looked rough as if he’d personally watched over her the whole time.
“You stayed with me?”
“Yes.”
He nodded toward the other side of the bed, and she noted the rumpled covers, the indent on the pillow, and the scent that lingered there. He’d slept beside her. She remembered his arms. Being held in them. Not here but in the woods after she’d escaped. He’d held her. Claimed her.
“You—”
His mouth covered hers, stealing the words from her tongue as he tangled his around hers. His hands cupped her face, gently, tenderly, as if he found her the most fragile thing in the room. Still, she felt the coiled power under his skin, the strength and ferocity of the animal he held within him. Memory filled her. He’d been there in the woods, lifting her into his arms, holding her, making her feel safe.Matewhispered through her mind. A word she’d never expected to hear. Not where she’d been. She’d expected pain from torture that would only end with the sweet embrace of death.
She reached for him, curling her palms around his shoulders as he continued to kiss her. His skin was magic, filling her with warmth, heating her from the inside out. She smoothed her hands in toward his neck, cupping her palms around so her fingers could weave through the back of his hair. He eased back, but she held tight, urging his mouth back to hers. He didn’t disappoint, and she lost herself in him. The next time he pulled back, a rumble rose from his chest, and for the first time in far too long, Helen felt something inside her. A flicker. The barest spark. There then gone.
He drew away, running his fingers along her cheek, along her collar bone then down her arm until he gripped her fingers with his.
“What’s your name?”
“Helen.”
He laughed. “Light. My light.”
“Are you…?” She paused. “I thought I saw you as a polar bear.”
“I am. My brother and I are the last of our kind as far as we know. We’ve been part of the Holloway den since we were boys. Are you part of the den? Where does your family live?”
