She clings to me like she’s drowning, her fingers digging into my shoulders, her whole body trembling.I shift us slightly so I can check her over, my hands moving down her arms, her back, her legs.
“Are you hurt?”
He touched her,my bear snarls.Get their scent off her!
I focus on my mate instead of my bear for now.
Vivian shakes her head against my chest, but I don’t trust that.I tip her face up gently, scanning every inch of her.She has dirt on her cheek, fresh panic in her eyes, a red mark already rising where he must’ve grabbed her, but I don’t smell blood.Don’t see any real injury.
Thank God.
A car door slams in the distance.Then another.A few seconds later, I catch the scents of the Midnight Haven guys coming fast through the woods.
Knox gets there first, followed by Ansel and Pryce.
Knox takes one look at Vivian in my arms, then the body behind me, and nods once.“You got her?”
“I’ve got her.”
Ansel crouches in front of Vivian.“Are you hurt anywhere?Do you need me to get the doctor?”
She shakes her head again, though her lower lip trembles.“No.He grabbed me, but I don’t think… I don’t think he hurt me.”
Ansel glances at me.I know what he sees on my face because I can still feel it pulling at my bones.The rage.The need to find every last member of that cult and tear them apart with my teeth.
Pryce steps up beside the body and blows out a breath.“Well.That’s handled.”
“Pack will clean this up,” Knox says quietly.“You take her home.”
I don’t argue.There’s no world where I’ll let her out of my arms right now anyway.
Ansel reaches out and squeezes my shoulder.“We’ll take care of the rest.”
I nod, then look down at Vivian.“Can you walk?”
She clutches my arms tighter and shakes her head.That settles it.I scoop her up carefully in my arms.She immediately buries her face in my neck, and my chest caves in on itself at the trust in that movement.
Mine,my bear says more softly this time.
I look at the guys.“Call if you find anything.”
“We will,” Knox says.
Turning, I carry my mate out of the woods.
The walk back to my car feels different from every other time I’ve crossed this land.The trees, the wind, the mountain air, everything is the same, but I’m not.Something inside me still vibrates with leftover fury, with fear so sharp that it hasn’t fully left my bloodstream yet.
I set Vivian gently in the passenger seat and buckle her in.My muscles are bunched with tension as I slip behind the wheel and drive us home.
I almost lost her.
The thought keeps trying to dig its claws into me, but I shove it down every time.
Not now,I tell myself.Right now, she needs me steady.
So, I hold it together as I drive us home.
By the time we reach the cabin, Vivian’s breathing has evened out a little, but she still hasn’t fully relaxed.I park and hop out, lifting her gently and carrying her inside.Kicking the door shut behind me, I carry her straight to the couch.
