“Don’t,” Saxon cautioned.
Elyse gazed between the two of them; she was missing something here. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” Saxon assured her as he continued to rub her frozen extremities. He wasn’t ready to tell her she was his mate; he was hoping she would come to trust him and care for him before he made such a revelation. She might be more willing to join him if she had feelings for him.
Elyse didn’t believe him. Something had passed between the two of them, but she had secrets of her own, so she decided to drop it and let them have theirs.
“Oh, by the way,” Lucien said, “nice pants.”
Saxon gave him the finger.
Chapter Twenty-One
Saxon carriedElyse into the motel room he’d spent one night in before discovering her. He set her on the faded yellow bedspread covering the mattress. She tossed aside the blanket and rose as Lucien followed them into the room. Though Saxon knew Lucien wouldn’t harm her, he kept himself between the two of them.
Elyse glanced around the room with its dark, paneled walls, scarred wooden bureau, and TV stand. The TV on the stand was small but newer than anything else in the room, including the mini fridge next to the TV stand. A Formica table with a single chair sat beside the open bathroom door. It was old, but the room smelled clean, and she didn’t see a speck of dust anywhere.
“Where are your shoes?” Lucien asked her.
“I don’t have any,” she said.
Lucien didn’t get a chance to reply before three more men filed through the door. Despite her resolve not to back down anymore, unease churned in her belly as the men filled the room with their large bodies and powerful presences. The room was far too small for all of them, and were they all vamps? Would she ever break free of this screwed-up world? Probably not, she realized and almost sank onto the bed again.
She resisted edging behind Saxon as the one with auburn hair turned and closed the door. The click of it sounded so final that the hair on her nape rose. She’d been freezing, but now she felt stifled and unable to breathe in the cramped confines. What would they do with her or to her if they learned the truth?
“Elyse,” Saxon said, “this is Asher and Logan; they’re hunters. And this is Declan; he’s a vampire like me.”
“She knows about us?” Logan asked.
Elyse studied the man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties. His light brown hair was cut short, and his pine green eyes were filled with distrust as they studied her.
“She was living with Savages.” Lucien smiled, but he didn’t look amused.
“What?” Asher asked as he ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “Why?”
“It wasn’t by choice,” she said.
“Then why?” Lucien asked.
“They were holding her prisoner in the cabin Kadence led us to,” Saxon said.
“Who’s Kadence?” Elyse asked as unexpected jealousy knotted in her chest.
Saxon rested his hand on her shoulder when he heard the tension in her voice. “A friend.”
“Why were the Savages keepingyou?” Lucien inquired.
Elyse shifted uncomfortably as all their eyes bored into her, but she kept her lips together.
“Saxon?” Declan inquired.
“I don’t know why,” Saxon admitted.
Elyse kept her chin up as she met each of their wary stares. Her gaze lingered on Declan as the vamp surveyed her. His eyes, so pure a gray they were silver, didn’t convey the hostility of the others. Instead, he looked curious and a little amused.
“She won’t tell you?” Lucien demanded.
“Sheis righthere,” Elyse said and kicked herself as she recalled he could break her neck with a flick of his wrist. “And no, I won’t tell him.”
