“If this is going to happen, then you have to make the change and heal your arm.”
When she finally met his gaze, he saw the determination and distress in her eyes. “I’m not having this argument again. If they catch me again, I won’t let them use you against me, and if something does happen to me, you’ll be better off if the bond isn’t completed.”
“Wrong choice of words,” Declan murmured.
But he didn’t have to tell her that. She could see she’d said the wrong thing when Saxon’s eyes turned red, his nostrils flared, and his forehead furrowed in a way that reminded her of a bull about to charge. The hostility in the room ratcheted up as he stood beside her, looking as if he were about to tear this cabin apart with his bare hands.
“Easy, Saxon,” Ronan said. “We’llallkeep her safe.”
Saxon’s fingers dug into his palms until blood pooled against his flesh while he tried to calm himself. They were going to take a mortal, hismate, into what could be a nest of Savages and they were all fine with it.
His gaze fell to her cast as the memory of her scream echoed in his head. He’d been so close to her, yet he was unable to stop that bastard from harming her, and now she still bore an injury she didn’t have to bear. Her mortality made her weaker; her broken arm made her more so.
Red shaded his vision; his blood rushed through his ears as his blood pressure skyrocketed.Hismate and they were all putting her at risk. He needed to kill something; he had to change her. He needed… he needed….
His eyes traveled to her neck and the alluring pulse beating there. What did it matter if she didn’t want the bond right now?
He could make her immortal, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. He’d deal with her fury afterward, but she’d be safe and she’d behis.
“Fuck!” he exploded and spun away from her. He had to get away from her before he couldn’t stop himself from changing her.
“Saxon—”
Declan gripped her shoulder when she started to follow Saxon before abruptly releasing her. Saxon didn’t look back as he flung open the door and descended the steps. Elyse huddled deeper into her blanket as she watched him disappear around the side of the cabin.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“I didn’t meanto upset him,” she whispered.
“The incomplete bond is making him more volatile,” Ronan said.
“He’ll be okay once he calms down,” Declan murmured.
Elyse gulped as she tried not to let her distress show. She’d never seen Saxon look so out of control. She almost went after him, but she was probably the last person he wanted to see. He’d warned her that he could lose control, but she hadn’t been prepared.
She’d seen the hunger in his gaze when it latched onto her neck and sensed what he required, but she couldn’t give it to him. On this, she had to remain firm. He couldn’t go into a nest of Savages while marked as her mate.
If they caught him, what they would do to him….
“They’ll cut him into pieces and give him to me too if they know he’s my mate,” she whispered.
“Elyse.” She tore her eyes away from the open door and back to Ronan. “We won’t let that happen, and they won’t take you again.”
She nodded, but she became acutely aware that a group of large, powerful men surrounded her. And some of them would like nothing more than to see her dead. Her attention shifted to Killean who stared at her like she was some specimen he’d never seen before.
“They know I’m with you,” she said. “Or at least with some of you. Do you think they’ll expect us to come for my dad, forthem?”
“It’s a possibility,” Ronan said. “I’m hoping they don’t think you’ll be able to track them still. They know that once you receive someone’s blood, you can only track someone for a short time, don’t they?”
“Yes. They knew I required fresh blood after a few days if I was going to keep tracking someone, but my dad is different.”
“Do they know that?”
“No,” she said. “I made sure to keep it from them.”
“Good. And when was the last time you had contact with the female Savage you were tracking with your father?”
“I think it’s been about a week. It was difficult to keep track of time in the cabin, and after a while, I stopped caring.”
