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"Eleven?" I say. "We left at eleven. That's almost twenty-four hours."

"It's eleven Russian time. Remember, we've crossed several time zones."

"So we're at your home?"

"Not quite yet," he responds. "We're in Khabarovsk. It's the last major city before we fly closer to the Amur River. From here, we'll need to take a helicopter."

My stomach lurches. I've already been traveling a great deal, "I don't know if I'm up for a helicopter ride." The plane ride was luxurious, as if the rich don't have to pay for their trips with turbulence, but a helicopter will be different.

He tilts his head. "Have you ever ridden in one?"

I just shake my head, twisting the sheet back and forth.

"Well, it's not a very long trip. We'll be there in under an hour."

"An hour? I don't know. Is there another way to get there? Can we take a Jeep? An SUV? A moped?"

He grins, and it changes his face. It's the first time his dictator face melts into a smile, and the man is gorgeous. Oh my god, those dimples are peeking from the edge of his beard, again. My mate is gorgeous, I tell my cougar.

Our mate, she corrects me.

I sigh. Sorry.

"A helicopter is the best way," he says. "I don't know how familiar you are with this part of the world, but our home is in the Sikhote-Alin mountains, near Mount Ko. The mountain rises more than two thousand meters, and between here and there, it's a lot of trees and forests, rivers, across land that hasn't been developed. The area can be..."

He trails off before finishing with, "Untamed."

"And since we're also right now at war with a rival bear Bratva, we need to get you there as safely as possible."

I didn't know Russia looked like this. I walk closer to the window and peer out, and sure enough, in the distance, now that my eyes have adjusted to the dark, I can see the outline of mountains, tall trees that look like, I don't know, pine trees of some sort. "I always picture Russia as what you see of St. Petersburg Square or Moscow, the onion-domed buildings and colorful lights."

He shrugs. "Those are for the city dwellers, mainly humans. But for those of us who still adhere to the old ways, those of us with the gift of shifting, we prefer to be in the land our families have roamed for years. For centuries. Where our tigers can run freely."

"And are there bears also roaming freely?"

A little of the light in his eyes goes dark. "Unfortunately. But they are actively campaigning for us to end that." He straightens. "I just came in to give you a heads-up. Get dressed. Gather your things. We leave in five minutes."

"And are my choices still the same? I come, or you throw me over your shoulder again?"

"You liked it."

I open my mouth to refuse, deny.

"It's okay, little mate. I liked it too. Maybe that is the only way we should travel. You over my shoulder, my nose next to your pussy. I like that. I'd like that a lot, my little omega," he says.

He ducks back out the door, while I rethink throwing a pillow at his head. It wouldn't do much, but a girl's got to try. Besides, how else do I get rid of the image of wrapping myself around his neck and feeding him my cat?

My legs are a little unsteady when I take my first step out of the helicopter. It could be because he's watching me, but I blame it on the ride. This one did get a little bumpy, but thankfully the trip went swiftly.

I attempt to step down the stairs, but when my legs shake again, he's on me. Of course he is. He snatches me up into his arms after leaping the three steps up to grab me. Damn tigers.

"I'm okay," I say, but my hands are already wrapping around his shoulders, and his arms are under my knees as he takes me the rest of the way down. "You don't have to carry me everywhere we go."

"Why not?" he says. "I like taking care of you."

Why not, indeed? I want to live in his scent. I want to climb inside of him and wrap it around me like a blanket, rolling over and over in it. I suppress a purr, and of course my slick floods between us. Even through my skirt, I'm sure he notices.

His brothers wait at the bottom of the steps, and I peek at them over his burly shoulder. They're equally big and half as terrifying, which is still scary as hell.