Page 107 of His Wild Mate

She stared at me in shock. “It's not nice. Did you hear what I said? I killed one of Thomas's wolves. Now he must kill me. That's why I should have run away. I don't want you there when he does it.”

“Was it self-defense?” he asked her.

“What?”

“Did he or did he not kidnap you, injure you, and hold you against your will?”

“Yes, but . . .”

“No but, Paige. I'm not going to kill you for defending yourself. You didn't even shift. You could have ripped his throat out and I would still call it justifiable. I will not punish you for it. We have it well documented that he was stalking you and threatened you and your mate.”

She started to sob. It tore my heart to watch her.

“Trust me, I would deserve it.”

Thomas wasn't the only one in the room now. Everyone had crammed in. It was standing room only.

“What do you mean? That's ridiculous. You don't deserve that. You deserve a medal for taking that dumbass out. He didn’t deserve to live for what he did to you, to us,” I insisted.

“He wasn't my first stalker,” she admitted. “He wasn't my first death. Esme called me a siren who lured men to their deaths. She wasn't wrong, Emmett. I've killed so many that I’ve lost count. It doesn't happen with every single male, but too often. They become obsessed with me and won't stop until I kill them.”

Her cold words sent a shiver down my spine.

“Do you always kill in human form?” Linc asked.

“No. This was a first.”

He and Walker shared a look.

“What?” I asked.

“It's just there are a couple of random killings suspected of wolves that also had unknown female DNA at the scenes. The humans call her . . .”

“The Wolf Killer,” she whispered.

Linc grinned. “Is that you, Paige?”

Slowly she nodded.

“Seriously?” Walker asked. “We've been monitoring your cases for years.”

I had an uneasy feeling settling into my chest.

“She can't help it. You all saw how obsessed that dumbass became with her.”

“He was mild. Harmless really,” she admitted. “Some of the others were far worse. When I was thirteen, my parents tried to mate me off to a man old enough to be my father. He had an unhealthy obsession with me. I tried to run away, but he kept pursuing me. This lasted for months before he finally cornered me. He was my first victim. I tried to return to my Pack, but when they found out what I'd done, I was ordered to be put to death, so I ran. I've been running ever since. I don't encourage them. I don’t want that kind of attention from anyone, well, except Emmett,” she admitted, blushing furiously.

“We have to report this back to headquarters,” Walker said.

“I know. I've been unaccountable for my actions for far too long.”

“Trust me when I say we deal with a hell of lot worse out there than a cursed witch acting in self-defense.”

“Do you plan to complete your bond with Emmett once I lift my Alpha order?” Thomas asked her.

I held my breath awaiting her response.

“No. I can't do that to him. Why would I mate him when I know I'm going to be punished.”

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