Page 27 of Cruel Mate

“Where is he?” Christian demanded. “Where is he? Don’t try and lie to me. I can smell him on you!”

That’s when his hands moved from her arms to her throat.

This was worse than ever before. In all the years they had been together before he had left Nightstar, he had accused her multiple times of cheating, but never in their relationship had she actually been caught with another man.

Sure, Zander had only saved her life. They hadn’t actually done anything, even if she had imagined the naughtiest of things. But Christian wasn’t a level-headed man. He wouldn’t listen to reason. He wouldn’t believe her, even if she could get a single word past his hands around her throat.

“Where is he, Layla? I’ll rip him apart!”

Layla opened her mouth to try and scream but nothing came. His hands choked tighter.

“I’m right here, fucker!”

Zander appeared out of the darkness behind Christian and punched him clean across the back of his skull.

Layla sucked in a breath the moment that his hands were gone from her throat. And that’s when she started to scream, “No, Christian! Don’t! Don’t hurt him! Nothing happened.”

But Christian had already turned on Zander. The two locked eyes and Layla's stomach twisted. The look in their eyes said that neither of them would stop until one of them was dead.

“No!” Layla screamed as Christian flung himself at Zander. Shifting in midair, he caught him by the throat, and Zander’s eyes flew wide with alarm.

It would all be over soon. Layla watched helplessly, screaming at the top of her lungs as she watched the light fade from her mate’s eyes.

“Layla! Layla! Wake up!”

The shaking sensation on her shoulders wasn’t nearly so alarming as her dream, but instinctively, she sat bolt upright, fighting the arms of whoever was holding her.

“Let go of me! Get off me!” she cried out, her dream still all too real in her mind. What if she hadn’t dreamt it? What if she had blacked out at the sight of Zander dying and now Christian had come to claim her once more?

No, she couldn’t be trapped by him again. She lashed out, claws extended.

“Fuck!” the voice that growled out as the man on the edge of the bed retreated away from her most definitely wasn’t Christian’s. “Jesus, woman!”

Shit! Layla cursed silently, gripping the edges of the bed as she realized what she had done.

Zander stood before her, hand clutched to his face, blood dripping between his fingers where she had clawed him.

She flew to her feet and grabbed his hand to pull it back and take a look. “Fuck, Zander, I’m so sorry.”

At that, he smirked. It was an odd thing to do, considering he was bleeding.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, taking a step back.

“I never imagined I’d ever hear an apology from the lips of Layla Keely.”

The way he said her full name made her shiver. It wasn’t at all an awful sensation. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But it left her feeling uneasy.

Realizing she was standing entirely butt naked before him, she wrapped her arms around herself.

In true gentleman form once more, Zander leaned down and grabbed the blanket from the bed to hang around her shoulders and cover her up.

Why is he being so kind to me all of a sudden? Layla wondered, her insides still shivering. What if he was just another Christian?

“Are you alright?” Zander asked, stepping away as if he sensed she needed space.

“I think I should be the one asking you that,” Layla said, pointing at his face.

Zander shrugged and shook his head, wiping the blood from his hand on his shorts. “It’s just a scratch. It’ll be healed in a few minutes. You were screaming in your sleep.”

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