Page 65 of Brutal Mate

Wolves landed on top of her almost immediately. They tore at her with tooth and claw as if they literally wanted to tear her to shreds.

It was pure agony. And though she instinctively tried to fight back, getting a few bites and scratches in, it was no use.

She was unskilled, clumsy, out of control. And with every wound inflicted, she felt her strength being sapped.

After everything that had happened, after surviving her parents, surviving meeting her grandma for the first time, surviving her first shift, surviving Kane's assholery, it was going to end like this.

When she felt the teeth clamp in the back of her neck, she knew it was over. Her vision started to blur, dimming at the edges. Death was coming. And for the first time in her life, she oddly felt…peace.

***

Miley had never been religious, but the first thing she thought when she opened her eyes was is this heaven?

It felt like heaven. The surface beneath her was soft as a cloud, and the mixed scents of fresh linen and men's cologne made her take a deep breath, sighing with relief.

There was no sky above her head, but the ceiling was a pale blue. She had seen that ceiling before only once. It had been when she had been awaiting Jack's decision, the day Christopher's men had taken her after she ran away from the manor.

Somehow, she was back in Kane's room. Not just in his room, but in his bed! And the satin sheets felt glorious on her skin as she stretched longer and harder than she had ever stretched before. Every muscle was deliciously sore.

She felt astonishingly well, considering that the last thing she remembered was the pain of what felt like a hundred bites and the taste of blood in her mouth.

The gentle sound of breathing close by made her look across the room. Sitting to her left in an armchair was none other than Kane. His head lolled to one side, his eyes closed, his lips parted. She thought she saw the slightest hint of drool dripping from his mouth, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Yeah, for an asshole, he certainly was cute.

She was just feeling the urge to throw a pillow at him to wake him when he seemed to sense her watching him.

At first, his eyes fluttered open. Then, seeing her awake, he hurried to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth and leaned forward.

“You're awake!” he exclaimed, throwing himself to his knees at the edge of the bed. “Oh, thank the great wolf gods!”

Miley cocked a brow at him. “Don't tell me werewolves are religious nuts.”

Kane growled at that and rolled his eyes. “No, but can you honestly tell me that you don't believe there could be some kind of gods out there? Up until last week you had no idea werewolves existed.”

Miley bit her tongue at that and shrugged. “I guess that's true.”

Kane smiled at that and said, “We all need someone to pray to sometimes, and the great wolf spirits were mine tonight. I thought I lost you.”

Miley was surprised when he reached out and placed his hand on her knee. Even through the satin sheets, his touch was warm and filled with electricity.

“Yeah,” Miley said, clearing her throat. “About that, what the hell happened?”

She reached up and rubbed her head, trying to remember. For the life of her, she couldn't. All she remembered was blood and pain.

“You don't remember?” Kane asked, raising a brow.

Miley shook her head. “Should I?”

He shook his own head in response. “I guess you must have hit your head as you went down. You attacking Christopher surprised everyone enough that it gave us the edge we needed to fight our way out.”

Miley smirked at him, barely able to stop herself from sticking her tongue out at him.

“And you told me to stay close and out of the way,” she practically purred with pride until he scowled at her.

“Yeah, I did. You almost got yourself killed!” he hissed, slipping onto the bed beside her. He leaned over and stroked hair back behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”

Miley gave herself a quick mental once-over, tensing her muscles. They were still deliciously sore. “I feel better than ever!”

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