Page 66 of Brutal Mate

Kane laughed at that. “That would be the werewolf healing.”

“So what actually happened?” Miley asked.

Kane grimaced at the question. “You attacked Christopher, and his pack was so concerned about losing another alpha, they all turned on you. It gave us the distraction we needed to pick a few of the weaker ones off.”

“So, what happened to Christopher?” Miley asked, bile rising in the back of her throat.

Kane shook his head. “You don't need to worry about him anymore.”

“That wasn't an answer,” Miley protested. “Is he dead?”

“All that matters is you are safe, and nobody is ever going to hurt you ever again, least of all Christopher.”

Miley glowered at him, and through gritted teeth, she growled, “Is. He. Dead?”

Kane met her gaze, and she heard the way he gulped before answering, “No. He and a large number of his pack managed to get away, but they'll never lay a finger on you again. Nobody will.”

Miley was surprised to hear the protective tone of his voice.

Breathlessly, she said, “My parents?”

“Especially your parents,” Kane growled, and she saw the determination in his gaze. “If you'll let me, I'll protect you from ever being in harm's way again.”

Miley breathed deeply, unsure she wanted to ask the next question that came to mind. “What about the… the other humans Christopher collected? He… he said something about a barn?”

Kane's gaze darkened at that.

“Christopher is hell-bent on destroying us after what we did to his brother and his pack,” Kane said, shrugging. “But it appears all he's done is strengthen us. Those who survived the shift have been offered sanctuary here in Nightstar. Those yet to turn are being looked after in the basement of the manor to be sure they don't hurt anyone or themselves. And those…”

Kane paused and looked down as if he couldn't quite bring himself to speak. Then, he gulped hard and looked up again, “Those who didn't make it will be given a proper burial.”

“What…what about their families?”

Kane's face paled.

“We'll do our best to track them down, but for obvious reasons, it's best they are just believed missing,” Kane said, growling low in his throat.

Though Miley understood, it didn't mean she liked it. Her jaw clenched at the thought of never knowing what had happened to someone she loved.

You don't need to worry about any of it,” Kane assured her.

The sheer emotion in his gaze touched Miley’s heart, and without thinking, she surged forward, grabbing him by the face to kiss him.

Then, unable to stop herself, she pulled back just enough to whisper, “Wasn't I the one who saved you?”

Kane growled low in his throat, but before he could offer any kind of protest, she kissed him again. Naked as the day she was born, she slipped out from beneath the satin sheets and onto his lap, straddling his hips as she urged him down onto the bed.

The old Miley would never in a million years have done such a thing, but the old Miley was dead. She had died the day that she was bitten. The new Miley was braver, bitchier and one hell of a dominant she-wolf. The beast inside of her was clawing at her insides, pleading with her to get to Kane's wolf.

Miley tore at his t-shirt with her fingernails until he grabbed her wrists and shoved her backwards, forcing her off him and onto her back.

She was almost disappointed until he came down on top of her, growling, “Careful, sweetheart. You've got claws now.”

It was only then she realized he was right. She hadn’t been tearing at him with her fingernails after all. Her nails had been replaced by blackened claws. She stared at them for a second. “It didn't hurt.”

Kane kissed the tip of her nose and said, “It doesn't all the time, not when your mind is preoccupied.”

“It hurt like hell before!” Miley protested, shivering when she remembered the pain of shifting.

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