Page 41 of Into the Night

Ben leans back against the railing and folds his arms across his broad chest, shaking his head slowly. “I never thought so. John was getting worried about it the older Kali got. Said when she was getting close to her first heat, people would start getting antsy. But other than some half-hearted attempts at dating humans, Kali mostly kept to herself. Never gave anyone a reason to think she was about to settle down and start a family.”

I can barely swallow around the lump of panic forming in my throat.

“You’ll have to forgive me, I found out about this later in life.” I purposely gloss over that later in life was exactly two days ago. “You mean heat as in… fertility?”

Ben tilts his head, looking up from under his dark, wavy hair, and twists his lips into a wry smirk.

“You’re a bit old to be learning about the birds and the bees from me, but yes, that’s what I mean. They don’t have a problem with Kali, per se, because the prophecy isn’t about her. They have a problem with her having kids.”

Focusing on keeping my breath steady and my emotions shoved way down inside me, I ask the question I’m not sure I’m ready to hear the answer to. “And what brings on the heat? Age?”

Please say her age.

My beast’s silence tells me he already knows the answer, and it’s not that. I felt his primal desire to see her belly round with pups. He wanted to fill her with his seed and…

“Nope.” Ben pushes off the railing and clamps a hand on my shoulder. “Finding a mate. Once her beast picks the one, her body gets ready for making babies. It’s only a matter of time.”

Shit. And like a fool, I was up there claiming her as mine to all the hateful, small-minded idiots in her hometown.

Groaning, I drag my palms down my face. I have to tell him. I can’t keep us being mates a secret from Ben if it could impact Kali’s safety.

“We might have a problem then. Because… I’m pretty sure Jed and his buddies know she’s mine.”

24

KALI

The pitter patter of rain against glass and corrugated steel filters through my foggy brain. Tugging my blankets under my chin, I wrap them tighter around me against the sharp chill in the air and moan in pleasure as a hint of Griffin’s heady, masculine scent fills my nose and floods my senses.

My heart skips a beat. He’s here.

With a smile on my face, I stretch out a hand and run it along the space beside me, expecting him to be there, but the covers beside me are cold and empty. It’s a cruel trick of my imagination. I’m not at home in my own bed, with my mate. I’m all alone.

Disappointed, I pull my arm back. The sharp pain when I move too fast jolts me back to reality, and I twist to the side, trying to force my swollen eyes open.

Immediately, my limited field of vision is filled by the blurry vision of a dark and broody beast, watching.

His chin rests on his paws as he stares at me from across the room. He doesn't move, only the slight narrowing of his eyes gives any indication that he’s even noticed I’m awake.

“Still not feeling chatty?”

One ear twitches, but other than that, he continues to watch.

Bracing myself for the pain, I shift onto my side. Spots of darkness appear at the edges of my vision, and I grit my teeth, stubbornly trying to get one elbow underneath me so I can sit up.

With an angry snarl, the beast is on his feet immediately, looming over me, pressing his broad snout into the middle of chest. He forces me flat onto my back again, a warning rumbling deep in his chest.

“I wasn’t trying to escape, I just want to know where I am.” With a furious glare, I smack down his nose and then groan in pain, knowing that definitely hurt me more than him.

Moving is not a good idea, and hitting my captor probably isn’t either, but I figure since I’m already dead, I may as well find out as much about what’s going on as I can. Sucking in a few steadying breaths, I struggle to sit upright and blink hard, reaching out with all my functioning senses to take in my surroundings.

“Why bring me to this place?” I mutter to myself, knowing full well that the beast lurking once more in the shadows won’t be answering me any time soon. He doesn’t need to, and now, I know why.

This is the hunting cabin. One of John’s favourite remote hideouts. Even if I could escape, it’s too far for me to make it back to town on my own.

I’m trapped.

Lifting the blankets, I run my fingers over my arms and legs, wincing when I feel the myriad of bandages criss-crossing my limbs.

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