Page 53 of Owning His Mate

“You did what you had to. Don’t ever feel bad for protecting yourself from those who are trying to hurt you.”

“I don’t feel a single moment of regret for ending their lives, Kye. I’m upset that they pushed me to do it.”

His mouth pulls into a dark snarl of disgust.

“They call us the animals, and yet they are the ones hurting children and innocents.”

My fingers trail over the blood spots covering his chest. I should be horrified that we had sex while he was wearing the blood of others, but it only serves to remind me that I now have someone in my life that would risk it all to keep me safe.

A lot of someones.

The others put their lives in danger as well to pull us out of that place.

“We’re not animals. We’re just trying to survive.”

“How did you?” he asks, and I blow out a breath as memories of that day assault me. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he adds quickly, but I shake my head.

“I’m not ashamed of my past, Kye, and you’re my mate. I want you to know these things about me.” I peer up at the ceiling for a moment before I give him my attention again. “I’ve killed multiple times to protect myself. First were my old pack.”

I swallow hard around the lump in my throat. That time had been one of the worst in my life. I was so scared every minuteof the day, terrified that I would be discovered and that hunters would come for me.

“Hester was the one who saved me.” I will never forget when she used her magic to protect me from the Order’s soldiers. “I hate that she betrayed us the way she did, because I owe her everything.”

“Do you want me to kill her for you?” I think he’s joking, but when I look at his face and see the seriousness of his expression, I realize he’s not.

“Are you always so willing to kill without knowing what happened?” I tease.

He scoffs. “Of course. I see a problem, I neutralize it, the problem is gone.”

I frown. “Hester isn’t a problem. She’s… she’s scared.” I rub at my neck, trying to shake off the ugly feeling spreading through me. “I want to hate her for what she did, but I can’t.”

“Do you want to tell me about her?”

I do, but that’s a whole story and right now we’re in a good space. “I will, but not now,” I promise. “I’m not worried about Hester. I’m more concerned about the supporters of Revna. How many other organizations are out there, trying to harm our kind?”

I have so many questions, and I hate not having any of the answers, but that seems to be a constant thing. We are always ten steps behind and completely in the dark.

“These people are crazy, Apryle. They don’t need a reason to do what they do. Don’t waste your energy worrying about it.”

He’s wrong. This is all connected somehow. “Do you think Savannah’s blood is different too? Is that why they were keeping her there? What were they doing?”

He grabs my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. My heart is pounding a frantic beat beneath my ribs as fear I don’t understand consumes me.

“We’ll stop anyone who tries to get in our way.”

“We can’t beat our enemies if we don’t understand what their motives are,” I say.

He presses his mouth to mine, and for a moment, I stop worrying about the Order and hybrids and the war that we are fighting. I just get lost in him.

When we pull apart, he rests his forehead against mine, his eyes closed, his big hand cupping the side of my face. “We’ll figure it out. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we’re getting closer, Apryle. They can’t hide what they’re doing forever.”

I know he’s right, that logically what he’s saying makes perfect sense, but everything still feels like it’s spinning out of control. There is no way for us to avoid what is coming, and yet we are so unprepared there will be casualties.

“Why are all these crazy people obsessed with us?”

I close my eyes. I wish life was simpler, that we were just two mates coming together under normal circumstances. That we had a future to look forward to.

He pulls me against his side, impatient with me sitting so far away from him, and I go willingly. “I have to admit, I prefer you like this,” he says.

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