Page 86 of Owning His Mate

Slowly, I walk over to Hester. I don’t think she will do anything to me, but I keep a hold on my power, just in case I need to defend myself.

Her eyes follow me as I crouch down in front of her, and I can tell she’s rattled. “What happened?”

I can sense her magic, and it calls to me. My head may not trust her, but my power does. Unsurprising, considering she was once part of our coven—technically, she still is. It was Hester who showed us how to control our gift and how to work together to harness our combined strength. For that reason, we owe it to her to at least hear her out.

“We have to take down the Order as a united front.”

“The Order that is led by your brother,” Wyatt notes.

“The one you never thought to tell anyone existed,” Sawyer adds.

They are not wrong, but I wish everyone would shut up for a second so we can get the truth.

Hester sighs. “I thought keeping a distance from my brother was the best thing to do. Build my safe place, don’t bother him, and he wouldn’t bother me, but I was wrong. He’s never going to stop trying to destroy me.” Her gaze moves to me and to the other females in our coven. “I… I’m scared.”

I know it breaks her to admit that, and her pride must have taken a beating coming here, but the fact that she is also tells me it’s the truth.

“Tell us everything you know,” Cade says. “And we’ll consider it.”

She lifts her gaze. “If I give you everything, what guarantee do I have that you won’t just kill me?”

“I guess you’ll just have to trust us,” Sawyer answers with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “That’s not a nice feeling, is it?”

“What do you think having this information will do? What do you think it’ll fix? Do you think it will enable you to defeat him? It won’t. My brother is driven by something you can never understand. He hates hybrids, Sawyer, and yet he’s put that hateand all the years of hunting us down aside to carry out whatever this insane breeding plan of his is.”

“What do I think it’ll fix?” His eyes are shiny with menace. “Nothing. There’s no putting the horse back in the barn. All we’re doing now is trying to survive and for some reason you don’t seem to want to help us with that.”

“I do,” Hester counters. “I just…” Her eyes squeeze shut, and I can feel the pain radiating from her. “It’s hard to talk about it.”

“Then why are you here?” This question comes from Jackson and he is pissed. “If you don’t want to explain what you know, then coming here makes zero sense. You can’t sit this one out, Hester. You’re either in or you’re out, and I don’t trust you to have our backs.”

“I understand that, and I’ll be the first to admit I’ve handled things badly, but you have to understand… what Isaw.”

“And what was that?”

Her gaze moves from him to lock on me. The shiver that works up my spine is ice cold. “I saw you, Apryle, and I saw what you’re going to do.”

Chapter 22

Kye

My blood freezes in my veins at her words, and her tone has me stepping in front of my mate. I don’t give a single fuck about what she thinks Apryle is going to do or what she saw in her…vision. I care even less about who she is or who she’s related to because if this female tries to hurt my mate, I will tear her throat out with my bare hands. My wolf agrees. He likes this female even less than I do, which is saying something.

Luckily for her, she doesn’t make any sudden movements, and so my homicidal urges are held back—for the moment, at least. I do bare my teeth, though, letting her know what will happen if she tries anything.

“What do you mean?” Apryle demands, trying to step around me, but I don’t allow her.

Her frustration ripples through the bond as I grip her wrist tight. I know I’m being overbearing, and that my mate will push back, but protecting Apryle overrides her desires in this moment.

“I don’t… I don’t want to scare you, but Apryle, you need to leave.”

“The compound?” This question comes from Halle, but I’m not focused on her. My gaze is zeroed in on the current threat to my family.

“The country. You have to run. Hide.”

“Why?” Apryle demands. “What did you see, Hester?”

“It doesn’t matter what she saw,” I snarl out the words. “You’re not leaving.”

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