Page 38 of Owning His Mate

Find our mate,my wolf growls in my head.

I bend over my arm, which I wrap around my middle as a wheeze escapes my mouth. All I want to do is lie down, but knowing Apryle is close by keeps me going. I can’t connect with her again, and that scares the hell out of me.

I exit through another door, but this room is also empty. Still, my gaze is instantly drawn to a large window overlooking another room.

My heart clenches so tightly, I see stars for a moment. There is a gurney in the middle of the room, raised high up, and my mate is bound to it. Her arms and feet are captured in thick leather bands that come from under the mattress.

Her movements are sluggish and her eyes heavy. Anger builds inside me, threatening to flow over as a woman steps up to the bed in a white coat. I notice the syringe in her hand, and as a man steps into view, holding Apryle’s shoulders down, white hot rage floods my veins like a tidal wave.

My pain and exhaustion are forgotten as I launch the nearest object I can find through the glass. It happens to be a fancy-looking fucking computer, but I don’t care.

I expect screams of terror, but instead the woman glances up at me before she moves closer to Apryle’s side.

She’s not leaving this room alive.

Considering the state I’m in, it’s a lofty threat, but it’s something I intend to see through.

First I have to deal with the wolf snapping his teeth at me, though. He’s not vargr, but he’s not entirely wolf either. I’m not sure what he is, and I don’t care.

He touched Apryle. He tried to hurt her, and for that he’s going to suffer.

I’m filled with the strength of a thousand vargr wolves as I attack him. My mate’s whimpers fuel the fire burning inside me as I land my first punch. It’s a brutal hit, one that snaps his head to the side so hard his neck crunches. I don’t give him time to respond as I slam my fist into his jaw again.

I’m getting the upper hand, fighting with everything I have, until a sharp pain explodes through my side. Agony spreads outthrough my chest and stomach and down my legs. I go down onto one knee, unable to bear my own weight any longer.

My attacker doesn’t give me even a second of reprieve to try to defend myself. He hits me with a second charge, pain spreading through my body again as my vision blackens.

My wolf roars, and so do I, throwing my head back as my chest tightens so much that I can hardly breathe. I need to do something here and fast, or I’m going to lose this fight. It takes all of my strength, all of my discipline to block out the pain in my body, but I draw my fist back and slam it so hard into his chest, I feel his ribs and his sternum cave in beneath my touch. There is a satisfying moment when blood sprays out of his mouth and his eyes are filled with fear as bloodied spiderwebs spread through his irises.

I don’t stop to see him drop to the ground as I stalk closer to the table and my mate. The female is scared. I can smell her fear even if her expression remains blank. I admire her bravery, but it won’t save her.

I take a step toward my mate, and the female presses the needle against Apryle’s throat. My feet come to a stuttering stop.

“Take another step and I’ll end her.”

I grind my molars together, envisaging her throat torn out. My wolf growls, peeling back his lips from his teeth and urging me to give him control. I resist the pull of the shift and instead lower my gaze to meet Apryle’s. My heart clenches so tight I’m not sure how I don’t suffocate on the spot. She’s trying desperately to focus on me, but her glassy expression tells me she’s struggling.

“Kye…” She whispers my name, and it feels as if she’s cleaving my chest in two. The pain of my injuries pales in comparison to how I feel in this moment. I have never been so helpless, and I hate it.

There is no way in hell I am letting us die in this room or in this…place. It doesn’t matter in this moment that I don’t have a plan to save us. I’ll figure it out somehow, but either way, Apryle and I are leaving together.

I’m getting us out of here,I tell her through our bond, sending waves of reassurance between us.

Drugged…The word reverberates through my mind, and with it my rage prepares to explode like a volcanic eruption.

I return my attention to the human in the lab coat, trying to figure out how I’m going to kill her. I wish I had time to dissect her piece by piece for what she has done, but I’ll settle for a quick death. I need to get us both out of here.

“Nobody needs to die,” the female says as if she’s read my homicidal thoughts. There is a distinct tremble vibrating through her voice, and that makes me and my wolf happy. I hope her last moments are terrifying.

“I’d forget whatever notion you have of a peaceful resolution to this if I were you.”

Her smile is thin at my threat, but it’s not an empty one. “What makes you think you’re going to have any say in what happens here? You’re in my domain now, little wolf.” She hisses those last words with so much savagery, but it’s an act. I can smell her fear. She didn’t expect to face off with a vargr, not like this, and the dead body behind us is messy enough to give her nightmares.

“She’s not your creepy little science project. You let us leave and I won’t destroy every member of your stupid little cult.”

“Again, what makes you think you’re in control? I have soldiers?—”

“Then where are they?” I interrupt. “If you have them, bring them here. I’m not afraid of your little robots.” When no one bursts into the room, I snort. “We’re leaving. Try to stop us andI’ll rip your body apart until not even your mama can identify you.”

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