Page 90 of Owning His Mate

He steps closer, glancing over Savannah before his eyes scan mine. Gently, he pulls my fingers away from the wound, wincing a little as he sees the damage.

“That was too close,” he rasps.

It was, and it was also my own fault. I let my guard down. I didn’t believe for a second that Hester would try to hurt me.

She didn’t tryto hurt you,Kye’s voice sounds in my head.She tried to kill you.

That’s not evenhim being dramatic. She had come at me with a knife, aiming for my heart. The reality of the situation sits on my shoulders like weights.

She tried,but she didn’t succeed, Kye, and she’s not going to.

“Is everyone okay?”Cade demands, dragging me out of my mind as his eyes bounce around us. I didn’t even think about anybody else being hurt, but I don’t see blood or injuries, so I relax.

“Fucking peachy,” his brother mutters, leaning his weight against Hester, who is no longer fighting, even though her eyes are locked on me.

A shiver trails up my spine. What did she see me do? She said I was going to kill them all—how?

“Let her go,” I say.

Kye squeezes my neck. “No.”

“Kye.”

“She just tried to kill you.”

I place my hand on his chest, releasing Savannah for a second. “I know you’re trying to protect me, but I need to know what she’s talking about. If I’m a danger to you and the others?—”

The growl that emanates from the back of his throat would be terrifying if I didn’t know he means no danger to me. He’s pissed, and I can’t blame him for that. We’ve been through a lot in such a short span of time, but if Hester knows something, if she’s seen something, I want to know what.

“Over my dead body are you leaving or going somewhere I can’t follow. I don’t care what danger she claims you are. You’re not leaving me, Apryle. I will fucking hunt you down and drag you back.”

Damn. No one has ever been that passionate about keeping me around before, and while I know I should be a little freaked out by how crazy he sounds, warmth is spreading through my stomach and the wall that was once around my heart is now a big pile of rubble and ash. I roll to my toes, pressing a kiss to his mouth, ignoring the flare of pain in my shoulder at the movement.

I feel everything he’s feeling through the bond. All his hopes, all his fears, all his ill will toward Hester for planting the seed inside my mind. He doesn’t know her the same way as we do, doesn’t know how good her visions are, and I don’t think he cares. So I pour all of my love, every emotion I feel for him into this kiss. He is the other half of me, and I don’t know how I ever tried to deny that or why. Our bond might have been decided by magic, or whatever forces there are that determine who we are meant to be with, but it doesn’t change how I feel about him. There is not a moment in my life that I would want to be without him, and yet, I would leave him behind if it meant saving him.

As if he’s picked that thought out from our bond, he rests his forehead to mine, his eyes closing before he says, “You’re not leaving me.”

“I’m not going to put you in danger, Kye.”

He shakes his head, cupping my face with his big hand. “Mates can’t survive apart for a long time, Apryle. You leaving me wouldn’t save me. It would destroy me.”

He’s right about that, and it makes me feel hopeless.

“We need to bandage your shoulder,” Roux says from the side. “You’re bleeding heavily.”

I glance down and see my shirt is soaked. My arm is buzzing as if I have the worst case of pins and needles. I let Roux push me into a chair, both Kye and Savannah staying close to me. They both tried to defend me, to protect me, and that also makes me feel loved in a way I never have before. I stroke Savannah’s hair as she glares at Hester, who is on her feet and being pushed into a chair as well. Her eyes never leave mine, and I can see the fear dancing in them.

“What did you see?” I ask as Halle places a hand over my wound.

I feel the surge of magic as her healing power infuses my body, knitting the skin together.

“You will be the one who opens the gateway that allows my mother to be free.”

My mouth dries, making it hard to swallow. The air is so cold and tense, it feels suffocating. “Because of my blood? Because I’m related to this line of witches who created the blood magic that trapped her there?”

She nods. “I don’t want to hurt you, Apryle, but my mother, for all she suffered, is not going to come back and be a savior for hybrids. My brother knows something, knows what havoc she is going to rain down. It’s why he’s building this army against her. So we can’t allow my mother her freedom, do you understand?”

I do understand, but I’m also not willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good just yet, not without more information. “So we stop it from happening,” I say. “We don’t let Revna’s supporters get my blood.”

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