Page 10 of Sasquatch's Claiming

“I must. The rules.”

She reached out and took his hand. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I have to,” Ben replied.

“Will you come back?”

He nodded and then gently kissed her hand. “I will and I’ll stay until the sun rises. By then, none of the bad beasties will be out.”

“Will I remember you?”

“Yes. There are no more spells.”

“Good.”

Ben lay back down, pulling her close so she could sleep wrapped up in his arms. It was a lot to process, but it did feelright and as she closed her eyes, she felt like that darkness that had been terrifying her for a long time wasn’t so bad.

And that she could finally rest.

3

“Where were you?”

Ben froze in his tracks as he made his way back from the portal to his cave home, high up one of the mountains near Marathon. Adam’s voice was distinct. The eldest of the seven brothers and the de facto leader of their clan since his parents passed away, but Ben was second eldest. He tried to support his brother, but now was not one of those times.

And he was not appreciative of his brother tracking him.

“Aren’t you far from home?” Ben asked.

“I am, but I came to see you,” Adam replied, and Ben knew that was a crock of shit because Adam rarely left his territory, especially now that Aoife was carrying his young.

Though really, the distance didn’t matter. Sasquatch males could easily cover long distances because they liked to have a very big area to call their own.

“Sure,” Ben snorted. “You left your pregnant mate to visit your younger brother. That’s a first.”

Adam crossed his arms. “Fine. I was tracking you. So where were you?”

“I believe that’s not your concern,” Ben replied, turning to face his brother.

“It is. You were supposed to be felling the back forty of those red pine trees that aren’t native to this forest. I went to lend you a hand and ran into Ethan. He said you were out.”

Ben was relieved that Ethan hadn’t given away his secret about where he’d gone, but he was annoyed that Adam was constantly checking up on him.

Constantly.

“I’m not a child,” Ben stated. “And I will get that back forty cleared. I needed a break.”

“A break?” Adam questioned. “You always need a break. Why do you need to go to Thunder Bay nightly? Don’t bother denying it, I know that’s where you’re going.”

“I didn’t think that this new realm had strict rules about our movements. I thought that was the point of the new government being formed. I thought we were no longer under King Tiene’s rule.”

Adam frowned. “True, but…the female.”

A low growl started in Ben’s throat. “You don’t have to remind me.”

He tried to turn and walk away, because he knew that Bernadette was off-limits and he also was keenly aware that he wasn’t following the rules at all. He didn’t give a flying fuck that he was breaking them. Not after last night with that demon attack and then being with her.

Bernadette was his.

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