Page 42 of The Fated Mate Bandit

We kiss again. His lips are slow and lazy against mine.

“We could try tomorrow,” I suggest.

“Mmmm. We could.”

He presses gentle kisses down my neck and nuzzles my scent gland. My heart skips a beat.

“I love you so much, Lucas,” he whispers in my ear.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back.

Maybe if I try hard to make him happy every single night, our love could be enough.

18

SILVER

Aloud banging wakes me in the middle of the night. I disentangle my body from Lucas’s, hoping he didn’t hear the noise, too. Then it comes again.

Bang,bang,bang.

The clock says it’s past midnight. I grab for my phone, wondering if have a text that can explain why I have a visitor this late, but there aren’t any new messages. Lucas stirs beside me.

Bang,bang,bang.

He bolts upright, reaching out for me in the dark. “Silver, he’s here.”

Lucas doesn’t have to explain who “he” is. We both know.

I want to reassure him it isn’t Daryll. Back when we were kids, I often reassured him that the sounds we heard in the prairie weren’t his father coming after him. But this is different.

“Wait here,” I say.

“No! You can’t go out there. I’ll go?—”

I take his hand and squeeze it. “You’re pregnant, and Daryll is angry. It would be better if I went. I’m bigger than you. Also, I have combat training, remember?”

That’s a bit of a stretch. Sure, I know how to shoot a gun, but hand-to-hand combat wasn’t on the docket for me in basic training. I did what the traditional recruits called “Cupcake Camp” because I already had a degree in Cyber Security. I’m a lot more useful to the military behind a desk than in a foxhole.

Bang,bang,bang.

“I need to go. You stay here and call the cops if you hear any scary noises, okay?” I say.

Lucas shakes his head. “I’ll do it?—”

“Think of the pups, Lucas.”

That gives him pause. Before he can stop me again, I scramble out of bed and yank on some shorts and a T-shirt. “Stay here.”

As I rush through my house, I realize Daryll will be able to smell Lucas on me. He’s a gray wolf shifter and Lucas is his mate. He’ll probably know we had sex before I even open the door.

Fucking hell. This is crazy. Why didn’t I just call the cops?

“Lucas! I know you’re in there!”

Daryll’s voice is loud and booming. I think of Lucas, who hates loud noise, and anger rises within me. Who does this guy think he is? He hit his pregnant mate, and now he’s threatening him in the middle of the night.

I flip the deadbolt and open the door.

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