Page 17 of Gavin

A huge tiger was heading toward her, the full moon picking up the white underbelly and paws and making the orange fur look gold.

She’d caught the hint of amber in the eyes and realized the tiger was a shifter.

And then something had made her heart clench tightly like someone had reached into her chest and gripped it. She inhaled sharply as the swift pain in her heart eased abruptly and was replaced with soothing warmth.

The tiger approached her with a curious purr. The breeze ruffled the orange fur and brought an incredible scent her way that made her whiskers twitch and her skin prickle.

The tiger smelled like a heady blend of earth and rain. In that moment, as the scent wrapped around her like an intoxicating embrace, she realized she was looking at her truemate.

This huge male, who moved toward her with eager grace, was hers.

Suddenly, running away from Michigan and going to Ohio was the very best thing that she’d ever done.

He stopped just a foot from her, his whiskers twitching as he audibly sniffed the air. She sat on her haunches and wished she could talk in her shift because she wanted to tell him everything right then.

She moved her head forward and he did the same, their noses touching for a brief moment.

He closed the distance between them, towering over her. He chuffed in her ear and rubbed his cheek against hers, and then he moved back and began to shift.

She hadn’t been in her shift very long, but she was ready to return to human too, especially since she wanted to see her truemate.

Something poked at her subconscious as she began to shift and she froze, stopping her shift.

What if he didn’t realize they were truemates?

Or what if he hated the color of her fur and was just as superstitious as her pack had been.

She watched him turn into a gorgeous male.

He was stacked with muscles and had dark hair. The moonlight made it look like he was glowing, like he was some ethereal male sent from heaven just for her.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said with a voice rich and deep. “I’m Gavin. Can you shift to human? I’d love to see you and talk to you.”

He laid his palm on her cheek and the bad thoughts fled.

He called her gorgeous.

Closing her eyes with a hum, she let go of her shift and returned to human.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been naked in front of a male, but it had been awhile. Nerves cascaded through her as she rose to her feet and the night air hit her skin.

“Damn,” he said with a low chuckle. “I thought your wolf was gorgeous but you’re…the sexiest female I’ve ever seen in my life.”

She let out a nervous giggle when she opened her mouth to say her name, which made her cheeks heat in blush. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’m Sadie.”

“I have…so many questions. But I think the first thing is that I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Because you were running. Were you being chased?”

The concern in his voice made her stomach flip. Sexyandprotective.

“I was just following my instincts and they led me here.”

“To me.”

Her mouth went dry at his statement. “Yeah.”

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