Page 53 of Gavin

She snorted.

He cupped her face and tilted it until he could look at her. “I’m serious. I heard everything you told Midas and the security team about your abduction. You were scared but you still managed to cut yourself free and defend yourself. You didn’t have the luxury of shifting because you were discovered too fast, but you still did the best that you could and I’m so proud of you.”

“If you hadn’t shown up when you did,” she said.

“But I did. And you’re safe now. This house,our home, is a safe place for you and me and our future kids. Maya and Midas are going to make our territory even safer, and I believe that we’ll find peace here, together.”

He was going to tell her that he loved her because he did.

But she put her fingers on his lips as if she knew he was going to say it.

“I love you, Gavin,” she said, her eyes bright with the tears she’d already shed. “When you were shot and I thought you might be dead, I didn’t think I’d survive. And then Ireallydidn’t think I’d survive being taken. I thought I’d get sold off like cattle and never see you again. I’m so glad you’re my mate. I’m so glad you’re mine.”

He was humbled to the core by her sweet admission.

He kissed her gently. “Sadie, I love you too. I was terrified for you. That time we were apart when I could feel you but didn’t know if you were okay was like someone had torn out my heart. I promised myself I’d tell you exactly how I felt. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t known each other long because we’re truemates. We were made for each other and fate brought us together.”

“I’m so thankful for that.”

They sat on the couch and talked for a while as their emotions settled from the terror of the day to the hum of noise as the security team finished installing the security cameras. When the team knocked on the door a little while later, they told Gavin the new doors and windows would be in within a week’stime, and they were second on the list for installation after Maya and Midas’s home. He thanked them for their help and shut the door, twisting the deadbolt. There was a time when he hadn’t had to lock the door, but as long as someone might think Sadie was unique enough to abduct and sell to some asshole, then he was going to lock the damn door.

“Ready for bed, sweetheart?”

She yawned in response.

He helped her to her feet and they walked to the bedroom together. “Tomorrow I want to talk to your mom about the mating ceremony,” she said as she stripped and climbed into bed. “The July full moon will be here before we know it.”

“Then you’ll be officially part of the pride, even though you’re technically part of it now.” In the darkness of the room while she lay in his arms, he whispered, “Damn, I love you, Sadie. You’re the part of my heart I didn’t know was missing.”

Her answer was her deep breathing as she slipped off to sleep.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

He’d tell her again tomorrow.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Brick Beaumont, second in command of the Thorn Hollow Pack, settled in the booth at Lykos and rested his arm along the back of the vinyl seat. A beer slowly went flat in front of him. He wasn’t much in the mood for a drink and had only come out because he’d been tasked by his cousin, the alpha, to watch over a few females celebrating one of their twenty-first birthdays.

Next to him, his best friend Solan nursed a beer and doom scrolled on his phone.

As he was about to suggest that they encourage the females to finish their partying back at the pack’s territory, his phone buzzed and he saw that it was the tiger, Gavin. Over the last couple of weeks, they’d stayed in touch to share information on not only the anti-shifter group, Humans Against Shifters, but also a dangerous shifter hunter named Hawthorne.

“Hey, Gavin,” Brick said, plugging his ear with his finger so he could hear over the thumping music.

“Hey, bad time?”

“Nope, just on duty watching some pack females.”

“Ah, gotcha. I wanted to share some information I just got about the shifter poacher and Brent Foley. I know your pack computer guys were working on finding where they’ve beenhiding out, but one of our guys stumbled onto a dark web chat room. I’m sending you screenshots.”

“Everything okay on your end?” he asked as he waited for the images to appear.

“Yeah, actually. I’m also sending you information on some protective measures you can implement around your town, including some magical stuff. I know you have your witch-wolf alpha female, but things are getting dangerous for shifters on a level they haven’t been before.”

“I appreciate you reaching out,” Brick said as a knot formed in his gut. He hated thinking that his people might be in danger. There were people all over the world who hated shifters for one reason or another, but Brent Foley hated shifters on a kill-them-all level, and Hawthorne was the sort of guy that made Foley look like a toddler playing dress up.

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