Page 45 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

He walked over to the opened doors and stared out across the vast lawn.His joining with Tracy had left his body satiated and relaxed.Unfortunately, his mind was unable to enjoy the same after-effects of their lovemaking.He looked over his shoulder at Tracy’s relaxed facial features.

Her hair was tangled and spread across their pillows, a combination of her lovemaking and sleep.A smooth, bare shoulder was visible even in the dim light.

He forced himself to contemplate the night.Stepping out onto the balcony, he looked up at the stars.They looked so far away here.It may have been because of the glow on the horizon or the fact the mountains seemed farther away.He scanned the heavens for the familiar stars that guided him and his people.

The flash of a falling star caused him to reach toward it.It disappeared, but he imagined that he held it in his hand as he had when he was a child.Closing his fingers into a fist, he pulled his imaginary star to his chest and made a wish.

“Please… if there is such a thing as magic… please?—”

His voice faded as he contemplated what his wish would be.Did he wish for his own happiness or should he give his wish to his people?All his life he had always put them before his own desires, but for once, he wanted to be greedy.

“Mitchell?”

Tracy’s sleepy voice called from the room behind him.He turned and took a step before he paused and partially turned back.Lifting his arm, he opened his fingers.

Wishes were for innocent children.

With a sigh, he stepped into the bedroom and crossed to the bed.Tracy reached for him when he pulled the covers back.He slid next to her, pulling her into his arms when she rolled so he could spoon her.

“Are you alright?”she murmured.

He kissed the back of her head.“Yes.”

“What were you doing?”

He hesitated before answering her.“Releasing a fallen star.”

“Oh.Did you make a wish?”she asked, her voice slurring as she drifted back to sleep.

“No, not this time.I let someone else have it.”

She sighed and snuggled back against him.“You’re a good man, Mitchell.”

He lay there, holding her as she fell back asleep.Was he?A good man?He liked to think he was, but he was afraid that he wasn’t.Would a good man have banished a woman for loving someone different?Would a good man have put his desire to meet a strange shifter in the woods above his people?

Memories of decisions he had made throughout his life haunted him until the wee hours of the morning.It was time to return to his people—and his responsibilities as their leader and protector.There was no time for catching falling stars, childish wishes, or impossible dreams.

Hyder waited by the black SUV for Lucien to return.He absently rubbed at a thin scratch on his arm.Salt from his finger made the shallow cut burn.

He should have known the Bearclaw estate was a security fortress without appearing as one.He and Lucien had parked a half-mile away from the perimeter of the estate several hours ago.A few hundred yards outside the fencing that surrounded the property he had realized that security had been heightened since the last time he visited.

There had been at least twenty-five active shifters on patrol.Many of them had been in their shifter form, making them even more lethal.He looked up when Lucien appeared out of the dark.

The cat-shifter walked toward him with a grim expression.Hyder walked around and opened the driver’s side door before sliding in.Lucien followed a second later, pulling open the passenger side door.

“Unless we have an inside assist, there is no way to get in and out without being seen,” Lucien said, breaking the silence.

“I counted twenty-five,” he replied.

Lucien snorted.“Maybe around the perimeter.There were more around the house.It looks like the SBSI has added to their number.There is no way they would have that much security unless they were protecting something very important.”

“It’s more than the girl.They must have the other human there,” Hyder muttered.

Lucien nodded and stared out the front windshield.The rain from earlier had returned.Their brief respite from the cold liquid had ended.His cat shuddered with distaste inside him.

“What’s the plan?”

“We get two humans.Preferably a male and a female.There has to be a weak spot.We’ve just got to find it,” Hyder replied.

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