Page 87 of Bearing Secrets
“I should have never let you go,” Kirell whispered as he carried her over to the SUV. “I should have told you how I felt, that I wanted you to stay. I should have fought harder for you.”
Natalia kissed his cheek over and over again. “I ran away,” she said. “Because I was scared.”
“Of me?” he asked, crestfallen.
“No. Not like that. I was scared because…” she hesitated, the fear even now stealing her voice.
“You don’t need to be scared of me,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ll be here for you. No matter what you need.”
“I need you,” she said, forcing the words out before she thought them through. “That’s what scares me, Kirell. How much I need you. How badly I want you in my life. How I want to be in yours.”
He smiled down at her. “I need you too, Natalia. More than I ever thought I could need someone. I love you.”
She bit her lip, staring up at a pair of vibrant blue eyes that were completely open to her. No shield, no defenses. Kirell had ripped those all away just now as he confessed that he loved her. Her. Natalia Kristoff. A human woman.
“I love you too,” she told him. There was no waver in her voice, no hesitation. It might scare the shit out of her, but she would no longer deny she loved this man. “Now go help your Queen before the others get here. I don’t want to see you get any more hurt.”
“No need to worry about his lackeys,” Kirell said, his eyes flashing. “I dealt with them out in the woods.”
She frowned. “All of them? Even the men from the restaurant?”
Kirell blinked. “What?”
“From Leblanc. The Canis.”
Her mate—why wasn’t it strange to use that word? But it wasn’t. In fact, it came to her naturally—went still, setting her down.
“What did you say?”
She looked around, fearful. “Outside of the House. The men who helped him capture me. I saw the face of one of them, he was one of the ones you fought outside of the restaurant. On our first date, you remember?”
Kirell was looking around, shifting to put her between him and the SUV. “Get in,” he said quietly, ignoring the fighting between Klebra and the Queen. “The keys are in it. Get out of here. Now.”
She turned to try and get in, but it was locked. “Kirell. Kirell it’s locked. It’s locked, Kirell,” she said, fear escalating. She knew any moment now that things would change.
“Stay behind me,” he urged, as three tall figures emerged from around a large tomb.
“Don’t just stand there!” Klebra shouted from where he and the Queen were beating each other to a pulp. “Kill him and get over here.”
Kirell watched in satisfaction as the distraction earned the traitor a flurry of blows from his Queen, fresh blood spraying from his nose as she connected solidly. Still, the ruler of House Ursa was flagging, not used to extended combat.
Where the hell are Klaue and the guards?
He spread his legs, drawing on what little energy and strength he had left after his beating the day before and then sneaking around the woods. It wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough. Itwouldbe enough.
“Here boy. Here boy!” he snarled, whistling a command at the Canis elders, purposefully antagonizing them.
Then he advanced.
41
He was weak. Sore. Beaten and bruised. Barely-healed bones and exhausted energy reserves. Kirell fit every description.
But most of all, he waspissed.
Normally, he kept that anger bottled up, especially when he was fighting, because it was better to fight with a clear mind.
Not this time.
