Page 18 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

I hadn’t been able to resist the urge to buy her things she never would’ve had in her land—or in her cell.

I wasn’t supposed to feel a thing for her, and yet I found myself liking her fire. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind to me, and she was blunt about the horror of the mistreatment she had survived.

And the way her eyes lit up when she was happy?

It was becoming my weakness.

At least she couldn’t feel the same pain with our separation that I was dealing with. I’d heard that a mate bond’s physical urges were more difficult for a male to fight than a female, and that was a mercy for Laeli, because the damn things were going to drive me mad.

Mad with lust.

Mad with the desire to slay everyone who’d mistreated her.

Mad with the itch to hold her in my arms until she’d told me every damn thing there was to know about her.

Veil, even mad with the need to find the male she’d been trapped with—who had clearly been in love with the other woman—and make sure he knew who she belonged to.

“I’m heading back,” I said to Gleam. We’d been communicating throughout my journey, so I could keep track of my bonded companion and my mate.

She didn’t respond immediately, but I didn’t let myself worry yet.

I picked up my pace, and finally, the pain in my palm eased just slightly. “Gleam?”

She still didn’t respond.

My abdomen clenched.

Ice crawled over my hands, forming the claws I’d need to fight even though I was a few hours from the females.

I wasn’t through the city yet, but I started to run anyway. “Answer me,” I snarled into Gleam’s mind.

“Okay.” Her voice was groggy. “We’re okay. I think.”

Veil.

“What happened?”

“Raiders. They took us to a camp of some kind.”

I swore viciously and picked up the pace. “How? Are you hurt? Is Laeli hurt? Why didn’t she reach out to me?”

It didn’t surprise me at all that Gleam had stayed quiet about it. I was too far to do anything, and she would’ve thought she could handle the situation.

I would’ve thought so too, frankly.

“You told her not to speak to you mentally, and we’re both fine. Laeli’s on fire, and it looks like her energy is waning, but I don’t smell her blood. They drugged me with something, but I’m awake now. I don’t think we’re far from where you built the shelter.”

If we’d stopped near them, it wasn’t a shock that they’d come out to see who we were. They would’ve taken one look at Gleam, realized how much money she’d be worth in their damned trading rings, and done whatever they could to get her.

“I’m coming. Let me know if anything changes.”

“Alright.” Her voice was still groggy, and I knew she’d need to rest. It would take time for whatever they’d drugged her with to wear off. “Be careful.”

I found the glimmer of fiery magic in my veins and followed it to Laeli’s mind. It took a few minutes, but I had nothing but time as I ran toward the females. Relief had me letting out a long breath when I finally found her mind. “Laeli,” I rumbled.

“Ravv?” Her voice was barely a whisper, holding none of the fire I’d come to expect from her.

“Tell me what happened,” I growled. “Has anyone touched you?”

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