“I do, Rafe.” She pushed against his chest until he leaned back. “But I don’t want to lose you.”
“Your concern warms my heart, but I won’t miss this chance nor will I allow another male to kill him.”
The man was so damn stubborn. He wasn’t going to change his mind, but she had to stop him from leaving. She couldn’t shake the feeling that if he walked away from her today, she’d never see him again.
“Mate me now,” she blurted. He blinked at her but didn’t say anything. Self-doubt crept into her mind. “Or did you change your mind?”
He cupped her face and stared into her eyes. “I didn’t change my mind. You are my one, the female I want to spend my eternity with. This world and the next. I don’t want to spend a day without you.”
Her heart swelled and tears pooled in her eyes. Those still weren’t the words she longed to hear, but it was enough. She saw his love for her in his golden eyes. “And that’s how I feel, Rafe. If the unthinkable happens and you’re killed, I don’t want to lose my chance to be with you, even if it means I have to spend it in your heaven.”
He kissed her hard. She opened to him, followed his lead. They explored each other—give and take. She poured her feelings into the raw kiss, tried to express how much she loved him without actually saying it. He finally pulled back, leaving her panting and hungry for more.
“You are amazing, my Jasmine, but you’re worrying over nothing. I am a royal. Strong. Calum is nothing to me. He can’t hurt me.”
She ground her teeth. “And what if he has a bomb set there? Being immortal won’t save you if you’re blown apart.” She tugged at her shirt, exposing her shoulder. “Just do it quick. Bite me then go after Calum.”
Rafe stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t. I won’t want to leave your side while your body is dying. You’ll be in pain for days until the bond is complete.”
She dropped her hand. Her chest squeezed tight. “Dying?”
His eyes widened. He strode to her side but she backed up.
“You didn’t know.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed. “In order for our souls to be joined, you have to be near death. After I bite you, I have to inflict a mortal wound.”
She reached out to brace her suddenly shaky legs but Rafe got to her first. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her close.
“And when exactly were you going to share that little detail?”
He sighed, his warm breath stirring her hair. “I thought Mira told you.”
“She didn’t mention specifics.” She paused as she thought about what he’d told her. Realization dawned. She shoved away from and landed on her ass. With a hand up to warn him off, she pushed to her feet. “That’s why you waited, isn’t it? You didn’t want to miss your chance to get Calum because you were with me.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck but didn’t say anything.
Silence stretched. Her anger returned. “Dammit, answer me, Rafe.”
“There’s no reason to rush our mating. We have plenty of time.”
His pacifying tone pissed her off more. She glared at him. “Not if you get yourself killed today.”
“For the last time—”
“You cannot guarantee you’ll be safe. You admitted you thought it was a trap too. I don’t want you to go.” She closed the distance between them and laid a hand over his heart. “Stay here. Mate me and let someone else take care of Calum.”
He stepped away. Her hand slid down his abs. “No. I will kill him. No one else.”
She wrapped her arms around her chest. The pain cut deep. It wasn’t real but it sure felt as if Rafe had inflicted a mortal wound already. “So that’s it. No discussion. Your mind is made up.”
He tipped his head back and groaned. “Dammit, woman. Stop being so stubborn.”
“Stubborn,” she squeaked. “Me? You’re the one who is acting like a pompous ass.”
He narrowed feline eyes on her. “You’re being ridiculous. I will be fine.” He yanked her against him and captured her gaze with his intense stare. “I will mate you as soon as this is over. I promise you.”
She swallowed hard. “Well, you better ask me first. I’m not so sure I want to be with a man who cares more for revenge than the woman he supposedly can’t live without.”
She turned on her heel and ran back into the bedroom. Rafe’s curse rang out but she slammed the door and locked it before he could follow her inside. He yanked on the handle.
“Open the door.”
She fisted her hands to stop herself from doing as he ordered. “Only if you plan on coming in here and mating me.”
She heard the snap of his teeth. The low growl that followed raised the hair on her arms. She took a backward step.
“We can argue about our mating later, Jasmine. I’ve wasted enough time already.”
She waited a few moments but when he didn’t say anything else, she rushed to the door. Her hands shook as she turned the lock and flung it open. The hallway was empty. He left. She ran down the stairs after him.
The entryway stood empty too. She scanned the living room, hoping to see Rafe, but only Josh and Kade stood there, both looking as pissed off as she felt. “Did Rafe leave?”
Kade nodded. Going by the sympathetic expression he wore, he’d heard the fight she just had with Rafe. Great. Embarrassment rose. Now he too knew Rafe didn’t love her enough to listen to her concerns. When faced with the choice, he turned his back on her. God, it hurt but at least she learned before she mated him. She would’ve hated to spend eternity with a man who only pacified her, didn’t treat her as an equal.
She pushed the heartache away. No way would she give in to it here. She did not want Kade’s or anyone else’s pity. She pressed against her pounding temples. “How did you get stuck with babysitting duty?”
Kade huffed and shoved his hands in his front pockets. “Your male doesn’t trust me not to rip Calum’s throat out.”
Her male? She snorted at the descriptive but didn’t comment. What was the point? Rafe left, made his choice. He might consider himself her male. She knew the truth. He was her owner, plain and simple.
She glanced over at Josh. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. “Where is everybody else?”
“Patrolling,” Kade answered.
From his gruff voice she suspected he’d like to out there with them.
Josh’s parents and the kids shuffled in from the kitchen with bags of chips. Jazz pushed her annoyance away and helped them pick a movie. With nothing else to do but stew over Rafe’s actions, she sat down with them to watch an animated flick she’d seen dozens of times before. The opening scene played. Singing filled the room but her gaze stayed locked on the door.
Kade reached down and took her arm. He gave it a little tug. She stood and he led her to the far corner away from the others.
“Rafe loves you, Jasmine. That is why he’s so desperate to take out Calum. He doesn’t want to risk losing you to him. Nor does he want to spend the next several decades looking over his shoulder, waiting for Calum to die of old age.”
Hope bloomed. Maybe she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. It wouldn’t be the first time. She was still learning about shifter culture. If he groveled, she’d be willing to forgive him. “Rafe loves me?”
A lopsided smile spread on Kade’s face. “Don’t sound so surprised. Did you think he’s mating you because there’s no one else?” He shook his head. “Many shifter fathers have paraded their daughters before him, hoping to entice him to choose their offspring. He refused to even kiss any of them, let alone mate them.”
“Why?”
“There aren’t that many royals. We just don’t reproduce well. So the female who snags one of us is prized and gets the social boost mating into royalty brings.”
Kade’s annoyed tone suggested he didn’t like the constant female attention either. Honestly, if she had men interested in her only for what they coul
d gain by being with her, she’d be annoyed too.
Although she was still angry with Rafe, she smiled. “So I’ll be a princess?”
Kade chuckled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I suppose.” He stepped away. “I’m going to go sit on the porch. I think I’ve watched this movie five times already.”
He probably had. It was one of her boys’ favorites and Megan loved the princess.
Josh jumped up from the couch as Kade reached the front door. “Wait for me.”
She grinned at his eagerness to escape the musical torture session. Josh might love her boys but he’d never been a big fan of television or cute kid shows. It’d be fun watching him adjust to having a little princess of his own. The thought chased some of her bad mood away. She made her way back to the couch, but Seth jumped up and headed toward the kitchen before she sat.
“Hey, kiddo, where you going?”
“Need a soda,” he called out.
Her heart knocked hard against her rib cage. She ran after him and grabbed his arm before he opened the fridge door.
“You know the rules, Seth. If you’re not in your room, you stay with an adult,” she chastised him.
He groaned and rolled his eyes. “But Mom, I’m only getting a soda.”
She swept her arm dramatically out to encompass the room. “And where is the adult in here to watch you?”
He dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She gave him a quick hug. “I know this is hard. We only have to do this a little while longer. Just until the bad guy is caught.”
He peered at her through strands of brown hair that had fallen over one eye. “I’m tired of being in the house. I want to go outside and play.”
She hated keeping them cooped up too. Kids needed to run, burn off energy, especially ones that housed animals. “I know, Seth. Soon. Okay?”
“Okay, Mom.”
She ruffled his hair then opened the fridge. “Orange or cola?” He didn’t answer. “Seth?” She turned around and found him at the patio door with his hands cupped to the glass. “What do you see?”
Seth slid the door open and went out onto the deck without answering. Her throat squeezed tight. She ran after him. Mist was falling and she slid across the wet deck but made it down the steps and grabbed him.
“Seth, where do you think you’re going?” she snapped. She hated raising her voice to them but fear drove her temper. Instead of waiting for an answer, she tugged him back to the steps. “Back inside, young man. It’s too dangerous out here.”
Seth pointed with a trembling hand. “Peggy Sue.”
She followed the direction he indicated. Peggy Sue, the only one of Mr. Wilkins’ dogs that Calum hadn’t killed, was limping toward them from inside the woods. The older dog stumbled and she gasped.
Seth wiggled out of her arms and took off.
“Seth, no!”
She followed and slipped on the wet leaves. Her knees hit the ground. Something sharp pressed into her skin and she screamed. She got up. Pain radiated down her leg. Ignoring it, she ran forward. She followed Seth into the shaded area, skidding to a stop after only a few feet.
Wide-eyed, she stared at the man standing there. Calum had a clawed hand wrapped around Seth’s throat. He held him flush against his chest. A cruel smirk spread over his face and the leering glance he swept over her body turned her stomach.
“Hey there, sweet thing. I’ve been waiting for my chance to get you alone.”
Terror filled her but the sight of her son in danger angered her. She curled her fingers, wishing she could unleash claws. She wanted to rip the bastard’s neck out. Now she understood how Rafe felt.
“Let him go,” she ordered.
The sharpened nails tightened around Seth’s throat. Drips of blood slid down his skin. He whimpered. Jazz stepped forward. “Don’t do it, Calum. It’s me you want, not the boy.”
Snarls came from behind her. She risked a quick peek and found an enraged lion crouched, huge fangs bared. Kade, she assumed, but it didn’t matter which shifter he was. He was on her side. A smaller jaguar and two tigers approached behind him. She’d never felt so relieved in her life to see a bunch of snarling cats.
She faced Calum. Fear gripped her but she wouldn’t fail her son. “See? Did you really think we’d be without protection? Let the child go and you can have me.”
“No. Him I can sell.” Calum gave Seth a little shake. Tears ran down his face. More blood dripped. “You’re human. Worthless. You would’ve been fun to play with, but humans are easy to get. I’ll pick up another plaything on my way out of town.”
“But they won’t be me. I’m special.” She stepped closer and leaned forward, giving him a good view of her cleavage. His gaze dropped there. She fought the rising bile and murmured, “So special Rafe chose me to be his mate.”
It was the trigger she needed to push him over the edge. Calum dropped Seth and grabbed her. Claws dug into her stomach. She cried out, but his other hand clamped over her mouth and stifled the scream. With the hand digging into her belly, he lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder. Her breath whooshed out. Agony whipped through her. He ran and each step he took radiated more piercing pain from where he’d pierced her.
She heard Seth’s crying over the snarls of the cats and looked in the direction the sound came from. Josh held him against his chest. Kade—in his lion form—stepped up next to them. A wave of relief swept through her.
Kade chuffed. She met his eyes. They flicked off to the left then back to her. It was her only warning.
A roar rang out. Something rammed into Calum and she fell. Her breath whooshed out but she turned her head, desperate to see what was going on. The scene playing out before her tore a strangled gasp from her throat. She pressed against the sharp sting in her chest. Wetness met her fingers. Blood. She was hurt. The thought came easily, but her concern focused on the man she loved, not on her injuries.
Two lions fought in a brutal, fast fight she could barely follow. She kept her gaze locked on the black-maned one she knew was Rafe. He rose on his hind legs to meet the other cat’s snapping lunge. Rafe was taller and in this case, the height left him open for Calum’s attack, but he countered it before she could scream.
Rafe, the man behind the lion who she’d snuggled with last night, was vicious, no longer the comforting male. This was an enraged predator protecting his family. He snarled and lunged at Calum but missed when the smaller lion rolled toward her. Fur brushed her leg and the tuft of hair on his tail smacked against her belly, but he jumped away to avoid the swipe to his flank.
Rafe planted his body between where she was sprawled on the ground and the threat. Another cat, a tiger with blue-gray fur, came up on her left and a spotted jaguar approached on her right. Calum flicked his gaze between her protectors. He lowered the front of his body and leapt at the same time Rafe did. Their bodies smacked, claws tore at each other’s flanks, but Rafe was obviously the stronger lion. He pushed Calum away from her then clamped his mouth over Calum’s neck. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the horrible sounds.
Finally, silence descended. She opened her eyes. The branches above her head gave her a dappled view of the gray sky. After a moment, a black-maned lion came into view. The lion faded and the face of the man she loved stared down at her. His image wavered. She blinked. It didn’t help. Fuzziness distorted his sharp cheekbones.
“Rafe, you’re alive,” she mumbled. Or at least she thought she spoke. She couldn’t seem to get in enough air.
She watched Rafe’s mouth move but didn’t hear what he said. She started to ask him to repeat himself but blackness swept over her vision and took him away.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rafe stared at the blood running in rivulets down Jasmine’s stomach. The loose shirt he knew she wore with him in mind was shredded. The torn cloth showcased the slashes marring her belly and the four punctures at the base of her rib cage. On a royal, the wounds would’ve closed by now. Even on a single
shifter, the flow would’ve slowed. But on his beautiful female’s belly it hadn’t. Blood dripped, soaking the ground beneath her.
He let revenge come before his chosen mate just as she’d accused him of doing. But she suffered for his choice. He allowed the guilt to consume him for a heartbeat before pushing it away. Jasmine needed him. He wouldn’t fail her. Not a third time.
The others gathered around. He ignored them and turned his attention to his female, where it should’ve been in the first place. With his ear near her chest, he listened. An erratic heartbeat and shallow breathing reached him, not what he wanted to hear, but it meant she still lived. He had time to save her.
Using a sharpened nail, he tore her shirt and lowered his head to her stomach, licking the wounds to slow the staunch of blood. It didn’t seal them, that would take more than a couple of swipes of his tongue, but it helped.
As he tended the gashes, he heard Seth screaming for his mother. His voice faded, someone likely taking him back to house. But the child’s plea cut at his heart. Drove home the truth. If he didn’t get through to Jasmine, not only would he lose the woman he loved, Seth and Levi would lose their mother. And it would be his damn fault.
He knelt over her prone body. “Jasmine.” She didn’t stir. His animal spirits whined, their anxiety adding to his. He smacked her cheek in an effort to rouse her. “Wake up, baby,” he yelled.
No response. True terror gripped him. His heart knocked hard against his ribs. Gods, he couldn’t lose her. He tore his wrist open and pressed it to her lips. She didn’t drink. Blood dribbled over her chin.
Rafe pressed kisses to her face. “Jasmine, don’t you dare die on me! Wake up.” She didn’t stir but her brows creased. Hope rose. “That’s right. Come on, love. Open those gorgeous eyes. Let me see you, know you’re still with me. I need you, baby.”
The movement behind her eyes quickened, the lids fluttering before lifting. Pain hazed the gray, made them unfocused, but he’d never been happier to see anyone’s eyes. He leaned close and captured her gaze. She had to be aware, know what was happening before he severed her ties to the human god.
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