Rational thinking proved impossible for Arlene until after Roger had pulled the last stitch closed and wiped away the blood that seeped from the wound. Every second of the process had been agonizing and her stomach heaved the whole time. If she’d had anything but the few sips of water in her stomach, she had no doubt it would have come up by now. Her skin felt hot and her mouth was dry but she was too afraid to move in case she sent another wave of agony through her.

“I’m sorry.” He pressed a cool rag to her forehead, cooling her down before sliding the rag down to her cheeks to wipe her tears away. “I hate to see you this way.”

“I’m fine.” She didn’t feel fine but she didn’t want him to worry about her. His concern through the ordeal had been something she hadn’t expected. He’d offered to stop but she wanted the bleeding to stop. The last thing they needed was for her to pass out from loss of blood. If something happened and she was kidnapped again, she needed whatever strength she might still possess, not to be reeling from low blood levels.

“Are you ready to take your shirt off now and let me attend to your other injuries? Or do you need a few minutes first?” He tossed the last of the bloody towels and gauze into a plastic bag he’d pulled out of the duffle bag earlier before cracking open a new bottle of water.

“I…” Her voice cracked, forcing her to swallow and try again. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea now.”

“Why?” He cocked an eyebrow at her and waited.

“We’re…umm…you said…we’re…” she stammered, unable to get the words to come out.

“Mates,” he supplied. “Why does that change things? If anything, it should make you more comfortable taking your clothes off in front of me.”

“It complicates things.” It made a tangled mess out of all the emotions she thought she was feeling and after everything else she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to try to make sense of what was happening between them. The tingles of excitement when she’d seen him around the tribe’s land, or how her gaze had found his moments before her sister announced their parents wanted her dead. Even as she’d argued with Karri, she’d kept Roger in sight. From the way she’d caught him glancing at her, she would have thought there was something there between them—but he was a shifter. There wasn’t an ‘if’ when it came to shifters; they were either mates or they weren’t. If they were, then why hadn’t he said anything about it during the weeks she’d lived there?

She needed to get back to Crimson Hollow and talk to Karri. Maybe she could explain things better. Otherwise, she was feeling her way in the dark and after everything else, she was tired of the darkness. If anything was supposed to be clear cut, it should be a relationship. He’d saved her and that had to mean something but then again, it could mean Jase had ordered him to do so. It was possible she was overthinking this mating situation. It wasn’t like he would lie about it. Yet, she wasn’t ready to just accept it at face value.

“Listen here.” He put his hands on either side of her and leaned toward her. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us and you’re going to want those ribs wrapped. Now let’s do this so you can put on a clean pair of clothes and rest for a bit while I clean the blood off me and change.”

The mention of blood on him made her look at him again. Dried blood coated his neck and splattered over his arms. She suspected there’d be more hidden underneath his shirt but she wasn’t about to venture down that road. “Roger—”

“Don’t apologize again.” He lifted his hand off the counter and slid it down her uninjured thigh. “What happened to that flirty vixen that floated around the tribe for the last few weeks?”

“She got a rude wake up call.” Memories of the teasing comments they’d shared clenched her chest.

“You’re stronger than that, sweets.” Sliding his hand up to where hers rested in her lap, he let out a soft breath of air, almost purring. “Nothing’s changed since you left home to come to us. The world was shit then and it’s still the same. Evil exists everywhere you look but what’s happening right here, right now—that’s what it’s all about. That’s why we wake up each day and fight. Shifters have no doubts when it comes to finding their mate. I found you and I’m not letting you go. I’ll protect you. I promise.”

“That’s the second promise you’ve made to me.” She met his gaze and forced herself to give him a smile, even if it was halfhearted. “I trust you, Roger; it might be crazy but I do. It’s not because I know Noah would kick your ass if you let something happen to me.”

“Just Noah?” His lips curled into a cocky grin. “Here I thought Karri would have my hide before anyone else got a chance. Jase would have to wait his turn, though I’m not sure how the Chief would like that.”

“Jase…he must be pissed at me. I snuck into his house while he was having a meeting with the leaders and then Karri and I got into it. I bet he doesn’t even want me back there. He only wants me safe so Karri doesn’t do anything crazy.” The easiness between them disappeared as her tension returned. “I really screwed things up.”

“Your thoughts go a mile a minute and without the mating connection, they’re hard to keep up with.” The grin disappeared as he took in what she said. “We’re going back to Crimson Hollow. Jase might not be happy about what happened or how the situation was handled, and I know he’s livid you went off by yourself, but none of that means he doesn’t want you there. You’re part of the tribe now. Even if you weren’t Karri’s sister, you’d still be welcome. You’re a friend of the tribe, which means you have our protection. You risked your life for us. It’s the least we can do.”

“I could have betrayed you while I was captive.” She sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. “The tribe…oh fuck, how did I forget? The bomb…”

“Shh…” He spread her legs so he could get closer to her, scooted her to the edge of the counter, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Everyone’s fine. There’s no bomb.”

“But he said—”

“Stop, Arlene.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “He was bluffing, hoping to turn my attention on you so he’d have his opening. We both know you didn’t give them any information. Even if they somehow found out where the tribe is, I already alerted Jase. I shot him a text as we were on our way through the woods. They’ve done a thorough search and there’s no bomb, but, as a precaution, they’ve added more guards to ensure the safety of everyone.”

“You never said, never asked. I was their prisoner for days…I could have told them everything.”

“I know you wouldn’t have given them information about us.” He slid his hand into her hair, cupping the back of her head. “You’re smart enough to know that it wouldn’t have changed anything. They weren’t going to let you go no matter what you told him. When you were no longer any use to them, they’d have killed you.”

“Death would have been the easy way out.” Unable to deal with her own weakness, she closed her eyes. “It wasn’t just Karri I would have betrayed by answering their questions. I’d have betrayed you…everyone. Betrayal is worse than any pain he could have caused me. No matter what he did to me, I couldn’t do that. I’ve been on the other side of the treachery and I’d rather be dead than do the same thing to someone.”

In her heart, she knew Roger was the reason she would have taken their secrets to her grave. She would rather be dead than have him attacked or killed because of her. She might not have realized what was happening between them but there had been something there even before he’d found her. Their teasing comments and chemistry had been progressing, and if she had stayed, it wouldn’t have been long before she’d learned he was her mate.

Realizing there was more, she opened to eyes to look at him again. “I never gave up on you. I knew you’d come for me. Not because of Karri but because…” She wasn’t sure how to finish her thought. “I just knew.”

“Because subconsciously you recognized the connection between us. You might not have realized it meant mate, but you understood enough to know there was something linking us together.” He leaned into her, his lips hovering just above hers, and his breath brushed along her face. “Trust me, sweets, I was coming for you no matter what. I’m not here because of Jase’s orders; I’m here for you, and I wasn’t leaving without you. You’re mine.”

The possessiveness in his tone should have sent fear rushing through her but she found herself relaxed. “Kiss me.” She needed to feel his lips, to know for herself if there was truly this mating connection between them.

With his hand still pressed against the back of her head, he pressed his lips to hers. It was gentle at first, barely a peck as if he was holding back, but when she reached out and placed her hand on his chest, it seemed to light something within him. His tongue slid between her lips, opening her mouth so he could invade and explore. Their tongues danced together and she clenched her fingers around his shirt, drawing him closer. The heat and desire seemed to spread within her and she forgot about everything else. A soft moan escaped her throat and with one final kiss, he pulled back.

Not wanting him to pull away from her, she held tight to his shirt. That kiss was everything she thought it would be and more. The surge of energy and desire exploded from every cell in her body. Her body vibrated from the purr of his lion along her skin, teasing along until she could swear she felt fur brush along her skin as his fingers traced down her arm. His other hand, still in her hair, kept her close but she wanted to be closer. She wanted his body pressed along hers until there was nothing between them.

“Wow.”

“Sweets, that was nothing. Wait until I get you back home.” He leaned back enough to grab the hem of her shirt and carefully slid the material up her chest until it was off. His eyes widened as he stared down at her sitting in only her bra and panties. “Fuck!”

“Disappointed or dying to get your hands on me?” She tried to determine what the answer would be but his features were rock hard and he wasn’t giving anything away.

“I’m fucking pissed.” He snarled, shaking his head. “Damn it, sweets. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt this bad?”

“I’m fine.” She didn’t need a mirror to know how bad it looked; she could feel every cut, bruise, and broken bone. The knife had sliced through the skin on her stomach, over and over again, without cutting deep enough to do more than bleed her. Her shoulder was sore from her kidnapping, when he shoved her into a tree, nearly dislocating it. The bruises were more of an eyesore than anything else. They were the least of her worries.

“Bullshit.” Gently, he pressed his hand to her ribcage, feeling along the curve, until she hissed out in pain. “Broken rib but at least it didn’t puncture your lung. The bruising…what the hell?”

“What?” She tried to see what he was seeing but he placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pressed her back.

“What the fuck did that asshole do to you?” His fingers caressed right above her hipbone.

“What’s there? What do you see?” She tried to wiggle to see what he was talking about but the pain in her ribs stopped her. “Damn it, Roger, tell me.”

“Shh, sweets. I’ll show you.” He grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket, snapped a picture, and held the screen out to her.

The image displayed took her breath away. She wouldn’t have believed it was her skin if she hadn’t seen the flash go off when he took the picture. Her normal pale skin was an angry shade of purple, with hints of reds and blues. It looked like a child’s art project that got out of hand but there, within the horrid bruise, was a tread mark. He’d kicked her so hard that the bruise held the mark of his shoes.

“We’re going to have Doctor Graham look you over when we get back to Crimson Hollow. We need to make sure you don’t have any internal injuries.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” His back straightened, until he was standing ramrod straight in front of her.

“Don’t look at me like that and don’t pull away from me. I know more about your kind than you obviously think. If there were internal injuries, you’d know.”

“We’re not mated yet. I can’t feel your pain like that,” he reasoned, but she wasn’t accepting it.

“Mated couples can feel the other’s pain and injuries, unless they’re shielding, and being human I wouldn’t know how to. But that’s not what I meant.” She watched him for a moment, waiting for him to understand what she meant, but he remained silent. “Shifters can smell that type of injury. If I had internal trauma, you’d smell it. Just like you could smell the copper scent of blood. I don’t need Doctor Graham or anyone else and you know it.”

“I don’t.” He took a step back from her. “I need to know. We need to know. I won’t risk you.”

“You’re not risking me. Trust your lion, you’d know.” She sat up and held out a hand to him. In a flash, he took her offered hand. “Come here.”

“You’re my mate. I need to know you’re okay.”

“Trust your lion,” she repeated. “Has your beast ever been wrong?”

“How do you know we can smell things like that?” he asked, avoiding her question.

“Noah…” In an instant, she was back in Crimson Hollow, hours before she’d taken off, standing there in her sister’s living room as she learned the news. I’m pregnant. Karri’s words echoed through her thoughts. It was too early to tell and pregnancy tests would come back negative, but Karri and Noah knew without a doubt that she was pregnant. Noah could smell it in his mate’s scent. Other shifters would know soon enough, but Karri had wanted Arlene to be the first to know.

That news gave her an extra dose of strength as she thought about her sister and the coming birth. In less than three months, she’d be an aunt. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around how quick the pregnancy would be but since Karri wasn’t having a human child, but a shifter, that meant the gestation period would match their animal’s—in this case a lion, so it would be a short three and a half months.

“Arlene?” His voice brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

“Karri’s pregnant. They wanted to tell me before everyone else knew.” She met his gaze and smiled. “Thanks to you, I’m going to be alive to see my niece or nephew.”

“Nieces or nephews. Plural, sweets.”

“They know?” The idea of more than one baby had her jaw dropping open. Shifter pregnancies were completely different and with them lasting a shorter amount of time she wasn’t sure what else was different. Maybe Doctor Graham could do a sonogram and know for certain how many she’d have, or even the sexes. For all she knew, maybe that was something Noah and the others could smell.

“In the wild, lions have three to six cubs. As shifters, we favor that aspect of our animal. It’s extremely rare, especially for a lion, to have a single baby. Multiples are the norm for us.” He grabbed another bottle of water and began to wet a rag to wipe down her skin. “It’s a lot to take in.”

She wasn’t sure what she thought of multiple babies at once but she was going to take things one day at a time. Today that was her sister’s predicament, though she had a feeling that in the future she’d be in the same position.

“Especially when you’re mated to a lion.”