Page 22 of Savoring Her Snake

“Quinn is pissed, isn’t he?” Gabby asks, rubbing her arms.

“He’s angry that you got hurt.” Her bruises are fading slower than the others. The bear who hurt her must have had a nasty grip.

“We shouldn’t have come,” she says.

“There is no excuse for putting your hands on a woman in anger,” I say.

“Thank you, Heath,” Sally says. “We couldn’t handle all of them.” I nod slowly.

“It’s almost morning. You need to return to your hotel, and I need to get Juliana home.” I don’t meet my mate's eyes as I walk to her, pressing on her back. “Bane, escort them to the hotel and Rylee home. I will send Hunter. Take care of the bodies.”

“Yeah, Boss,” he grumbles. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk about a pay raise.”

“We can do that,” I say, my lips twitching. Hunter and Bane are invaluable to me, and taking care of two wild rabbits is not part of their job description.

“Wait,” Rylee says, and I stop in the doorway. “I want to get to know my new sister.”

“There will be time later,” I say and leave the house. I stay close to Juliana as we walk to the car, wishing I could read her mind, but thankfully, I don’t smell fear. I open her door and wait for her to drop in the seat. Taking my time, I circle the back of the car, containing the rage that still simmers inside. When I use my power, my energy rarely drops drastically like most shifters. I don’t use my gifts to that extent daily, so I have reserves, but this time, my emotions are pulling at me. Having my mate near those men wasn’t my best idea.

“Who is Rylee?” Juliana asks when I sit in the driver's seat. She puts the knife by her feet.

“Rylee is a fox shifter. I found her on the street outside my casino. She was badly beaten, and her clothes were barely hanging on her body. She was hiding behind the dumpster and terrified when she saw me. Her arm was broken, and she was struggling to shift. When a shifter is hurt, the ideal way to heal is to turn into your animal; she didn’t have the strength to do it.” Her pain and distrust was understandable. “I somehow convinced her to allow me to take care of her. Usually, if I found a hurt shifter, I would instruct someone else to help them. For some reason, I felt a need to take care of her.

“I brought her home and bandaged her, cleaned her up, and gave her a safe space to heal. Human medicine doesn’t work for us; anything I gave her would have burned away before it took effect. She had to deal with the pain. Slowly, she began to heal. She didn’t know what I was, and I didn’t share. I gave her a room, food, and calmness. She stayed in the room for three weeks without a word. Eventually, she shifted and healed completely, at least on the outside.” Remembering the early days of our relationship is difficult. “Both of us were unsure of what to do in the situation. Slowly, our friendship grew. We ate meals together, and she started to open up.” My hand tightens on the wheel. “She shared some of the abuse her kidnappers had done to her. I feel uncomfortable speaking of her experience.”

“You don’t have to,” she says. “It’s her choice to share.” I nod gratefully.

“It was despicable, and it took years for her to reveal all of it to me. She didn’t have a family and didn’t have anywhere to go. She was seventeen.”

“So young,” she mumbles.

“Our world is different. At her age, she was mature. Shifters live with magic and grow up with it. It’s not the same as a seventeen-year-old human. The things she lived through made her older than her years. I asked if she wanted to stay with me as my sister, and she accepted. I taught her how to fight and gave her everything she deserved to have. I tried to give her a normal life, even though I am far from normal. We battled those who assumed she was with me romantically. We have never felt that way about each other. She is my chosen sister, and I have defended her as such. She lived with me until she was twenty-three and thought she was ready to live by herself. I felt like a father losing their child when she moved out, but she stressed the importance of taking charge of her life.” I laugh lightly. “It’s a weird sensation.

“I see her all the time. She fights for me and wins almost every time. I don’t worry about her as much. I think she uses her fists to fight back the memories of the men who abused her.” I stop the car and turn to Juliana. “She doesn’t know it, but I have been tracking down the men.”

“Have you found them?” she asks, removing her belt.

“Some.” I turn off the car. “Ten men hurt my sister. I have killed six.” I open my door. “I won’t stop until they are all dead.”

Chapter Seven

Juliana

IwalkbesideHeaththroughthe empty club and down the stairs. The pieces that make him who he is, are slowly falling into place. He expects my judgment and fear, similar to Rylee when he found her. His love and concern for a strange girl he found is admirable. I sympathize with Rylee and the things she must have gone through. I understand Heath’s need to respect her privacy. I heard him talking on the phone and couldn’t help my curiosity. His fear of my reaction to his animal if he took me encouraged me to prove him wrong. I didn’t know all the details, but he was on a mission, and I knew it was something he needed to do. Yesterday, I would have laughed my ass off if someone told me the things I would do today. Following a man I barely know into a house filled with people who turn into animals is the story of a fairytale. Heath’s power is indescribable. He told me his cane was an extension of his power, but until I saw him wield it, I had no clue what that meant. Seeing someone die is disturbing, but I felt detached as their heads were severed from their bodies.

When we arrive, Hunter is sitting on the couch. He stands, his expression neutral, but his body is tense.

“They are fine,” Heath says. “Bane is waiting for you. Take care of the bodies and take tomorrow off.” Hunter looks at his watch.

“You mean today,” he says dryly.

“I guess it is,” Heath mutters.

“Levi woke up and took his medication,” he informs us. “He’s asleep and didn’t seem concerned about his sister.”

“Thank you for staying with him,” I say. Hunter nods at me and leaves the room, his footsteps receding as he walks up the stairs.

“You need sleep.” Heath still hasn’t met my eyes.

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