Page 116 of Mated
My teeth tighten. Daisy cries out.
Strong hands run through my fur, the touch gentle but firm. “Kitten. I know. But let her go.” Tanner’s voice is closer now, vibrating through me as he eases his hands up closer to my head. Every damn touch soothes the beast.
Tempers it. Just a little.
We arch and the growl fades to a deep purr.
“Let her go,” he rumbles. His fingers slip along my mouth and his flavor coats my tongue over Daisy’s blood. The combination makes me jolt back. I release Daisy fast.
Padding backward slowly, I leave Daisy huddled on the floor as my head tucks low. Waiting for an admonishment. Ebony and shockingly Rosa haul Daisy to her feet as Callus slips thick shackles over her wrists with a final click.
But my eyes are all for the man before me.
Tanner tracks me with his gaze. Crouched down, he still towers over me. So strong. So powerful. I shiver.
“Come here.” The command rips through me.
I step forward, alighting one paw in front of the other.
He waits until I am inches in front of him before his massive body curls around me. Even outside of beast form his heat is unbelievable. It washes through me until my body shakes and my eyes flutter. His strong hands grip my face.
“Change back.”
The mist swirls around me and with his hold on my skin, its hard to focus on the pain as my bones snap and shift. Within seconds, I am nude and pressed to his front.
He shrugs off his shirt and pulls it over my head before crushing me back to him. I wait for the sharp words. The anger.
But there is a fine tremble to his body that I have never felt. “You are the strongest, sexiest fucking creature I have ever met,” he breathes into my ear. He pulls back, his silver eyes luminous and stark. “But if you ever scare me like that again, I will chain you to my fucking bed and keep you there.”
My lips curve.
Holding me tight to his frame, he climbs to his feet, tugging me up with him.
“Let me go,” Daisy rails, pulling uselessly at her cuffs.
Ebony leans into her face and the woman is all midnight menace. “Shut the fuck up, traitor,” she snaps, her teeth long and deadly. “You’ll have your chance to talk when I’m through with you. But I’m in no rush.”
Daisy pales. Caine, Lilah, and Ruin crowd our back as Ebony and Rosa haul her down the hall.
The demon’s hand alights on my back, his touch warm and familiar. Kind. “I knew there was something off about her from the beginning.”
My eyes roll.
Tanner snorts and claps the demon on the back. “Sure you did, Caine,” he mutters. “Sure you did.”
Chapter 49
Tanner
I end the call and let the breeze pull at my clothes. The field of Silver Rock is quiet now. Empty. Most of the pack won’t be here until the weekend, and by then, my team will be long gone.
After Daisy broke under Ebony’s not so tender care, a lot of shit came out. Including the location of her Brightex dealer on the Gulf. Though it isn’t in our territory, Ruin plans on paying a respectful visit to the coven house there on the way home.
But under all her scheming to destroy Callus’ position as Alpha, was her anger toward me. I was a deserter in her eyes. In the pack’s eyes. And I own that shit.
I left because my own head was fucked up, and I knew I couldn’t lead them. I couldn’t be the Alpha they needed and the job fell to Callus.
Being back here is hard. But I don’t regret it. Not for a fucking minute. But I also know that it’s well past time for me to move on. From all of it.
