Page 57 of Purrfectly Mated

Her eyes flashed to his. Hunter thought he saw fear there for a second, but it passed so quickly, he pushed the thought aside. Elissa’s gasp had sent him to her side, and Blake backed up.

Good thing too. Hunter’s beast was outraged. Had he scented her blood, Blake would have died before he took his next breath.

As it was, the Beta walked away with the tray and set down the coffee, cream, plates, and slices of pie on the table nonchalantly. Hunter’s Tiger urged him to grab his Beta by his scruff and pin him down for upsetting Elissa at all.

At the same time he wanted to take her upstairs, so he could taste her most secret, sweetest pie again and again. The cherry pie on the table smelled heavenly, but it was nothing compared to the one between his mate’s legs.

That thought brought on a ton of possessive snarling and growling inside his head. Shit. He was a mess.

Mine, growled the animal.

Hunter shook his head and watched Elissa standing before his Beta with strength and determination in her gaze until it turned to him. Then it changed. Power still wrapped around her like a protective blanket, but there was something more. Her usually dark brown eyes glittered at him, turning to gold right before she moaned aloud and doubled over in pain.

“Elissa!”

Hunter roared, catching her before she could collapse to the hard floor. She tensed in his arms and opened her mouth.

Fucking hell!

A set of long fangs protruded from her mouth, long and sharp. Next was a wave of pain and as it rolled through her, it nearly sent him to his knees.

The matebond,he thought as he gritted his teeth against a second, sharp stabbing pain. He was connected to her through their bond and feeling what she was.

Puspa.

The word popped into his head, and panic gripped him for a second. No wonder she was growling. His poor, beautiful mate was in the throes of something that was the stuff of legends.

The Puspa had started, and it was happeningnow. Like really happening.

His mate was going through something profound and extraordinary. Something that would leave the two of them vulnerable, and with Blake in the room. Not very fucking likely.

Hunter tore from the space, anxious to get his mate away from the threat of another male while she underwent the painful process that was Puspa.

With Elissa on his arms, he retreated to the larger, open living room. Throwing back his head, he roared a warning to everyone in the Pride House.

His mating bite had awakened something inside of her. Something wondrous and exceedingly rare. Something this fucker was not going to take from him.

Inside the large living room, Hunter spotted Brayden and Reg lounging on the sofa, waiting for him to finish his meeting, he assumed.

“Neta?” Brayden questioned.

The Bear stood and looked at Elissa’s prone form with raised eyebrows.

“It’s the Puspa,” he growled. “Call Mikey at the clinic and tell him what I said.”

Hunter placed Elissa gently on the sofa. Behind him, he felt his enemy, Blake, stalking him. When had this happened?

When had their friendship gone bad? Fuck. He heard the snap of bones, the tearing of muscles, as the man changed forms from human to beast.

“It is not right, Hunter. She should not be the Nari. You leave me no choice,” Blake grunted.

He was barely coherent beneath his fangs. Fur sprouted across his chest, more tawny than orange, and he became his animal with each breath.

“Elissa is the Nari, and you are no longer of the Maverick Pride. I banish you,” Hunter snarled.

His change was completely different from Blake’s painful process. Highly attuned to his beast, one moment was all it took for Hunter to go from skin to his own fur. Just one thought, and he was his animal.

As the Pride Neta, he was the strongest of the males, but that was not all. Hunter was also the largest.

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