Page 72 of Fractured Mates
Another text comes through.
River: I can’t tell Jules that she’s safe, but she is. I’m locking her in a crate in my room on the first floor while I give the all-clear signal to the others waiting. It’s the third bedroom on the left when you go down the second hallway in case you can get to her before I do. Ten minutes and it’s go time.
“Ten minutes, Sophie,” I plead with her. “River was waiting until he got your sister, and now they’re all moving into position. We’re going to get her. Just ten more minutes.”
Her chest is heaving, and she’s refusing to look at me, but I won’t let her pull away. Not when I’ve only just found her, and especially not after the breakdown she had when we were in bed.
I close the distance she’s created between us in three long strides. My palms gently cup her face, and I force her eyes to look at me. “I know you’re scared, but you have dozens of people here to help you and to save your sister, including me. Even if you can’t believe in any of them, believe in me.”
Her lower lip quivers, but no tears fill her eyes. “If you’re wrong, if something happens to her, it won’t just be me that I’ll never be able to forgive. I don’t want to hate you like I know I’ll hate myself. I know you won’t deserve it, but I won’t be able to stop my emotions.”
My arms wrap around her, and I hold her close, kissing the top of her head. “It’s not going to come to that. We’re going to go in there, stop Astor, and take your sister away from that pack. Anything else is unacceptable.”
She’s shaking her head against my chest. “No.” She pulls away, her eyes darker than I’ve yet to see them. “We won’t stop Astor. I will kill him. Whatever your boss wants with him, it’s not going to happen if it hasn’t already. I will end that son of a bitch tonight.”
Not that I don’t understand why she needs to kill Astor, but I can’t help myself from thinking about the stolen wolves. Wondering how many of them are children, how much they might be tortured. Keeping Astor alive just a while longer could be the only way to save those who have been taken. Passing up that opportunity seems wrong.
Though, I’m not telling her that. Not now.
“Let’s get our things,” I tell her, leaning in to kiss her, but she turns her head, and my lips barely brush against her cheek.
“Yeah, let’s do that.” Her dry tone makes my stomach sink.
Sophie, I say sharply through our bond.
She pauses but doesn’t turn around.
You’re my mate, and I will do whatever I can to protect you and make you happy, I tell her, hoping the words will help, but I frown when her shoulders stiffen.
And what if whatever you can do isn’t enough? she asks indifferently. The deeper we get into this, the more I see that we’re not the same. That’s okay, but I won’t be someone else now that we’ve bonded, and I don’t expect you to be. You saw what I’m capable of. There will be bloodshed tonight. I’m not a protector, and I don’t care about protector laws. My feelings for you don’t change what I need.
This isn’t fucking happening. Not right now. Not before we’re about to head into a fight that could get us both killed if we’re not at our best.
Once again, I move forward and spin her around just as she’s about to enter the bedroom. I push her against the wall and pin her there, demanding her full attention.
“Enough,” I snap, my face only inches from hers. “I get that you’ve had shitty things happen to you, but I’m not one of them. I’m your mate, and even if we don’t agree, I will always support you. My job is not more important than you, but I also expect you to respect who I am. I consider the wellbeing of others, even at my own expense. And while your needs come above all others, can’t Astor being captured be enough until we save the others? Then, end him.”
Her face softens, but her eyes harden. “No. I need blood, and I need it tonight. It’s who I am.”
“No—”
“Yes, Kyler,” she says pointedly. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but I’m selfish enough not to back down from this. I also won’t lie to you. I want to push you away right now because that’s easier than disappointing you, but admitting that doesn’t change anything. I’m going to kill Astor.”
My forehead presses to hers, and my heart aches for the hurt she’s been holding on to for far too long. When she doesn’t shove me away or storm off, I close my eyes and focus on my thoughts. Though, it isn’t words that speak the loudest within my mind, it’s my feelings for Sophie.
I’m her mate. First and foremost. Taking a deep breath and calming my emotions, I can admit that my preference to keep Astor alive is more about the protector in me taking root than about who I am. Murder in self-defense isn’t something I’ve shied away from, and defending the life of my mate is the most important thing to me.
Yet, I’ve basically just said otherwise to her.
The moment I accepted this incredible woman into my life, I made the choice to forsake everything else without realizing it. Her happiness. Her peace. Those are what matter to me. Leaving Astor alive won’t give her that. There must be others out there who know where the stolen shifters are.
We will find them. We have to, because not allowing my mate this comfort of knowing Astor can never hurt her or anyone she cares about again is no longer acceptable.
“I’m sorry, Sophie,” I tell her solemnly. “You’re right. Astor needs to die, and there’s nothing wrong with you needing that to happen. I was thinking like a protector, but that’s not all I am any longer. I’m yours, and that holds priority over everything else.”
Our stares lock and slowly, she releases the wall that I could feel her building back up between us. Neither of us moves for several seconds as we soak in one another’s emotions and acknowledge the shared truths along with the hurt, the fear, and the need to protect one another.
We’re going into a pack that wants us dead. That’s not to be taken lightly, and even though Sophie was ready to run right in, I feel her sense of awareness growing through our bond.