Page 88 of Trusting Her Bear

“I like to know the name of the men I kill,” I snarl.

“You can’t kill me. They aren’t here yet,” he says, panicking, stumbling backward.

“Who?”

“Just wait,” he says, holding his palm out. “Wait.”

“When I imagined the man who ripped my mate's clothes, it was nothing like you.” I look at him with disgust.

“I…” He stops, looking to his right. “Oh, thank god,” he whispers.

I narrow my eyes at him and follow his gaze.

A figure is walking through the trees.

They are moving slowly but steadily.

I tilt my head, the man in front of me forgotten. I should have known he wasn’t the man in charge.

This person is.

I take a breath.

What?

My body is flooded with confusion.

I shake my head rapidly, squinting.

No.

How?

Why?

I put my hand to my chest, the blow to my heart harsh in its intensity.

She’s twenty feet away.

She smiles manically.

Fifteen feet away.

She brushes her hand down her dress.

Ten feet away.

This is the closest I have been to her since I was seventeen.

Five feet.

“Mom?” I rasp.

Chapter Nineteen

Stephanie

Quinn is gone. I reach out beside me even though I know he isn’t there. I stretch with a smile on my face. I slept so well because of him, and I must admit, a mattress is heaven compared to the floor. I look up at the canopy above me; warmth cascades over me and I press my palms over my cheeks. My mate. My love.