Mine. She is all mine, and I want her now.
He felt the intensity of knowing she was his mate, but he was better at controlling himself than the animal he housed. It was his lion roaring out those words in his head, pounding them inside of him over and over again. The lion tried with desperation to be released. It clawed and snapped to be released and claim its mate, but Maverick was just as strong as the fucker, knew that if he let the beast out destruction would follow, and he wasn’t about to put his mate, or anyone else for that matter, at risk. Slowly he lifted her head, and when her hazel eyes, ones that were far more green than brown, met his everything inside of him momentarily froze. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing kicked into overdrive. She was a Pallas’s cat shifter, his mate, and staring at him like she was scared as fuck to be in his presence. Any other time he would have agreed that she should have been running in the other direction, especially when his lion was so close to the surface, threatening to break free, but this wasn’t one of those times. She was his mate. His. She had nothing to fear from him, but everything to fear from his lion, because that motherfucker wanted out, and it wanted her. It wouldn’t be gentle and soft. It would take her the way it wanted: rough, raw, and unforgiving until neither of them could walk afterwards.
Maverick inhaled deeply, and a low growl left him. Yeah, she was fucking his, but that wasn’t the only thing he scented. He should have picked up the smell instantly, but the fact of the matter was his senses had been clouded when he realized she was all his. The very light scent of Viktor Milokov surrounded her, but it wasn’t for any other reason than because they shared the same blood. Maverick kept hold of her arms and looked around. She seemed to be alone, and he couldn’t detect any other malicious presence close by. He pushed her into the motel and then into the room he’d just left and closed the door silently. At least she hadn’t fought him, but she would have lost regardless. Once inside the darkened room he smelled her fear peak and intensify. With her being a shifter she knew who and what he was to her, that she was his mate and that also meant he wouldn’t be letting her go, no matter who her father was. Fuck. But that didn’t make his anger that she was here, that she had found him, any less momentous.
“Who sent you?” He kept his voice low and didn’t hold off on the growl that was laced within the words. Despite the darkened room he saw her perfectly. Her eyes widened further, and she took a step back. What confused him was why she was so frightened if Viktor had sent her, which he clearly had, because the chances that she just happened to stumble upon him were slim to none. But Maverick had known this day was inevitable. The logical explanation was that she was bait, and that they had somehow, against all odds, realized what she was to him and planned on using her against him. It was a pretty fucking farfetched reason, but when it came to the Milokov crime family, he didn’t put anything past them. He may have just found her, only spent a few moments in her presence, but that didn’t make his need to protect her or keep her close to him any less intense. It didn’t matter if this was all staged, or if she was part of some conspiracy because her father knew he was still alive. This little Pallas’s cat was his, and no one would change that.
“W-what?” She stuttered out that word, and he knitted his brow. She could try to act coy, play games, and lie to him, but when he inhaled deeply he knew she was doing none of those. He was a shifter and could tell things by scent, sight, and instinct alone, but the type of breed he was, more animal than human, had his senses far more advanced, precise, and sharp. He could tell that his question had come as a surprise to her. When he didn’t answer her she spoke again. “No one sent me.” Her voice was low, and the aroma of hyacinth filled the room.
“No?” He crossed his arms over his chest, made no move to take a step toward her, yet she backed away because he obviously terrified her. She was smart, had no doubt sensed his feral lion, and was trying to think of a way to escape, but there was none. He blocked the door and had no intentions of letting her out of his sight anyway. “You know what you are to me, yeah?” He heard her swallow, watched the delicate line of her throat move from of the act, and saw her nod. “Then you also know I won’t let you go.” She clenched her hands in front of her, but he saw the way she looked around the room in a frantic notion.
“You don’t understand.” She licked her lips, and Maverick was mesmerized by the sight. “You can’t keep me here. I have to go, keep moving, or—”