Secretly Mated(18)

And she didn’t leave it at that. “I’ll never belong to a male like you. Mating is not something I ever want for myself. Am I making myself clear? Because if you try anything like the lion did, Cleaver’s bears will be on you so fast—”

“I wanted you know before you left with me to the Ouachitas. I didn’t want you feeling trapped. I could’ve waited until later, but you deserved to know so you could make an informed decision.” He got the words past his throat even though he was having a hard time breathing.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He swallowed hard, looking away. She’d set her boundaries. Never mating. Never his. Not going anywhere with him.

She thought he was a monster, no matter what he’d done tonight to save a stranger.

He nodded, rubbing his hands together and wishing the blood was gone.

“Your decision. But just so you know, mating isn’t for me either. It’s why I took Magic’s pledge. I have no intention of breaking it.”

“What pledge?”

“To be part of the clan, you must pledge to forgo mating. Each of us have, and you and Tana will too.” He hesitated. “If you decide to come.”

“I can’t trust you,” she repeated, and it reaffirmed everything he knew about feline union  s. They never worked out. Mandi couldn’t trust Magic, and it cost her life. Trust was the thing missing from the equation. The females were too suspicious and the males were too careless.

“I know,” he said, meeting her horrified gaze. “Even if I haven’t given you a reason not to.”

“I need to think. I need you to go.”

Owyn nodded. “Yeah. I know. I’m leaving at dawn. The choice is up to you. The clan is safe. I am safe. There’s a home for you there if you want it, and it doesn’t come with the price of mating.”

He turned to leave.

“If I say no… what about Tana?”

Owyn glanced over his shoulder. “I’m taking the female with me. It’s the safest place for her. Cleaver isn’t wrong about that. I promise you, she’ll be treated like a queen.”

With that, he walked away from his mate, not knowing if it would be the last time he ever saw her.





Chapter Six



Now…

Owyn pressed the phone to his ear, striving for patience as the line rang.

This was a bad idea.

He and Tana might love each other like brother and sister, but their relationship was a hard one.

Until she’d mated the wolf, Surge, and moved away, they’d done more fighting than anything else. No matter how grateful she was for what Owyn had done for her that night at Cleaver’s, her animal saw him as the person who’d killed her mate and was conflicted about her feelings on the matter.

But the new mating had changed things. They’d grown closer even with the extra miles between them. And there was no one else he could talk to about this. If Tana couldn’t help him, he’d have to wing it.

But shit, Doc deserved better than some fumbling idiot’s attempt at courting her. He had to get this right.

The ring cut off and a deep voice passed through the line. “Yo, cat. Wasssssup?”

It was Surge, Tana’s mate. Not the person he was expecting.

“Dog,” he said as a greeting. “Looking for Tana. She around?”

“Mmmm. Maybe. What do you want her for?”

Owyn rolled his eyes at his bro-in-law’s tone. Surge was a joker by nature. Playful and generally up to no good. The kind of male Tana would never be interested in. Which made their union   all the more fascinating. But he was a good male. He took good care of his female and their young, Gracie. Most importantly, he made Tana happy. For that, he had Owyn’s respect.

“I need her uh… advice on a personal matter.” Owyn kept his voice low even though he was in the safety of his own cabin. Shifters had big ears, and none of them needed to hear what he was saying.

“Personal matter, huh?” Surge mused. “What kind of personal matter?”

“None of your fucking business, ya dick. Put Tana on.”

“But see, that’s the thing. It’s totally my business. Everything to do with my mate is my business. So when you say personal, it’s like… if there are weird spots on your ass and you need to ask her what you should do about it. My business. Or if you can’t decide how to shave your face. Disposable or straightedge. My business. Or whether or not you should have a mustache—that’s a no, by the way—and you think Tana can clear that up for you. My business. See what I mean, cat?”

Owyn took a breath to answer but stopped when Surge said, “Hey! I wasn’t done with that!”