Chapter Twenty-Five
DOMONIC
Draven is shivering before me, her body quaking with fear.
What the fuck did I do?
I am suddenly alarmingly aware of the hostile stance I have taken with her since finding out from Gryffin that she reeks of a Panther Shifter. All of which stems from misplaced jealousy. Being as the shifter was feline – he had ultimately been much easier for Gryffin to scent. The fact that Draven is my unbonded mate, makes it difficult for me to tap into anything other than her natural aroma. I won’t be able to recognize the carry of another’s sex on her until she and I have bonded. I mean – I would if she’d slept with someone else recently but such was not the case. All I’m getting from her is the pull the need the recognition that she is mine.
The guys may have smelled him on her and had no idea it wasn’t anything but normal. None of us had ever met a panther before. So
none of would have known the scent.
But Gryffin had. He’d known.
So naturally I want to know who the guy is. The smell of another’s sex can only last up to a month – unless of course it is mine. So whomever she was with had to be recent – within the span of a couple weeks.
Once I bond her, my scent and hers will mingle to become one and the same. But until then – all I will get is her.
But she doesn’t know any of this and I just came off as some kind of psychotic overbearing jerk.
Once I bond her? What? Am I going to? No! I can’t!
But fuck if I don’t want to.
Shit!
I really, really want to. But I can’t. That would be selfish since ultimately, she will have to leave.
I reach out for her, trying to soothe her, to bring her back from wherever she’d gone the moment I became such a reckless asshole. She jerks at my touch, her eyes flying open and her lip lifting in disgust.
“Don’t touch me,” she hisses. “Don’t you dare.”
“I’m sorry Draven,” I sigh, my heart clenching at the dismissal I see in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to-”
“Fuck you,” she snaps. “Fuck you! How dare you? First you call me a liar! Now you want to touch me? Go to fucking hell!
Then almost in a panic, she reaches into her pocket for her tips and begins counting them. A giant cloud of dismay crests over my person. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She glares at her money, not looking up at all.
Well at least she isn’t crying anymore.
Draven? What are you doing???” I ask again.
She finishes counting her bills and stands. “Giving you what you’ve wanted since I got off the train. I’m leaving.” Then she bolts for the
door.
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Chapter Twenty–Five
In that one moment, the whole of my world seems to crash in around me.
The fuck if she is!
I leap from the sofa and catch her around the waist, my arms clamping around her as she fights and claws to get free of me. “Let me go!” She snarls, biting down on my forearm.
“No,” I whisper, my lips against her ear. “No, no please. I’m sorry. I-”
“Fuck you!” She shouts again, writhing and wiggling before sobbing in frustration then freezing completely.
“Draven please. It’s late at night and there’s nowhere else for you to go. Just stay. Give me a minute please. Just listen to me I-”
“Fine,” she hisses. “But let me go. I don’t want you touching me.”
Fuck that hurt.
The burn in my chest is crippling in power. I drop my arms and tumble back onto the sofa, thankful that she doesn’t flee. She turns around slowly, her sparkling green eyes full of manic anger.
“You want to know who the last person that fucked me was – is that it?” She snaps, spitting each word like a bullet my way. “Is that what’s got you treating me like some sleazy-”
“Hey!” I protest. “I never called you-”
She chuckles humorlessly. “You didn’t have to.”
I lower my eyes. “Fuck. You’re right I shouldn’t have-
“I told you!” She interrupts. “I said I wasn’t ready to talk about him! I told you to give me some time. But no – you had to push and push and push.”
She is angry now, tapping her foot like a madwoman. But as she stands there, her words begin to sink in. Melting against my questions to produce an answer that has been in front of me from the very moment I saw her bruises.
Rage. Flaming hot dances through me at the realization.
“No,” I choke out, trapping my face in my hands. “Fuck.”
“Yes you son–of-a-bitch. Yes.”
When I drop my hands to look at her, the despair in her breaks me. Her eyes are closed and she is crying again. Her body trembling as silent tears stream down her cheeks.
What have I done?
I did this. I am an idiot.
I will find that bastard and cut off a piece of him every goddamn day until his heart stops beating.
Draven,” I whisper, standing to take her against my body. “It’s alright. I’ve got you now. Please,” I say into her hair as she moans against my chest. “Let me hold you. I need to hold you. I’m sorry.”
Beneath my chin I feel her nod and I lift her into my arms to carry her upstairs to my room where I sit back on my bed and gently rocked her to sleep for the second night in a row.
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14:05 Wed, Nov 13.
Chapter Twenty–Five
Finally, when all is quiet and she is limp in my arms, I pull down the duvet and settle her against the pillows. Shifting her only enough to take off her shoes and cover her up. While her body still quakes slightly from all of the tears she’s shed, I sigh in relief that she is still here, still with me. Safe in my bed.
She almost ran from me. I almost chased her away.
But then, as I watch her, a cold realization hits me.
Not only does this mean her stepfather had probably raped her.
But he is a shifter. And… according to Gryffin – that bastard is already here.
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