by Mason Sabre
Cade.
He was there.
Worried she might be dreaming, she whispered tentatively, “Cade?”
The bed shifted and dipped. “I’m right here.” Her breath hitched, his deep, quiet voice a balm to her frayed nerves. She reached for him, suddenly desperate for his touch, her calmness nothing but a fleeting memory as a craving roused deep inside. “I’m right here,” he reassured her gently, catching her hand in his and lacing his fingers through hers. He brought his face close to hers, so close that she could feel his breath against her face—a mixture of coffee and whiskey. The scent ignited her need even more, a part of her calling to him, starving. Her fingers tightened around his and a small sob tore from her—she thought she’d never see him again, never touch him or smell him. She tugged at his hand, trying to pull him down and he immediately leaned in close, bracing a hand above her head.
“I’m here, Gem.” She lifted her arm so that she could wrap it around the back of his neck, but pain speared through her, red and hot. It burnt with a fury and she whimpered, the torn muscles from where she had been shot still not fully healed. “Don’t try to move.” But she couldn’t help it. He was so close, but she wanted closer. She pulled herself up, an overwhelming need to feel him against her. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted every part of him. Her tiger had awoken and she was demanding and determined. She didn’t care about the pain—all she cared about was Cade. She called to his wolf, called to her mate.
Her mate …
No one else’s. Not the Castle woman’s. Not anyone’s. He was hers. Gemma turned her head and their mouths met in a tender kiss. Warm lips pressed against hers, kissing her so deeply that her mind threatened to fall away and lose itself.
“Cade,” she breathed.
He leaned into her, the stubble along his jaw grazing her cheek as he buried his face in her shoulder. His breath was warm against her bare skin and he clung to her with a need that matched her own.
“I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” she sobbed after a long moment. “I thought they would kill us. I …”
“It’s okay,” he soothed her, a muscle working in his jaw. “It’s all over … you’re here with me now. I’m never letting you go.” His voice was laced with a vehemence that promised retribution.
“They shot me … with silver.” She pulled back so that she could look at him without letting him go. “The baby …”
Cade reached up and brushed a stray hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “The baby is okay.” His hand trailed around and gently cupped her face.
She wanted to believe that. She really did. She turned her face into his palm and breathed him in deep.
“Do you promise?” she asked, her eyes searching his desperately, looking for any hint of a lie, and hoping to find none.
His hand slide down her body, his touch electrifying as it travelled down her bare skin. All she wore was her underwear and every nerve in her body came to life from his touch alone. He stopped when he reached her abdomen, warmth seeping into her skin as his large hand spread over the smooth expanse if skin. God, how she had missed his touch.
“I promise,” he said. “You’ve been asleep a few days, you know? The doctor says that the baby is absolutely fine.”
“How can he be sure?”
“Because he is a doctor,” he said, a small smile dancing at the corners of his mouth. When that answer didn’t seem to satisfy her, he added, “They did tests. Something about the hormones and the bloods. I promise the baby is okay.”
She nodded weakly. Cade wouldn’t lie to her. This was his child, too. “How is Phoenix?” The sudden memory of everything that had happened suddenly crashed into her mind.
“He’s fine,” Cade assured her. “He’s healed. He healed pretty fast.”
“He saved my life,” she whispered. “And the girl’s.”
“Sage.”
Gemma nodded and bit down on her lip. She’d taken that little girl’s life away, perhaps taken her away from her family, her race. She would be wanted by no one now, and it was all her fault. “I had to …”
Cade touched a finger to Gemma’s lips. “Phoenix told us. It’s okay.”
“I took her life away. Is she okay? Did she … make it?”
“She’s with your mum. It’s early days still. But she’s giving her some of that gunk she gives to Phoenix.”
“But long term?” Gemma wasn’t so sure she wanted to know. It had been a fight to keep Phoenix, one that was still very much ongoing. How would Trevor take to a second half-breed in his Society? But he was a fool. She had seen the things that Phoenix was capable of. He had strength that they only dreamt about.
“I don’t know,” Cade said. “No one has talked about it yet.” Maybe that wasn’t so bad, Gemma thought to herself. At least it wasn’t that she was being thrown out.
“What happened to Patterson? It’s all such a blur.” Every time she tried to bring the Humans to mind, all she saw was the witch and the way she had rolled onto the tarmac, streaking it with blood. That part had imprinted itself in her mind and refused to let her see anything else.
“He’s at his house.” Underlying anger edged his words.
“What?” She shot up, then groaned at the jolt of pain.
Cade pushed her back down gently. “Shh, take it easy.”
“How? After what he did, how can he be at home?”
Cade clenched his jaw. “DSA verses the Humans,” he said pejoratively. “Stephen met a witch at Patterson’s house—Anika. Bastard had her name on everything.”
“Everything? But it wasn’t her ...”
Cade nodded grimly. “Fucking asshole pinned the shit on her and the other witch. Claimed they were in cahoots.”
When Cade frowned and looked away, she touched his arm gently. “What is it?”
“Anika …” he said quietly. “She’s like Sage. They took her when she was little and raped her mind. They took her, bred her and set her the hell up all so they could gain control. That’s all this shit is.”
Of course it was. That was the only reason Humans hated Others, because quite frankly, they couldn’t control them—not if it ever came down to it. Not if Others ever got truly pissed and went against them. The Humans would be wiped out.
“Phoenix told you why they wanted him?”
“A controllable army. The poor witch stands no chance against the Humans.”
“Where is she?”
“House arrest. Apparently, she lives with some Human … a Marcus.” He lowered his voice. “If she is found guilty, they’ll execute her.”
Gemma stared at him for a long minute, a million thoughts zooming through her mind. “We’ve got to leave this place, haven’t we?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yeah, we do.” He reached down to pick up a white envelope from the floor and place it on Gemma’s lap—it bulged from whatever was in there.
A light tapping on the door made Cade squeeze her hand before leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. “Your father has been worried, like everyone else. He has been waiting to see you.” Her heart pounded in her ears at the sudden empty space Cade left as he stood up to open the door. She stuffed the envelope under the sheet as Malcolm walked in.
“I heard you were awake,” he said. Heard her awake? How much had he heard? He turned to Cade. “Can we have a few moments? I think Stephen needs a hand with something out back.”
Cade glanced back at Gemma, a fiercely protective expression on his face. “I’ll just be outside.”
When Cade was gone and her father was sure that he was far enough away, he sat down on the end of Gemma’s bed. It had been years since he had done that. She hardly remembered when it was or if it had even happened at all. The father she had had long ago was not the father she had now. He had hardened with the years as their leader, becoming more alpha with every moment that passed, but right in that moment, as he sat at the end of her bed, he looked like the man she remembered.
; “I know about the baby.”
Gemma’s eyes widened. “I …”
He raised his hand to silence her. “Your mum knows, too. No one else.”
She tensed herself, ready for what was coming next. If he mentioned execution order and Cade, she was out of there. Alpha or father, it wouldn’t matter.
“I have to make hard decisions sometimes,” he sighed, turning his head to look at her. “Some of them people don’t like. Sometimes people don’t understand them, but I do them always with the good of my people in mind. Not just the tigers, but for all Others—for all of Society.”
Gemma nodded but said nothing, waiting with dread for what was next.
“Mixing breeds is against the rules that we have set down, and as alpha and Council and Society leader, it is my job to enforce those rules, no matter who is on the receiving end. It is not my place to discriminate.”
Gemma swallowed, her fingers gripping the bedsheets.
Malcom leaned forward and clasped his hands together. Normally, he was so hard to read, but tonight, his face was almost animated with emotion. “However,” he said, “I am also a father.” His eyes met hers. “I swore that I would protect my children always. Sometimes my roles clash, and it leaves me not knowing what to do.”
“What will you decide?” she asked cautiously.
Gemma wasn’t sure what she had expected, but Malcom twisting around from where he sat, and wrapping his arms around her to pull her close, was the last thing that she imagined. For a long moment, he just held her.
When he finally let her go, he stood up and straightened his suit—and with it, his expression. “Your mother wants to see you, as well.”
Gemma nodded, but said nothing as Malcolm left the room. The door closed behind him with a soft click and Gemma thumbed the envelope Cade had left her. She bit down on her lip as she turned it over and unstuck the seal.
Inside were papers—three of them.
She opened them up and gasped.
Their tickets to Exile.
The End
Street Team.
Alicia Reitz Huckleby
Amy Cortez Rangel
Andrea Whittle
Angela Peters
Becky Rios
Carolann Evans
Carolyn Mueller
Cathy Dionne
Colette Trainor
Cyn Thia
Danielle Wittenberg Fulton
Diana Murphey
Jan Kinder
Jan Wade
Jenny McKinney Shepherd
Karine Russell
Kirha Rodriguez formerly-McMillan
Kirsty Adams
Krystal Waters
Lauren Stryker
Lilli Collier
Lori Van Buren
Mary Lena Strataface
Melissa Jackson Morris
Misty Chapman
Nichole Watson
Nina Stevenson
Roxie Phelps
Stella Martin
Terrie Meerschaert
Tina Eastridge Henry
Vanessa Renee Place
Wendy Tucker Wignall
Yvette Grimes
Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to drop me an email or visit me on Facebook. While every attempt was made to ensure that this book was free from error, mistakes happen. If you happen to have spotted anything, please drop me a message and let me know so that I can correct it.
Mason
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