“She,” his eyes darted down at her before he continued, “has a raised circle below her ear,” he said tightly, not sounding too pleased about it.

Was he talking about her rash? she wondered. She pulled her hand away from his and hurried to the bathroom and flipped the light on. When she saw that the last evidence of the scratches was gone she wasn’t too surprised since she’d always healed quickly.

She tilted her head to the side and frowned when she spotted the source of all the itching, except it didn’t itch any longer. No, now it was a small dark pink empty circle the size of a nickel and whatever it was it was scaring the hell out of Chris.

What the hell did the werewolf do to her?

“Eric’s sending a team to help make sure we get to the compound,” he said with a forced smile.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked, biting her lip and trying not to cry. She didn’t want the werewolf version of rabies or distemper or whatever the hell they had.

“Nothing’s wrong with you, Munchkin,” he said with a forced smile. “This is just a precaution.”

“What the hell does this thing mean?” she demanded, pointing to her neck.

He didn’t look as he shook his head. “It’s nothing to worry about,” he said calmly and she would have loved to believe him except that muscle ticking in his jaw told another story.

Chapter 33

Sentinel Compound

Boston, MA

Kale closed his eyes and inhaled. Among the overpowering sweet scents he picked up the scent of his target. This was no f**king coincidence that his job was due here within days and his own personal target was now safely tucked away behind brownstone facade where an army of Sentinels prepared for war.

He pressed his hand over his stomach, ignoring the burn as his skin slowly knitted back together. He’d wait for now, but when Isabella McGuire finally showed up he’d be ready for her. Then he’d finish the job he’d started in New Hampshire.

***********

Chris sighed softly as he looked down at his sleeping mate. She was so damn beautiful, funny, sweet and had a hell of a temper and he didn’t think he could love her more. It didn’t matter that he’d known her for only a few days and would probably be saying goodbye to her tomorrow, he loved her.

He was head over heels in love with his mate and he couldn’t have f**ked this up more if he’d tried. Granted, he had tried, but his efforts only bit him in the ass. He tried to do the right thing and push her away, but it killed him to know that he hurt her. Even his anger over the other men and the little escape she’d pulled on him was forgiven, not forgotten.

There was no doubt in his mind that he’d carry the anger that another man touched his mate to his death bed, but he couldn’t blame his little Munchkin any longer. She hadn’t known about his existence any more than he’d known about hers all those years ago. He wasn’t happy about it, but there was nothing he could do about it now and he wouldn’t waste what little time they had together by being an ass**le.

Right now he was enjoying his time with her. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help it. This was their only time together, because nothing had changed. She was still in danger and he still had his family to take care of.

The fact that he’d gone and fallen in love with her only made him more anxious to get her to safety. His eyes moved to the new mark on her neck that meant they’d royally f**ked up. He didn’t know her that well, but he just didn’t see her lying about something that important.

He ran his fingertips gently down her back, over her bottom and down her leg. It had taken nearly five hours, but he’d finally managed to exhaust her. Every time she tried to ask him questions or he could tell she was scared he did his best to take her mind off of everything.

His hands actually shook as he grabbed the sheet and pulled it over as he thought about everything they’d done. One thing he could say for his little mate, she wasn’t shy in bed. Anything he’d wanted to do she’d been more than up for. He’d bent her over, took her sideways, took her from behind, and just plain f**ked her and she seemed to love every single second of it.

Already his c**k was starting to stir when it should be begging for mercy. He forced himself to step away from the bed and her. He needed to stay focused. A team was going to be meeting up with them and he needed to figure out how he was going to get her into Boston undetected. They’d been pretty lucky so far, but according to Eric the shit hit the fan and the war had already started.

He grabbed his personal phone and cursed silently.

There were no missed calls. Where the hell was his family and why weren’t they getting back to him? It was just another reason for him to move his ass and get back home. He didn’t like leaving them with all this bullshit going down. He knew his father was more than capable of protecting them, but with Madison pregnant, Marc still human as well as Jill, Joshua and their grandmother he wouldn’t be able to protect all of them.

Then again all someone had to do was get a shot at his father’s head or heart and the man would be done for a while and their family would be left helpless. Maybe he shouldn’t wait for the team to get here. Maybe he should just grab Izzy and take his chances on getting her into Boston.

He cursed again as his eyes landed on that damn mark, barely covered by her long beautiful hair. If he tried to bring her into Boston now every f**king alpha and demon around would be able scent her from two miles away. Thanks to that damn mark her scent would be ten times stronger. The only upside was that her blood was also more poisonous, but that wouldn’t help out in this situation. They didn’t want her blood. They wanted her and her damn program and they’d do anything they had to in order to get it.

Just the thought of anyone harming his little Munchkin had his stomach twisting almost painfully. If the team didn’t get here early enough so that they could come up with a few plans and back up plans they’d be stuck here another night, because he wasn’t taking a chance by bringing her into Boston close to nightfall. As much as he wanted to get back to his family and make sure they were safe, he couldn’t risk her safety.

Her abilities were beginning to surface and he knew that she could probably be trained within the year, but it was still too dangerous for her. Sending her to an island wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was the only one he had and one he knew would keep her away from every Master hell bent on getting their hands on her. He loved her too much to take any chances.

Not that he’d ever tell her. He wouldn’t. It was going to be difficult enough sending her away. She didn’t need his bullshit and he sure as hell didn’t want her pining away on an island somewhere for him, hoping that he’d come and rescue her.

Because he wouldn’t.

**********

“Master?”

“What is it?” he asked as he tried to tear his mind away from a certain redheaded angel. This was not the time to allow distractions, not when he was so close to having everything he needed. For probably the thousandth time he promised himself that he’d return to the Rerum, New Hampshire after this was all done and collect his reward.

His c**k hardened almost painfully at the thought of having her. She was feisty, beautiful, funny and he’d be willing to bet anything that she was so damn sweet that she’d make his teeth ache. But he would have her. He’d keep her alive for a week, f**k her until he grew bored with her like he did with all the rest and then drain her.