The best place to start was from the beginning, and so that is exactly what she did.16Bram forced himself to give Kenzie the time she needed to tell him what he wanted to know. He knew this had to be hard for her, could smell her emotions as if they were a fresh rainstorm. He took on a relaxed position against the back of his chair, yet he felt anything but. His bear was a manic fucker inside him, pacing and growling, wanting to lock her away and keep her safe while he exacted his vengeance on the panther.
He’d always felt this instability inside him, but being around Kenzie calmed the frantic need to deliver pain and receive it. But knowing what he was about to hear from Kenzie was probably filled with horrors, he felt the calmness dissipate and rage take its place. What he felt right now was like nothing he had ever encountered.
“My parents were mugged and shot right in front of me when I was ten. I ran away after that, because there was no way I wanted another family to raise me. I just couldn’t deal with any of that, so I took to the streets and lived like that for only a month before I knew I was going to die right there beside the filthy dumpsters.” Her throat worked when she swallowed.
Her cheeks heated, and her embarrassment smelled like a blooming flower.
She lifted her gaze to his, and his heart clenched at her dejected look. “That was how Rook found me, dirty and hungry but willing and ready to die. He took me into his home, lavished me with parental affection, and made sure I never wanted for anything, but I should have sensed none of that was genuine. I was nothing but a pawn, a tool, a piece of property. He finally showed me who he really was.”
The bear in him started to force his way out, to take control and end all this, but no way in hell was he going to shift in front of Kenzie, not when she was opening herself up to him like she was.
“With each passing day, he started showing me how sadistic he was.” The pain in her eyes as she stared at him was tangible, and he wanted to go to her, pull her into his arms, and kiss her until she never thought of that motherfucker again. “I tried to escape once, but that didn’t end well, so I never tried it again until last night. I was a coward, still am.”
Bram gripped the edge of the table, leaned forward, and let the growl that was poised in his throat out with all the ferocity he felt. The wood beneath his hands cracked and crumbled, but the discomfort wasn’t enough.
A lone tear slipped down her cheek, and he rose to go to her, but she lifted her hand to stop him. “Please, just let me finish.” Wiping away the tear, she held his stare and continued. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. I’ve never uttered any of this to a living soul, but then again, he made sure to keep me away from anyone else.” She closed her eyes.
She stood and gripped the edge of her shirt. He wasn’t sure what she was doing, but when she revealed her belly and the jagged scar that ran beside her belly button, sickness took him over.
“This was my punishment for trying to get away.” She lowered her eyes and let her shirt drop back in place. “My other wounds have healed, and the bruises have disappeared. I wanted you to know the truth, because we are—”
“Mates.”
Kenzie lifted her eyes to his, and he said it more slowly, so she knew he meant that one word more than anything else. And that she knew exactly how important she was to him.
“You’re my mate, and nothing you can say about your past will make me want you any less.” He smelled the subtle scent of one of the reasons she told him all that was because she thought he wouldn’t want her anymore. Another shifter might not have been able to pick up on the slight change in smell, but he was more animal than man, and because of that, he sensed it powerfully.
Bram let go of the table, and a piece of wood fell onto the floor.
“You’re mine, Kenzie, and I’ll say it over and over again until you realize it is the truth.” He moved closer to her until only a foot separated them. “I’ll keep saying it until every fucking person on this planet knows it.” He was on edge again, itching for a fight, and wished he could hold her and make her pain go away. “I can’t really make myself any clearer, Kenzie. All I can tell you is that being my mate is not something I take lightly, and certainly not something I am willing to ignore.” He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, a guttural groan leaving him when she closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace. “I’m not going to let you go, because I want you too fucking bad, baby, and because you’re mine to protect and cherish.”