Megans Mark (Breeds 6)

"Hurting her?’ Lance’s frown was bewildered. "Meg, what the hell is going on?"

Lance moved back, pulling his arm gently from her grip as he retreated, his concern washing over her as some dark sizzle of satisfaction speared through the room. She turned slowly to Jonas Wyatt.

"I don't like you," she informed him, gritting her teeth in anger. "You are a sick son of a bitch. " He knew. She could feel it. He was aware of her abilities, testing them, pushing them all. His lips curved sardonically.

"Perhaps. " He tilted his head in acknowledgment of the insult as she stared back at him in confusion.

"Why did you do this?" she asked quietly.

"Because it needed to be done. " Jonas arched his brow. "You see, Miss Fields, we have a spy somewhere in this little setup. If not here in this office, then elsewhere. Possibly both. I'll find out who it is, one way or the other. Thank you very much for assuring me that in this case I was wrong. Sheriff Jacobs is innocent. "

Her lips parted in shock.

"It's all a game," she whispered. "You knew I was empathic. You used me to try to trap my cousin," she accused him, the anger growing in her voice as she twisted her head to stare up at Braden. "You told him. " It made sense now. Somehow he had learned of the empathic abilities and turned them against her by confronting Lance in front of her and then

watching her reaction. "You bastard!" She struggled against Braden's grip. "You cold-blooded, unfeeling son of a bitch. "

"Megan. Stay still. " Braden's arms surrounded her as she tried to slam her elbow into his abdomen, jerking against his grip. "You don't want to do this alone. Not right now. Too many emotions are whipping through you. Settle down and think first. "

His voice was at her ear, slicing through the chaotic din of the blood thundering in her ears, of the emotions and sensations that attacked her brain. Fury. Anger. It was her weakness. She couldn't manage even the simplest shield against them on her own.

Lance was trying to pull his own emotions back, to spare her the pain of his fury; but it was still there, whipping through the room as though it were a separate entity.

She could feel herself shuddering in Braden's grip. She was breathing harshly, her mind soaking up the psychic waves rolling through the room. So many emotions. But over them all, satisfaction. Satisfaction, as well as anger, that poured from Jonas Wyatt.

Her gaze rose to his as she grabbed hold of the fragile barrier she could feel surrounding her, the calm that flowed from Braden and encompassed her in its protection.

"Get the hell out of this office, Jonas," Lance snapped. "Now. And don't bother coming back here. "

"Sorry Sheriff. " Jonas's smile was flat, tight with his own anger now.

"Unfortunately, we're not quite finished yet. I came to find a spy; instead I find out that my best Enforcer has now mated your cousin. Quite an interesting little development, I must say. "

Braden froze behind her as Megan blinked back at the Breed.

"What are you talking about?' she snapped.

Suddenly, the air in the room felt too thick, too tension filled to allow her to breathe. Jonas glanced behind her at Braden.

Jonas's smile was cold. "The Mating isn't going to do her much good unless you carry it through, Braden. Hurry and knock her up before she loses her mind. "

None of this was making sense. Jonas wasn't making sense.

"You're pushing me too far, Jonas. " Braden's growl was savage, animalistic. "Insult her again and I'll kill you. "

Jonas's brow arched, his gaze locked with hers. "Did I insult her? He murmured. "I stated a fact, Braden. You have mated this woman. It's a little-known phenomenon that began with Callan Lyons, the Pride's leader, and his woman. You are both in the middle of Mating Heat. You marked her, kissed her, infected her with that hormone in your tongue that is more binding than marriage. And there's only one cure. " His lips curled coldly. "Well, perhaps not a cure exactly, but one of the few hopes of easing the arousal that will become so painful, so debilitating that she'll risk every area of your life. Congratulations, buddy. " The last remark lacked any sincerity whatsoever. Not that it mattered.

Shock now filled the room. It slammed into her, ripped through her brain as she turned slowly to meet Braden's gaze and felt the absolute, complete horror that raced from him and struck her mind, blinding her to every other emotion.

His denial was so strong, so fierce, it slapped her like an open-handed blow, pushing her back, reaching into the depths of her soul and withering a hope she hadn't known had bloomed within her.

In that moment, she cursed her abilities with everything she had, just as fiercely as she cursed the men staring back at her.

"I didn't want you either," she finally whispered as something in her soul flamed in agonizing pain, forcing the lie past her lips as she turned and moved jerkily away from him. "What I do want are explanations. " She turned to Jonas, blinking back the tears that were gathering in her eyes as she met his flinty look. "Now. "

Chapter Nine

Mating Heat. Megan listened in silent shock as Jonas explained the physical symptoms, the need, the arousal and what had caused it. He was very clinical about it. She was thankful that he had asked Lance to leave before explaining more fully.