Cross Breed (Breeds 23)

He nearly lost his breath in sheer, overwhelming relief.

“God. Cassie.” The words were a prayer of thanksgiving as he rushed for her.

Only to stop a mere foot away, the arms he’d lifted to embrace her falling to his sides as the scent that surrounded her hit his senses. As did the trace of tears on her face. He stared at her, confused. He should have scented her presence long before he reach the office, especially considering the sheer strength of the mating scent she carried. Yet, it was as if she’d managed to pull it back, to contain it within a few feet of her. Someone no Breed had the power to do, especially where the strength of his senses was concerned.

“Cassie … ?” He could barely breathe as her chin lifted and those eerie blue eyes of her flashed with pain and fury. “Who?”

She inhaled deeply. “Is my sister safe?”

In his life, he could count on one hand the times he was actually shocked. This one overshadowed all others.

“Kenzi’s safe.” He nodded, more off-balance than he wanted to acknowledge. “She’s with Rhyzan.” His deputy director of Breed Affairs had the other woman in secure quarters until she could be airlifted to Sanctuary with the rest of the females and mates.

Cassie nodded, then stepped away from him, folding her arms across her breasts defensively. As though she could hide or ignore the scent that surrounded her.

A mating scent.

“You’ve been missing for over four hours …”

“I knew exactly where I was.” She sounded as lost as she looked as she put more distance between them. “I was making an exchange, you might say.” Bitterness filled her voice.

He stepped toward her, only to stop as her hand lifted in a gesture that told him to remain where he was.

He stopped, but only because that delicate hand held him still as he stared at it. It was trembling. He’d never seen Cassie’s hands shake. Not from nerves, weakness or any other reason.

“Are my parents here yet?” The trace of tears in her voice enraged him.

“They’re helping coordinate the search for you …”

“Call the search off.” Her head lifted, and for a second, her lips trembled and tears sheened her eyes. “Tell my parents I’m safe …”

“Oh yeah, Cassie, that’s going to work.” Finding his equilibrium once again wasn’t easy. “Your father will take my door down in about thirty minutes after that order goes out. Him, Callan, Wolfe, Del Rey and every other fucking alpha leader out there beating the desert searching for you.”

The Wolf Breed Lupine Leader, Wolfe Gunnar, as well as the Coyote Coy, Del-Rey Delgado, were pouring all their considerable strength into joining forces with the Prime Lion Breed Leader, Callan Lyons, to find her.

Jonas couldn’t touch her, but he wanted nothing more than to jerk her into his arms, assure himself she was there, and try t

o ease the pain he could feel pouring from her.

“Were you raped, goddammit?” he finally snarled. “Did your fucking mate rape you?”

Her breathing hitched, her fingers jerking to cover her lips as she fought for control and shook her head quickly.

“No.” The word was strangled and torn, but he didn’t sense a lie.

He could smell her pain, her confusion and Mating Heat. But he was damned if he could believe the male scent that infused the mating.

“I didn’t know about Kenzi in time, not until her abduction.” Her voice trembled. “Not until it was too late.” She shook her head and turned her back to him, hunching her shoulders as though to avoid a blow. “There was no time to contact you. But I knew he would be in place; after all, isn’t he always the one the Council calls first?” She was fighting the sobs he could feel building in her. “I contacted him to make certain she was safe if he was in the area.” She turned back to him slowly and another tear fell before she reined them in again. “I agreed to the price. I simply didn’t expect the outcome.”

She’d bargain her body for her sister’s safety. She’d bargained with her mate.

“Where is he?” Because Jonas knew he’d kill him.

God, he couldn’t even kill the bastard son of a bitch. He couldn’t kill him, because no matter the stakes, no matter the rage that would pour through the Breed community if they learned the truth of who had mated her, he was still her mate.

No one could touch him.

“Can you believe it was a Coyote?” Disbelief filled her voice, her expression, as guilt flayed Jonas.