His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,2

a smile that was too tight to be considered relaxed and the way his body gradually began to sag down on the bed. But regardless of his obvious discomfort Morgan didn’t lie back down until Dezi left the room.

It nearly had Kenny yelling at his friend to get the hell out, but he knew Dezi was worried about Morgan. Kenny was thankful for his best friend, and if Kenny’s mate wasn’t hurt and lying in bed, he might feel less testy.

“I’m going to pull back the blanket now,” Logan said.

Morgan tried to move closer to Kenny. He stopped short, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth. Kenny’s snow leopard wanted so badly to help their mate, but there was nothing he could do except be there.

“I’m going to stay right here with you,” Kenny said.

He placed a soft kiss on Morgan’s head. Kenny met Logan’s eyes and nodded. He knew Logan and knew the man was there to help. His snow leopard had nothing to worry about. Still, he had to tamp back his growls as Logan touched his mate. His injured mate at that. Everything told him to attack, to defend.

Logan took off the bandages that were soaked in blood and changed them out. Already Morgan’s body was stitching itself back together, but it was a slow process, far too slow for Kenny’s liking. And without Morgan being an actual part of the pride, there was no way Dezi could push power toward Morgan to help him heal. It was maddening to say the least.

When they had made the pride, Kenny, Rhy, and Dezi had all agreed they would force no one to be a part of their family. It was a choice to be made so no matter how much Kenny wanted his mate to heal faster, he wasn’t about to force Morgan’s full submission. He wanted his mate to decide on his own.

“How are you feeling?” Logan asked as he lightly pressed around the purple and blue bruises on Morgan’s torso.

Morgan wheezed out a breath. “I’m fine.”

Kenny couldn’t hold back his growl. He leaned closer toward his mate, cupping his jaw softly.

“Mate,” Kenny said, putting their foreheads together. Morgan shuddered, and Kenny wanted nothing more than to hold his mate. “I need you to be honest. Logan can’t help you if he doesn’t know exactly where to start.” Kenny closed his eyes. Damn, he wanted to help his mate so badly. If he could take away all the pain and bear it himself, he would.

“Okay,” Morgan said weakly. “Um, it hurts a little everywhere. Mostly my legs.”

Kenny gritted his teeth; Morgan’s legs were broken in several places and had healed wrong. They’d only managed to reset one leg.

Logan sighed, and Kenny already knew what they needed to do. He cursed whoever had done this to his mate. He would make them feel ten times the amount of pain his mate was going through before ripping their throat out.

“Morgan, you’re awake this time, and believe me, if we could have done this before you awoke, I’d have preferred it. But you were in a critical state then, and resetting your legs was the least of our worries,” Logan started.

Morgan’s bruised face scrunched up, but he gave them a nod. Logan pointedly stared at Kenny. He wasn’t leaving—he couldn’t. It physically hurt to move away from Morgan. Only if his mate asked him would he leave.

“Keep your leopard in check,” Logan said.

“I’ll try.”

There was no promise. His mate was in pain, and Kenny’s snow leopard wanted to rip anyone and anything to pieces that caused Morgan pain.

“Fucking mates and their overprotectiveness,” Logan whined.

“When you find your fated mate, you will feel the same,” Kenny said.

Logan went oddly quiet, his shoulders tense. “I doubt that.”

Logan didn’t give Kenny a chance to delve any deeper into his words. He knew Logan was a little prickly about the true mate thing, but he was getting the feeling it was so much more.

“All right. On the count of three, I’m going to break and re-set your leg,” Logan said.

Kenny wished they could use anesthesia, but being shifters made it impossible. Something about the chemical reaction made them heal slow.

“Hold him down. Morgan, don’t shift. If you do, we will have to start over,” Logan said.

“Okay,” Morgan whispered.

Fear radiated off him, choking Kenny. His hands shook. He needed to protect his mate. His snow leopard paced impatiently, wanting to be let loose to kill the threat to their mate. Kenny held Morgan down. Shifters