Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,13

an animal. If my brothers hadn’t physically removed me from the scene, I wasn’t certain exactly what I’d have done or to what extent I’d have risked exposure just to get to her. The scariest part is that I knew I would have killed for her. I hated knowing I hadn’t been there. She had to handle that man herself. It should have been my kill.

She stirred a little and sighed but didn’t open her eyes. Her change in position caused her to snore lightly. The rhythmic sound started to lull me to sleep. I laid down next to her and closed my eyes.

The others kept talking softly, entertaining Chelsea with memories of their matings as I drifted off to sleep.

We didn’t stop for the night. The guys took turns rotating drivers and only stopped for gas and snacks. I slept through it all. Surrounded by the scent of my mate it was the most peaceful sleep I’d had in a long time.

Everyone else was exhausted when we finally reached the Lodge. Grant retrieved a gurney used for emergencies and helped me move her upstairs to my room. Even the transition to my bed hadn’t woken her and I was starting to worry.

“Give her time. She’s fine,” Clara assured me before they left to find their own rooms and get some sleep. The sun was already high in the sky. It had been a crazy two days. I pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed watching her like some creepy stalker until at last, she stirred.

Emma

Chapter 6

I woke up confused. The smells surrounding me weren’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. They were all male, all him.

I stirred and pain shot through me. Memories started flooding back to me.

I opened my eyes and his brown eyes met mine.

Painter.

Mate.

“Hi,” he said in a deep voice that sent shivers through me even in my gorilla form. “Clara warned me you may take a day or two to fully heal, but you’ll live. You probably don’t want to try shifting before then though.”

He sounded sad as he said it. I didn’t know how to explain that I had no plans to shift into the creature I most despised.

“She left you some pain killers in case you need them. Are you hurting?”

I nodded.

“Thought so. Hold on.”

He left the chair he’d been watching me from and walked out of the bedroom. His bedroom, I realized. I’d never been in a man’s bedroom before. The bed was nice. There were lots of blankets and pillows and it felt like he’d made a nest of sorts for me to sleep in.

I had always known I wouldn’t take a mate. My odds of finding a needle in a haystack were greater than finding a compatible shifter mate. There weren’t many gorillas left in the world, and even fewer gorilla shifters. Odds were not in our favor, yet here we were.

I knew exactly who he was to me, but my priorities were with my family back in Africa. I’d made arrangements with a silverback in the area to take them in and keep them safe, but I needed to know they were okay. Finding my mate wasn’t going to change that. Someway, I had to get back home.

Painter returned with a larger than average wide mouth cup and some pills.

“I keep the cup around should I get injured on the job and need to stay in gorilla form for healing. It makes life a lot easier.”

He passed it to me and then carefully placed the pills in my large hand. I was able to take them with ease. He was right. That cup was perfect.

“They said you’ll probably sleep most of the next two days, so I’ll try to give you your space. I’m Painter. This is my place. I know it’s not much, but I travel a lot, so I don’t really need much.” He looked a little embarrassed by that, but honestly it was the nicest place I’d ever been to before. “I’m really happy you’re here, Sahara.”

I cringed at the name. Of course, that’s all he knew me by. I needed to find a way to fix that. I couldn’t stand that name. It had only bad memories associated with it.

He put on some music. A man started singing. It was nice, soothing.

“This is Elvis Presley. I’m a huge fan. It helps relax me when I’m stressed. Maybe it will for you too. He’s the best singer in history, even if he was