She didn’t need to look up to know his eyes had gone gold.
That didn’t scare her in the slightest.
Chapter 18
Seth ran his fingertips lightly over Lilah’s shoulder. Her soft hair tickled his neck, but he didn’t move. Didn’t even consider it. His shoulder could go numb and the rest of his joints stiff from staying in one place all night, so long as he did it with her in his arms.
A rumble worked through his chest and vibrated in his throat. Seth raised his fingers to his skin and grinned at the satisfied purr. That other side of him felt almost close enough to touch. All because of the strange little woman who lured out the beast in him.
He tightened his arm around her and buried his nose in her hair. Mangoes and lavender had quickly become his favorite scent.
Fucking hell, he didn’t deserve her. After all the shit she’d been through and the years of not being believed and carrying that weight on her own, she still turned around to do good in the world. He hated that she’d been rewarded with more bullshit.
Her acceptance of him was another undeserved bonus. He was still made wrong, but that didn’t matter to her. That she made his eyes flash didn’t matter, either. Their jagged edges fit together.
Mate. She was his mate.
Sweet fuck, he’d doubted he’d ever find someone like her. Never in a million years would he have predicted the broken side of him would latch on to another person so strongly.
As much as he wanted to sink fully into that sense of peace, he was almost scared to turn over the thought and examine it for fear the calm would disappear like a puff of smoke. He couldn’t ignore the cloying thread of disaster wafting over the horizon. This wasn’t over. Jasper still lived. Zeke wanted to collect on his bounty. Hell, stripping Lilah down and wringing pleasure from her until she drifted off into deep sleep wasn’t exactly professional. Not even grinning through mental arguments of following orders to stay close to her changed the fact that he was in charge of her protection. Sex and danger made for a heady brew that could blow up in their faces.
Did he regret it? Fuck no. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t cautious as he tiptoed towards their hazy as hell future. Her safety was still his primary concern. Nothing could stop him from sticking by her side. He’d be there when she stumbled and hold her when her burdens became too much to handle.
A soft knock tapped against his door. “Seth? You up?” his brother called through the wood.
Seth's brows shot together. The last time he'd had a wake-up call, the fucker pounded down the door with enough force to raise the dead.
Lilah shifted and murmured in her sleep. He bent closer and kissed her forehead before slipping his arm out from under her. There weren’t any lingering looks this time; he wanted to get whatever waited for him on the other side over and done with as quickly as possible. He dressed in a hurry, easing out the door while shoving his shirt over his head.
“Everything okay in there?” his brother asked with an obnoxious smirk.
Seth closed the door behind him with a soft click and narrowed his eyes. “What do you want?”
Surprisingly, Dash turned serious. Indignant anger and worry coated his scent. He jerked his chin toward the front of the barn where one of the double doors hung ajar. “You should come. We found something.”
Seth’s blood ran cold with the imagined possibilities as he stomped after his brother. None of them were good for Lilah.
Unease churned in his gut when he slipped into the night to find the rest of the Crowley males on the other side. Each wore a grim expression. Rhys’s eyes were pure silver and the lines of his face strained like he barely held his shift at bay. Lindley breathed hard, skin damp with a faint sheen of sweat. Trent looked ready to chew rocks. Even Seth, not a full member of the pride, felt the alpha power rolling off him in pissed off waves.
That other sense of him jumped to the front of his mind, ready to dive into whatever fight had been brought to their door.
“What happened?” he asked in a low voice.
“Tracks,” Trent growled. “Lion.”
Seth matched the man’s growl. “How? Where?” he demanded between clenched teeth.
“Watching for our patrols, most likely.” Lindley grimaced and spat on the ground, like