pissing blood for a week.” Knox shrugged when Saint scowled at him, silently telling him to be serious. “She said so herself.”
“Could be lying.” He mulled that over, not liking the possibility now that he had started thinking of her as unmated, now that the possessive side she had roused in him had begun viewing her in a new light. One that provided a lot of answers for the questions that had been crowding his mind since he had set eyes on her.
“To protect her mate?” Knox said, and Saint wanted to growl at him for making such a sensible suggestion, one that was entirely too plausible.
“One way of finding out.” He released Knox and stepped back from him, cast a glance to his right at Lowe, where he stood on his deck, watching events unfold. “You two head up to the valley. Get the lodge ready. I want to move her there.”
Far away from the Creek and her cougar kin.
It wasn’t just his desire to move her to a safer place that had him sending the twins away.
He wanted some time alone with her too, time in which he intended to figure out who she really was and why she drove him so wild.
Why he needed her so fiercely.
He backed off, keeping an eye on Knox until the last second, aware that he wouldn’t dare attack him if he turned his back but unable to stop himself from making sure it didn’t happen. Knox looked as if he wanted to voice an objection, or maybe complain about his kidney some more, but then he looked at his twin and sagged against the wall of his cabin, still clutching his side.
Saint turned when he reached the steps, was quick to break into a jog, one that brought him back to his cabin in only a few seconds. He mounted the steps to the deck, relief pouring through him as he sensed the female was still inside.
Was she Ember?
Or had he really snatched that female’s best friend?
He pushed the door open, issued her an apologetic look when she stiffened and whipped to face him where she sat on the couch, her pulse shooting off the scale.
He eased the door closed behind him and she went back to staring at the fire. Her hands shook as she rubbed them together and darkness curled through him, stoking an urge to go back to Knox and beat him up after all.
He tamped it down.
“Knox apologised for scaring you. He has a bad tendency to let his bear take the reins, is quick to anger if he feels someone is threatening his kin, but that’s no excuse for how he handled you.” He frowned when she didn’t react to that and refused to look at him, kept her eyes locked on the fire. He sighed, deeply aware that Knox had really scared her, battling an urge to go and bash the male’s head against the wall some more. Maybe even let her do it. It might make her feel better. “Knox… says you’re not Ember.”
He removed his coat and slung it over the hook near the door.
“Knox is an asshole and can go to Hell.” She glanced at him, fire in her grey-green eyes. “And I’m not.”
“Mind if I ask for proof of that?” He edged closer to her, tried to keep his body relaxed so she didn’t pick up on his tension and get worked up again and fight him.
He liked his kidneys functioning and not pulverised, and really didn’t want her to kick him in the balls either. Although he probably deserved the latter as much as Knox had.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I left my ID in my purse when you kidnapped me!” she snapped, her eyes growing greener as she glared at him.
Fine. So, trying not to get her worked up wasn’t going to happen because she was already worked up, ready to fight him.
But she hadn’t run when she’d had the chance. Why hadn’t she run? Because of the weather, or because of something else?
She turned her profile to him and stared at the fire again, a mulish twist to her lips that almost made him smile, might have if the situation hadn’t been so dire. She had courage, had stood up to two full-grown adult male bears, and he liked that spark of fire in her.
“Other ways of giving me proof.” He sidled another step closer, reaching the end of the couch, narrowing the distance between them down to only a