Chasing Katana (Not Your Prey Book 1) by J. Kearston

Author:J. Kearston [Kearston, J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Viper

Inever gave much thought to being claimed before, figuring out how to combat the effects of being an unclaimed shifter in my own way, because I’ve always known the likelihood was slim.

Slitting throats slakes the bloodlust, and with the reports from The Viper’s Nest, I have plenty of people in the cesspool to choose from when the need arises. The day to day? That’s what Titan’s for.

But even he can’t take the pain away from realizing my mate didn’t actually mean to claim me.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Slowly, I ease her back down beside me, stroking her arm, her back. Anything that might help. “Heat of the moment, and all that. I get it.” Heart in my throat, I swallow roughly. “No need to make things weird.”

The rigid tension in her body gradually dissipates and she settles more comfortably into my side. “Yeah. Who hasn’t gotten carried away when trying to kill someone at least once?”

Remember your notes, idiot. You have a cheat sheet to make her happy. Affection and snacks. Distractions to keep her from getting bored or overthinking things. You just need to show her that you’re the best mate she could ever ask for, so no need to freak out.

“Exactly. Flirting with death is a turn on, and anyone that says differently is lying.” I wrap a lock of her hair around my finger, playing with the silky strands. “You were just being considerate, sparing the others from waking up and seeing my dick and developing inferiority complexes. Noble of you, really.”

She chuckles a mirthless laugh. “Yep, that’s me. Always trying to do the right thing. But as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. Good thing I’m a glutton for punishment.”

Silence settles around us as she curls into my side and I tug the blanket over us, tucking it firmly behind her to keep her close. Barely above a whisper, I finally reply, “I don’t think that’s true. I think you aren’t sure what you want out of life yet, so you’re blowing shit up trying to figure out what’s important enough to you not to. And that’s okay. I broke plenty of things myself before I figured out what hill I was willing to die on to protect.”

“Drugs and donuts?” she asks skeptically.

With a surprised laugh, I kiss the top of her head. “As ridiculous as it sounds… yeah, actually.” I take a deep breath, bracing myself. Being vulnerable doesn’t come naturally to me, but if I’m to have a hope of Katana sticking around, I need to give her a reason to.

“My fathers were some mean bastards with shitty, backwards ideals. To them, women weren’t a rare blessing to be revered and protected. They weren’t even really people in their eyes. So when my sister was sixteen, they didn’t hesitate to mate her off to some assholes they were trying to close a business deal with. Just threw her in to sweeten the pot like she was a godsdamned fruit basket.”

Silently, she strokes a hand soothingly down my chest as I take a shaky breath.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.