Chapter 6

(Seven & Lux)

 

Seven watched Apex Prime carry Ryka’s limp form from the clearing. One of the shifters, Cason she’d heard him called, helped Kenna to her feet, and they trailed behind the Apex followed by the shifter called Jesup.

Alone in the clearing, she was fully aware that Lux still held her pressed to his chest as if reluctant to let her go. He should have been, because the second he released her she intended on running.

Breathing ragged and hands trembling, she couldn’t look up at him. She could feel him staring down at her and still she refused to meet his gaze.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Everything’s gonna be okay? What in the hell was he talking about? Her Phena was down, their Beta was in the wind, and Kenna had just been taken back to their compound. Nothing was okay! “Let…let me go,” she demanded, curling her hands into fists to hide their trembling. God how she wished she were a fighter like Ash, she’d call Lux on and take her chances. Hell, she wasn’t even a leader like Ryka, so without guidance, she wasn’t sure what to do. “Please,” she tagged on, hoping to appeal to any sense of decency in this male who claimed she was his.

His arms loosened slightly, but he didn’t release her. Instead, he said, “Won’t you look at me?”

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to pretend to be strong like Ryka, or tough like Ash. She was going to just be herself. “We didn’t come here for mates. We came seeking permission.”

“Permission for what?” As if unable to stop himself, he lifted a hand and brushed gentle fingers along her cheek.

Seven closed her eyes, shying away from the warm brush of his fingers. “We wanted to stay in the town. We didn’t want any trouble.”

“Trouble?” She heard the worry in his voice. “What trouble? Where are you from?”

Eyes still closed, she swallowed hard and shook her head, wondering how much she should divulge. “Can’t you just let me go?”

“If you’re in trouble, beautiful, then I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you, which means the safest place in the world for you is exactly where you are right now. With me!”

She tensed.

“Hey,” he soothed. “Why don’t you tell me what trouble you’re talking about? Let’s start from there.”

Right now things were at their worst, so she decided the truth was best. “We left our pack. The men were…aggressive. We wanted a choice, didn’t want to be forced. Ryka led us here. She said we’d be safe. She heard Wren was good.”

When Lux spoke again there was a low growl to his words. “The males in your pack wanted to force you?”

Lowering her chin, Seven let her eyes slowly open. She stared at Lux’s chest. “Our Alpha died, and when his son took over everything changed. Females were no longer respected.” She felt Lux’s frame go tense under her hands.

“Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head.

“Did any of them hurt you?”

Again, she shook her head. “Not me.”

“What about the others?”

Seven bit her trembling lower lip and held it captive between her teeth before releasing it. “The new Alpha wanted Kenna, but she’s too young.”

His chest rumbled before he offered, “She is.”

His words surprised Seven, and she lifted her head a fraction before jerking it back down, remembering she was avoiding eye contact. “Ryka argued to protect her and Marill, the new Alpha, pretended like it was okay. He let Kenna go, but that night they went after Ryka.”

“What did they do?” Liddick asked, almost afraid to know.

Seven shook her head. “Me and Ash heard her screaming. Ryka never screams. We hurried to the river. We saved her, but Ryka wouldn’t let us leave without Kenna. Me and Ash waited in the woods while Ryka went back.” She whispered to herself, “She shouldn’t have gone back. I wouldn’t have been able to, not after what they’d done.”

“To you?”

“No.” She shook her head again. “To Ryka. But she’s stronger than me, stronger than all of us. She saved Kenna and we ran.” She gestured absentmindedly at the ground. “Now we’re here.”

“Listen, beautiful, and listen well.” He shifted his stance, his body pressing more firmly into hers. “I am Lux Prime, third eldest of the Prime sons. I am a mountain lion shifter, and I vow to you now to do everything in my power to ensure you are safe. Safe from the males of your old pack, safe from any member of any pack, and safe from anything that would attempt to harm you.” He adjusted his hold, smoothing his hands down her back to grip her elbows and hold her back from him. “What’s your name?”

A heartbeat of silence reigned before petal-pink lips parted. “Seven. My name is Seven.”

“Seven,” he whispered her name with reverence, and in that instant her name became the single most significant word in his universe. One hand lifted to tuck long strands of satiny black hair behind her ear. “Seven, I know you don’t want to look at me because you’re afraid of what it’ll mean for me to be stricken, but know this. It’s a formality now. Standing here, this close, with you in my arms, my lion knows. I know. You are my mate. And, beautiful, I’m so fucking happy to have finally found you. I’m going to protect you. Do you hear me? You are safe with me.”

***

Lux didn’t know what to do. The last thing he’d expected when he woke this morning was for this to be the day that he found her. My mate! He couldn’t stop thinking the words. Hell, he couldn’t stop holding her. Wren had taken his she-wolf back to the house, while Liddick chased his down, but Lux needed this time. He needed to be alone with Seven. He wanted to speak to her alone. Her and her pack mates’ fear was nearly tangible, and it tore at his insides to have his mate so close and so afraid. Right now he was trying to be what she needed, and apparently that was as open and honest as he could be. She was being truthful with him, and he’d show his appreciation by gifting her the same.

When her head jerked toward the house he soothed, “Your friends are safe. They’ll be okay here.”

Her chin pulled back around and she studied his chest before asking, “Promise?”

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted. “I swear on my honor as a lion that I’ll protect you and your pack until there’s not a breath left in me.” Then, he waited.

He watched the slender column of her throat convulse as she swallowed, then she blinked once before slowly lifting her gaze. When dove gray eyes finally collided with his, Lux’s body shuddered and then tensed. His hand around her waist clamped her tighter to him, and if he could have spoken he would have apologized for the thick bar of his erection where it pressed into her, but he couldn’t speak. Stunned by the power of being stricken, he swayed with the dizzying effects.

My mate is stunning! Inside his lion purred and danced merrily in a display that Lux had never experienced. His lion’s glee transitioned though, when he realized his hold might be too rough. A growl slipped free as he struggled to stay on his feet without leaning too heavily on Seven, but he quickly swallowed it down when his mate’s eyes rounded and her mouth fell open.

“Not you,” he huffed on a ragged breath. He was trying to convey that he wasn’t growling at her, but it was difficult to speak. To his relief, Seven nodded and bowed her head shyly. It was a shame, because her gray eyes, set in deep tan skin, were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to talk to her, to tell her what he was feeling, but he couldn’t. His body was still taut against the effects of being stricken. Unable to talk, and unwilling to scare her off, he reached a hand under the long fall of her straight jet hair and pulled her to him, hugging her in a tight embrace that he hoped conveyed the depth of his emotion for the wondrous event of their meeting. Their chests aligned as he stooped so that his heart could pound erratically against hers. To his relief, Seven didn’t pull back or struggle. They stayed like that for a long time, long enough for the shockingly painful effects of being stricken to wear off. Seven simply stood and let him hold her, supporting her through the drastically reduced effects of being stricken that she was experiencing. When Lux was finally able to slow his heart rate and pull back she asked, “Can…will you take me to Kenna? I’m sure she’s scared.”

He nodded in relief. He’d thought she was going to ask him to let her go again. So hell yes, he could take her to Kenna. He’d do anything for her so long as it meant he didn’t have to give her up.

“Come on.” He slid his hands down her arms and grabbed her hand before leading her back toward the house.