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S arah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had been friends with Gerry since she was seven. She’d told him everything, including her anger with her father. How could he do this?

“Why now? After all this time?” While her mind could barely process the magnitude of his betrayal, her heart wanted answers.

“It has always been you, Sarah,” he said sincerely.

She grabbed a nearby chair and sat. “I’m not leaving with you. How could you do this to me? You were like a brother to me.”

Gerald sighed. “It was unfortunate that we met so early in life, but I knew by the time you were fourteen that you were meant to be mine.” He straightened his sleeve. “You have done what you needed to do. Let’s go. I have a surprise for you.”

Sarah’s stomach knotted. “What did I need to do?”

“You needed to be exposed to the shifters in order to trigger your transformation. Although we can enhance the mating hormone, we can’t synthesize it. We still need them for that... for now.”

She was confused. “You want me to mate one of them?”

“No. You are mine. You will be my wife. Bear my children. Our kids will have enhanced DNA.” He pleaded with her as if everything he was saying was perfectly rational.

“You’re going to experiment on me?”

“Not you, the thing you fucked,” he said in disgust.

Sarah felt so sick she dry-heaved and put her hand over her mouth.

Gerald’s face was hard. His voice like ice. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to let you fuck that thing?”

Sarah wasn’t sure what was worse the fact that he knew she’d had sex with Devon or that he believed he had the right to dictate to her.

She needed to stall to figure out how to get out of this mess.

She had just lost her only remaining friend.

Her father was afraid, and he was backing Gerald not her.

Could she shoot Gerry? She decided on another tactic.

“You dated. You had girlfriends. You never showed any romantic interest towards me.”

“You never showed any romantic interest in a man. I came to believe you were a lesbian. I was taking steps to rehabilitate you, but Brian had a better idea,” he said coldly

Sarah’s gaze jumped to her father. “Did you arrange for Cyril to bite me? Was that your idea?”

Brian rolled his shoulders as if he was beneath answering her. “With you showing no interest in men, and Donny gone, I needed to ensure I got an heir. Someone to carry on the family business.”

“The family business is killing and harvesting animals. You, insensitive PRICK.” she yelled. There it was, the bane of her existence. She hadn’t been born a boy. She laughed without humor. “You sacrificed your only daughter for a chance to have a male heir.”

“It’s guaranteed. With Kevin’s research, your firstborn will be male, but you were promised to Gerald prior to Donny’s death.” He turned to Gerald.

“Tell her the rest Brian,” Gerald said.

Brian looked pissed, but continued. “I ran into some business difficulties. Kevin took care of them. I did it to keep you in the lifestyle you’re accustomed to.”

“How old?” Sarah asked.

“What?” Brian asked, confused.

“How old was I when you sold me?” Her hand went to her gun. The nausea was gone. She felt nothing. Everything she believed was a lie.

Gerald held up a hand. His concern was evident. “It wasn’t like that, Sarah. I told my father I wanted to marry you. We had discussed it that day. Do you remember?” he said contritely.

“I was fourteen. You were eighteen. I had a schoolgirl crush on you. We were children,” she spat.

“I waited for you. Yes, there were other women. I wanted to know how to please you when the time came. None of them meant anything to me,” he said honestly.

Sarah felt bad for the women Gerry had dated. Some of them had fallen for him. The fact that he felt nothing for them only made it worse. She shook her head.

Gerry’s eyes narrowed. “He hasn’t bitten you, has he?”

She had a sinking feeling. “Why?”

“It would make accepting me much harder for you. Once you have his venom in your bloodstream, there’s no getting it out. Every time I took you, you’d experience excruciating pain. I don’t want that for you,” he said.

Her gut tightened. “But you would rape me anyway?”

“You love ME.” he yelled.

“Like a brother!” she screamed back.

Gerald went perfectly cold. “You’ll learn.”

“I’m a cop. A ranger.”

“We have already arranged for you to be transferred to our wildlife department in Bellevue. But you will be going on administrative leave.”

“Why?” She wanted to get as much information from Gerald as she could because she was going to shoot him.

“You will be traumatized by what’s about to happen. Won’t you come in, Devon?”

* * *

Waiting outside Sarah’s door was the worst few minutes of Devon’s life.

He would rather be tortured by Coyotes than feel his mate’s emotional destruction.

He wouldn’t have been able to keep his word to his family if it hadn’t been for the fact that Sarah was so well trained and fully armed.

He knew he needed to get as much information from Gerald Kallan as he could because he was going to kill the man.

His cougar was incensed by his mate’s level of distress and it had been a battle to hold him back for those few minutes.

But now he fully intended to give in to his beast’s rage.

Devon entered the room with a murderous expression in his amber eyes. Brian paled, but Gerald smiled. “Hello, pussycat,” he sneered. “Come to sneak off with my future wife?”

Devon snarled. “She’s mine.”

Gerald shrugged. “Yeah? Well, you’re dead.” He shot Devon with a dart gun that sprung from under his sleeve.

Devon felt the projectile hit him. There was a sting of pain as the poison spread like ice through his bloodstream.

The excruciating sensation was unfamiliar, but he knew from Talen’s description that this was the same tranquilizer he’d been shot with.

It hadn’t killed Talen. He hoped he could withstand its effects long enough to get Sarah out of there.

Without his healing abilities, he found he had a newfound appreciation for the human race. For his mate.

“DEVON,” Sarah yelled as she ran to him.

“Don’t touch HIM,” Gerald screamed. “You do and he’s dead.”

She stopped. The look in her eyes was devastating.

She obviously felt responsible. He wanted to reassure her.

To tell her she had no control over another’s emotions.

Devon of all people could tell her that.

This, however, wasn’t the time. He needed her safe.

He hadn’t relied on his family for a long time.

He hadn’t asked for help when he should have.

He wouldn’t make that mistake now. While he could easily read others emotions, he had never tried to project them on others.

He pushed with all his strength to connect with his closest brother.

He felt Hunter startle before his strength left him and he was forced to break off communication.

His legs were going numb as he struggled to stay upright.

Devon looked into the eyes of his mate knowing that his pain was nothing compared to hers.

He didn’t have to read her mind to know what she was thinking.

Her whole life was one big lie and an even bigger betrayal.

How was he supposed to gain this woman’s trust when every man in her life had manipulated every moment of it?

He felt fear as he saw her demoralization turn to resolve.

She looked at him and mouthed ‘sorry’. She pulled her gun and aimed it at Gerald.

Three red laser dots immediately lit up her chest. They swirled in tiny circles as they zeroed in on her heart. She saw them. Her finger tightened on the gun, but she didn’t look down.

Gerald held up his hands with panic in his voice. “Don’t shoot HER.” He shouted.

With his vision fading, Devon couldn’t see where the snipers were positioned. His body felt heavier by the second. He put a hand on the table to steady himself.

There was a shout. Then gunfire. Although he couldn’t feel them, he knew his brothers had arrived.

“What’s going on... report,” Gerald snapped.

Devon couldn’t see the mic on Gerald’s ear. He hated being impressed by the psycho’s tech.

Gerald’s chin turned to one side. “Report!”

Hunter burst into the room. Wood splinters flew as the door frame disintegrated. Brian jumped behind Gerald as he crouched low with his unique weapon drawn. “We have to go, Devon. Kallan has thirty men out there with semi-automatics. We can’t hold them off for long.”

“I’ve been shot by that weapon Talen told us about. Get Sarah out of here,” Devon rasped.

“The boys are protected and we aren’t leaving without you,” Hunter growled back.

Devon noticed the flak jacket for the first time. It was something a shifter had never had to wear. He also realized Hunter’s gun was pointed at Brian.

Gerald stood up. “Sarah, if you leave with them you will never see Racheal alive again.”

Sarah’s stood with her gun pointed at Gerald’s head. “No,” she whispered.

Devon pulled himself up using the table for leverage. “It’s a trap. He’s lying.”

Gerald’s chin tilted to the side. “You know I’m not lying and so does Sarah.”

He wasn’t lying. The bastard knew where Racheal was. Devon felt nausea roll through his stomach as the room faded in and out.

Sarah sucked in an uneven breath. “Gerry what did you do?”

Devon felt pain fracture his cheek as his face hit the floor.

* * *

Sarah was truly afraid. Not for herself. She had let Gerald deceive her into thinking he was someone else. She was terrified he had done something to Racheal. She needed to know the truth before she shot him.