Page 23 of Savage Mates

Snarling, I spit out flesh and fur before turning my head toward Thor. He’d already eliminated the second male.

The female was in Zeus’ mouth, her cries filtering into the night.

“Leave her alone,”Thor snapped.“She can’t hurt us.”

He was right. The female had limited attributes, her deformity making her ill equipped for fighting three powerful alpha lions.

Zeus glared at us, still sinking his incisors into her flesh. When we challenged him, he finally dropped her, issuing another growl as a warning.

Injured, bleeding, and moving slowly, she finally disappeared into the darkness.

We stood in the shadows, waiting and watching as our wounds began to heal. The ability another gift from the lifeforms who’d created us.

Turning, I walked as close to one of the buildings as I felt comfortable doing and I could feel her once again.

She was waiting.

Watching.

Hungering.

Just like we were.

Everything about her put me on edge.

Even in the darkness, I could sense her curiosity, a need troubling her as much as it did with us.

She didn’t bother turning on a light, but I could still see her beautiful face as well as the silhouette of her voluptuous body. What struck me as even more powerful than her natural beauty was her lack of fear.

The little human was calm. Too calm.

And that only made me hunger for her even more.

CHAPTER 6

Lauren

“You’re special, Lauren. Never forget that.”

“Why am I special, Mommy?” I peered into my mother’s sad eyes, wondering why she was crying.

“Because you can speak to the lions just like Mommy can. But you need to remember something always. Promise me you will.”

“What?”

“That you’ll remember they were wild animals. They are still dangerous.”

“They’re not dangerous. They’re amazing. I’m going to marry a lion one day.”

Blood.

I crouched down near the patch of darker dirt, dragging my fingers through the middle. When I pulled it to my nose, Ijerked my head back. The stench was unusual. Still coppery, yet stronger than I was used to. A string of blood led to the thick canopy of trees surrounding the military compound on three sides. There’d been an attack in the middle of the night, an injured animal managing to get away in the darkness.

Sighing, I rose to my full height, turning and heading for the medical facility. It was time to get to work even if what I’d heard the night before continued to weigh heavily on my mind.

A sharp scream.

Brutal and bloody.