Page 59 of Savage Mates

“No,” Thor gritted out. “They were dropped here when we were. Maybe they were hoping we’d mate with them.”

“But they’d try it with a human. The production of life naturally through sex. Just like…” She was remembering something she’d been told. Her lower lip quivered. “My God. That’s not possible. I just can’t believe it.”

Titus nodded as an answer. Very slowly. Deliberately. Never allowing his eyes to leave her face.

She darted her gaze to our thick erections, a flush of embarrassment cresting across her jaw. The human was as attracted to us as we were to her.

“If what you’re saying is true, that means there could be others. Shifters. Different species. Different locations. Imagine if they could… breed.”

Yes, imagine.

“The cub I saw last night. Is that…”

“Your assumptions are correct. A shifter and a female lion that has not been altered. Their tests proved positive. As far as a human with a shifter, that we do not know.”

She stared into my eyes, taking gasping breaths. “Do you know what that means? Do you understand the possibilities? And the very reason the scientists from Blackwell are terrified.”

I took a deep breath. The information was almost too much for the woman who adored animals. Which I did believe. I’d seen her with the lions. I couldn’t deny her need to protect them much like our innate need to protect her.

Well, shit. It would seem everything Thor had assumed could be true. Not yet. I refused to buy it just yet.

“There must be more to this. Marcus Blackwell’s body was never found. He could still be alive.”

“Are you hopeful?” I asked her.

Her laugh was laced with bitterness. “Are you kidding me? If I saw him, I’d put a bullet between his eyes without hesitation.”

Thor laughed, but I was only slightly amused. Although I did believe what she said. “What else do you know?”

“Not much. I wasn’t involved in the project in any way. I read everything I could a couple years ago, writing a paper. Shit. That’s why I was brought here. The person who sponsored this trip financially must have read the paper. Maybe they believed I could somehow control you. There are other not so pleasant alternatives.”

The quick blip of her mind captured my attention.

Or she could be used as bait for mating.

“Which was why the man you walked into the jungle with wanted you incapacitated. Or easy to be controlled.”

My statement brought a hint of fear. “Maybe.”

“You were already worried about why you were brought here. Weren’t you?” I crouched down, placing one hand on the rockand leaning over so I could study her beauty. Her scent blew me away.

My balls were suddenly heavy.

My blood pressure rising.

And a heavy fog passed in front of my eyes.

If she sensed our hunger growing, she was purposely ignoring it.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I applied for a grant to study lions. They are my passion. They are dying at record rate because of human-borne diseases, so much so I fear possible extinction for several species in the next ten years. Much like what happened with the Cape lion.” She turned her head toward Thor and the three of us were slightly rattled.

“What did you hope to accomplish, little human?”

“I found proof lions exist on this island, including sightings of the Cape lion. Fuck. I bet you the man who allowed me to come here baited me by sending the initial information you existed, including sightings of Thor. If that was true, in my mind I needed to study the Cape lion, to take samples and in doing so, maybe I could find out what happened to stop the extinction from occurring in other species. Just like what I told you. Plus, I was fascinated by the possibilities of some scientist bringing back an extinct species. I’m a scientist. I grew up with lions. They were my friends. They meant the world to me.”

I glanced back at the other two. We were even more curious about her than before. Yet we knew very little about humans and trust wasn’t possible. Not after everything we’d been through.

Yet…