Page 92 of Pack Kasen: Part 1

“Kat, I—” His hand stretches toward me.

Like the animal he tried to convince me I was, I peel my lips from my teeth and snarl at him. “Touch me, and it will be the last thing youeverdo. Iswearit.”

It’s only when my eyes flick down and I see the claws my fingers have become that I realize how truly I mean it.

He’s so surprised by my outburst—and my clawed fingers—that he freezes.

His mouth moves like he wants to speak but can’t find the right words.

Taking advantage of his shock, I dart around him.

As I run away from him, I rub the heel of my hand against my chest to chase away the strange sensation squeezing my heart.

I get behind the wheels of the car, put my foot down, and get the hell out of Dodge.

31

AREN

“Finan.” My voice is faint and I’m breathing hard as I stare after the Jeep disappearing into the distance.

He steps up beside me, touching his shoulder to mine as I sway.

I can’t seem to take my eyes off the gravel road.

“Aren?”

The truth was right there, all along. All I had to do was open my mind to see it. “Please tell me I did not lock my mate in a cage.”

“I prefer not to lie, Alpha.” His voice is gentle, missing the judgement I deserve for being so willfully blind.

All shifters dream of finding their fated mate. Not all do. Most don’t.

I always hoped I would.

And I have.

The mate is the woman I kept in my cage for nearly a week, convinced she was an animal I needed to put down.

But she isn’t an animal. Isn’t a feral at all. She doesn’t have a pack, but she’s a shifter like me.

Kat Meadows is my mate, and I treated her like…

I shake my head when I think of what I did to her. Of how many times I nearly killed her.

Mymate.

My wolf is growling at me to go after her—to bring her back—but all I can think about is what if she’d died at my hands?

She looked at me like she wanted to kill me, and she meant it. She fucking meant it. Now she’s gone after saving Leo, one of the youngest and most vulnerable members of my pack. In my car, no less.

And I know what has to happen.

IthinkI know what needs to happen.

But…

"I will not beg her for forgiveness," I growl.

Finan’s gentle smile warns I won’t like what he will say. "Then you will lose her."