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He was going to cut her. Scar her. Mark her.
A shot fired. Her attacker jerked, cursed and threw himself back.
The weight was gone as quickly as it had come. The agonizing pain of the male touch receded, to be replaced by the pain of the blow to her head.
She shook her head, whimpering as she felt unconsciousness trying to take hold of her. She couldn’t pass out. The enemy was here. He was here and her mate was in danger. She had to fight.
She tried to cry out, tried to find the strength to locate her link and call for help. She had to get to Seth.
“Seth.” She heard his name slip past her lips, a whisper of the scream that ached to be voiced.
Every part of her body hurt. She could feel the agony in her wrist, in the back of her head. Her ankle felt numb, yet glowing with pain.
A mewling moan left her lips and she hated that sound. She sounded like a child again, like a worthless animal whimpering in pain.
She tried to drag herself to her knees, to get to her feet, but she collapsed in the dirt again, her nails digging into it as she fought to hold on to reality, to consciousness.
She had to find her mate.
She could hear more screams, enraged roars and a male battle cry that would have frozen her senses if she’d had enough of them left to freeze.
She shook her head as she fought to clear the haze from her mind.
That lion’s roar sounded again. But it was the human scream of rage that sent chills down her spine. There was gunfire, and the answering call of Breed roars—Lion, Jaguar and Wolf. They spun within her head as she tried to pull herself to her knees.
She wavered, the earth spinning around her, before her eyesight darkened and she collapsed to the ground. The last sound she heard was that of her name, fury and agonized pain echoing in her mate’s voice.
He was alive. He lived.
She closed her eyes and let the darkness have her.
“Dawn!” Seth slid to the ground, his hands moving over her quickly, checking for broken bones, for blood. From her neck, down her back to her legs.
He turned her carefully and felt the breath leave his body on an enraged cry. Her shirt was torn open; scratches marred her upper chest and collarbone.
He was aware of the Breeds surrounding them, two teams, their backs to Seth, Dash and Callan as they quickly checked her for injuries.
“I want fucking secured access into the house. Find that damned shooter, Styx, or I’m going to peel your bones,” Callan was yelling into the communications link as Seth checked Dawn’s wrist.
It was swelling but not broken. Her ankle was twisted. Scratches marred her arms, upper chest and stomach, but there were no wounds. There was a lump on the back of her head. The bastard had hit her.
The son of a bitch had let them listen as he attacked her. Let them know he had her. Seth had heard the note of possession in his voice, the demented lust, and knew a terror unlike anything he had ever known.
“I told you she was going to follow,” Dash reminded him and Callan both. “Where do the two of you get the idea your women are going to sit and twiddle their thumbs when you’re in danger?”
Seth cast him a furious look as he quickly pulled Dawn’s shirt over her breasts and secured several buttons.
“Is that fucking route cleared?” Callan was snapping into the link before turning blazing eyes on Seth. “Pick her up. They’ll surround the four of us and pull us into the house.”
Seth picked her up gently, his teeth clenching with the pain streaking through his soul at the limpness of her body. Defenseless. God, how was he ever going to erase the mark on his soul that he had put her here? That he had let this happen.
“Seth, stay low.” Dash put his hand on his shoulder as he moved to rise. “The others need to be above us. We’ll move carefully to the clearing, then they’ll surround us entirely. We have a shooter in the trees.”
He nodded, unable to unlock his teeth, to relax his jaw enough to speak. If he did, he would howl in fury. He would never contain the rage burning inside him.
He stayed low, keeping his head below shoulder level of the Breeds surrounding them. He understood as they made their way through the natural cover. The Breeds surrounding them were unmated. Those within their protective circle were mates. The Breeds were so protective of their women that the mated males were also extremely careful of their own safety. The women’s survival, he had learned, depended on those matings. Should a mate be lost, then his partner would suffer and the consequences of that loss could be devastating.
“Our Breed doctor is flying in,” Callan snapped. “Elizabeth put the call into Sanctuary immediately. The heli-jet will be en route within minutes, ETA less than two hours.”
