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then whisk her away to Arizona and sell her to the highest bidder—if he didn’t kill her first.

Chapter Three

    Crash and Burn, tiger shifters and twins, sat on either side of Blaze. They traded smirks as he looked at the clock for what had to be the hundredth time. All right, so maybe he was a little keyed up, waiting for the library to close. He’d spent the rest of last night thinking about Luna and her situation. He snorted. No, he’d spent the rest of last night thinking about her curves and wondering what she’d feel like in his arms. She was so damn tiny he could snap her in half without any effort, and that should have scared the shit out of him, but it just made him want to protect her even more.
    With her dusky skin, and long, dark hair, there was no denying her Hispanic
    heritage, but those cool, green eyes were what held him captive. He could have stared into them all night, if she hadn’t scurried off after he made her an offer he’d hoped she wouldn’t refuse. Yes, it was underhanded to offer help and then pressure her into accepting him as a mate. It was true; it would be easier to keep her safe if he had his brothers standing by his side and watching his back, but that hadn’t been the only reason he’d made his offer. When he’d knelt beside her car, and inhaled her sweet scent, he’d felt this visceral pull. He’d fought hard not to rip the door off its hinges and yank her out of the vehicle and into his arms.
    Was it the fabled mating pull? Hell if he knew, but it wasn’t a feeling he’d been able to deny. Despite the fact that her scent was nearly overpowering, it was the scent of fear that had almost made his grizzly erupt from his skin. The bear wanted to hunt down the people threatening their mate and make them pay in a way only a bear can do. Mauling was too easy a way to go for the asshole harassing Luna. What kind of man threatened to sell his own sister? Shifters were known for being overprotective of their families, and Blaze had always assumed that humans were the same way. When he’d served in the military, his SEAL buddies had always spoken fondly of their siblings.
    He’d have to do some research on Ricardo Sylvestro. Depending on what he
    found, he might be calling those SEAL buddies of his, and maybe a few other people.
    He hadn’t been completely honest with Luna. He might not be a merc, but he had a few friends who were, or had been, once upon a time. Not that he was convinced they’d completely backed away from that way of life. Once a man killed, he always had the potential to do it again. He knew many soldiers who had shut off their humanity, in order to get the job done, without being racked by guilt over taking a life.
    Of course, that hadn’t been the case for Blaze. Having grown up in a shifter
    home, he’d been taught from an early age that there were bad people in the world and you had to do whatever was necessary to protect your own kind. At home, his own kind had been shifters. As a SEAL, it had been his teammates. And since the age of seventeen, it was the bikers he called brothers. Luna didn’t fit into his world, despite the fact she seemed to come from this world; she no longer belonged in it. She was so far above him, and yet he wanted her and refused to let go. Once Blaze decided something belonged to him, no one was able to take it from him.
    And he’d be damned if he’d let some punk ass Desert Dog take his mate from
    him. If Ricardo and his ilk darkened their doorstep, he wouldn’t walk away. Blaze would make sure that his mate was safe, forever. If it meant he chopped up Ricardo’s body and buried all the pieces, then that’s what he would do, and he wouldn’t lose a moment’s sleep over it.
    “What the hell is up with you?” Crash asked. “I’ve never seen a woman tie you
    in knots before.”
    “This one is different. She’s mine.”
    Burn smirked. “So the mighty Blaze is taking a mate? What if the Pres won’t let you have her?