Free Grayslake: Creed's Claim by Mina Carter Page B

to him, her beast in her voice and fur already flowing over her exposed skin.
    Carve? Crap, no wonder he couldn’t stand up straight.
    “You want to poison someone, asshole?” Lilly snarled, backing Harrison up into a corner. “How about you try that on me?”
    “And me.” The Itan dropped down into the pit next to her, his broad back becoming broader as the two bears got between Harrison and his target.
    Creed tried to go for him but his left leg wouldn’t cooperate, the poison filtering through his system. Shudders racked his body and he dropped to the mud floor of the pit, all his muscles contracting and releasing in chaotic unison. His heart raced, pumping blood and the poison around his system. Carve was deadly, so he didn’t have long. Instead of panicking and fighting it though, he simply accepted his imminent demise and turned to look up at Kait.
    Her eyes were wide, fear in their tear-filled depths. Without a thought for her own safety, she scrambled down the side of the pit and raced over to him. Dropping to her knees, she gathered him up into her arms.
    His Kait. His mate, if only for one night. At least he’d made her his own, his bite on her neck and, if the fates were kind, she might even be carrying his cub. The thought pleased him and he managed a smile. She’d be a fierce mama, protecting her cubs, unlike his own mother, who’d simply abandoned him here and fled. A helpless child without any idea who his parents had been.
    “Creed, no! Please, you have to be alright.” Her voice was broken as she wiped mud from his cheek. “You can’t leave me. You have to fight. You’ve always fought…so fight for us now. Please? I love you.”
    Lying there, in her arms, Creed finally felt at peace. For years, he’d waited for Kait to look at him the way she did now. And she loved him. Emotion burst through his body, his heart the epicenter of the storm. Pity it was finally happening as Carve filtered through his system, killing him from the inside out. Heat rolled through him in a flash fire, burning the inside of his veins as something surged up from deep within him to just under his skin.
    But then he didn’t feel pain. Oh shit, no pain meant things were bad. Really bad. Not wanting to close his eyes, he watched Kait and lifted a hand to smooth her hair from her face.
    “I’ve always loved you, Kait. Ever since the moment I first saw you.”
    His admission was soft, but not as thready as he’d expected. Wasn’t Carve supposed to shut down the central nervous system or something? If anything, the pain was receding and he felt good. Certainly better than any dying man had a right to feel.
    She smiled through her tears. “You certainly took your time telling me. Why?”
    He shrugged. “You were Mark’s sister. Off limits.”
    “Fucking stupid me and your honor code!” She swore. “Didn’t you ever think to ask me what I wanted. All these years… I’d never have left if I thought…”
    She bit her lip looking away. Surging upward, Creed caught her around the nape with a big hand. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t have left? Left Lizard Lick for the city, you mean?”
    She nodded, meeting his eyes. “After Mark, I didn’t want to be here. Everyone told me it was best to make a clean break… But if you’d have asked me, I’d have stayed. But I didn’t think you saw me that way. I thought you just saw me as Mark’s irritating kid sister. A brat.”
    He chuckled, thumb stroking her neck softly as he sat up with her in his arms, cradling her smaller body with his. “You are a brat. But no, I never saw you as a kid.”
    “Creed?” she asked, hands splayed out over his chest, her gaze intent on him.
    “Yes, love?”
    “Aren’t you supposed to be ill or something?”
    He blinked, then looked down at himself. Shit, she was right. He felt better than he had in years.
    “See? See! It wasn’t Carve!” Harrison all but screamed, his face pale as he gestured at Creed. “How could he be on