Free More Than Life (Arcane Crossbreeds) by Amanda Vyne Page B

touch what was his. His team would be here within hours, and he would reduce this circus down to smoking ash. His nostrils flared to catch and remember the bastard’s scent.
    Another scent arced through him with the force of lightning. It was warm and heady. Potent. It swirled through his system. Evocative. It infused his body with fierce vitality. The sound of the door hissing shut dimly registered as his sluggish heart constricted in his chest and his eyes slid shut. Katya was breeding. Pregnant. With his baby.
    They’d done it. She was his mate.
    She was finally and truly his. He had no intention of letting her slip through his fingers a second time. He didn’t care if she blamed him for every crappy day she had from now until eternity. He was not giving her up. Not even for her sanity. It was too fucking late for that, and he was all out of benevolent sacrifice. She belonged to him. She would have to just accept that. Her life was now inexplicably tied to his, and Drachon were notoriously fierce when it came to their mates.
    His people followed a spiritual path with a strong belief in a divine road. One he’d turned his back on twenty years ago, rejecting the faith of his people, because it seemed their destiny was one of extinction. Hopelessness. If they were guided by a higher power, how could it allow them to die out?
    Yet here was Katya. She was his future. He just hadn’t known it.
    All those years ago, he’d left his people and, within days, stumbled across that damn warehouse. He’d been drawn to it—to her—and so it had been every day since. Even as a child, Katya had captivated him, arousing proprietary feelings. He’d protected her and provided for her. Always.
    And she’d saved him.
    Raife drew the now faint scent of her deep into his lungs. She’d been through hell, one he could only guess at. She was confused and hurt and afraid, and she’d been seduced into a mating that was impossible to resist. She’d been dragged away while he lay on his back and watched, and she blamed him. He’d seen it in her eyes. Once he got them out of here, they would have a long road ahead of them. He wished he could afford to grant her his patience and time to find a way to accept their mating. To heal. But he couldn’t. His sanity wouldn’t tolerate it. Neither of them had a choice now. They were bound.
    “Tag, tell me you’ve got a plan. These fuckers tranqued my mate and hauled her away.”
    Time stretched out around him, riddled with mental minefields. What did they want with her? Was she the reason that damn Elemental had wanted them to mate? What would they do to her? Being left with his thoughts was more destructive than anything else. Each fear, each imagined cruelty winged by him, slicing relentlessly into him. His eyelids were weighted down, and his mind threatened to sink into the waiting darkness. His breaths huffed out and iced in the air.
    No! He had to stay focused. Stay conscious. His mate needed him.
    “Fuck, Tag, tell me you’re out there.” Maybe he was too far gone to communicate anymore.
    “As though you need to ask, asswipe. The boss is sending Gideon in. He’s opting for a silent extraction. No Fourth of July tonight. The place has some of the best security systems I’ve ever seen. Intelligent video security surveillance. Advanced biometric authentication systems. The interface is a steel fortress. I can’t hack it. I want to shake the hand of the fucker who created it.”
    Raife struggled to keep his mind afloat, but a weak tremor of humor slithered through him. Tag didn’t do fieldwork. He was a tech nerd. They’d brought him in on this because he was the only other person at Incog who could communicate with him at such a distance. All Drachon were strong telepaths.
    “That’s great, fuckwad. So happy you’re impressed.”
    Amusement buzzed through their mental connection. “Sorry. Gideon’s already en route, and he’s aware your mate is priority. You know that fucker has