Free Sassy Ever After: A Hot Piece Of Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Melanie James

excited by the very thought of mating with him.
    At the time, Hannah had still needed a bit of convincing, but she couldn’t argue with her wolf: Their mate was easy on the eyes. Seeing his transformation to human form left her weak at the knees and wanting to lick every inch of his body. Twice.
    Hannah sighed. Unfortunately, she had been too distracted by her big strong mate to see the threat coming right at them.
    She imagined being anywhere other than trapped in a dusty rotting hell-hole, imagined his scent enveloping her in a cocoon of safety. Guilt tore through her, making her feel even worse.
    If only she hadn’t lost her shit when she’d found her mate, the day could’ve ended so much differently. If she had allowed him to mark her as he had wanted, she would be able to communicate with him now. Not only that, but she wouldn’t have the mark of another on her neck.
    Hannah swore to God that once she was free from this situation, she’d never let him out of her sight again.
    If he’s still alive. Her wolf chose the most inopportune time to speak up.
    He has to be alive. There has to be a way out of this situation . A lone tear streaked down her face. I just found him. The Fates couldn’t be that cruel. Could they?
    Hannah knew better than to ask that question. Of course they could. She’d known many wolves who’d lost their mates just as they’d found them. She knew exactly how cruel the Fates could be.
    What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life had turned into a nightmare in the blink of an eye. Hannah had no idea if her true mate was alive or dead, and it scared the shit out of her.
    Remembering what Tanner had said about his Nordic background, Hannah did something she’d never done. She prayed to Skuld for the future she wanted and deserved with her mate. Then she prayed to Freyja for the strength she needed to break free from the silver.
    Her ears perked up when she heard wolves howling in the distance. Her instinct told her to respond, but her wolf kept her mouth firmly shut, not knowing who it was. She held her breath as the man on the couch sat up and looked at her. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog.
    Hannah watched as he tried to stand, and grimaced as he fell back onto the tattered coushins. “You’ve been injured. Pretty badly at that. I think you should try and rest a little more to get your energy back.”
    “What the fuck? Why are you being nice to him?”
    “I’m trying to use a little reverse psychology. Maybe if we’re nice to him, he’ll get this silver off of us and not kill us.”
    “You saw what he did to the woman in the woods. You can’t possibly have forgotten the marks they left on her. What makes you think he’ll spare us?”
    “Call it a hunch or whatever you want, but I have to try. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
    “Sure you can. It’s easy. Just close your mouth and act like he doesn’t exist.”
    Hannah chose to ignore her wolf’s criticism. She was out of options and time.
    “Who the fuck are you?” The burly man’s voice was harsh and unsteady. Three rotted teeth greeted her when he spoke. Even before Tanner had handed the guy his ass, he looked like he’d seen better days. His graying hair was shaggy and unkempt. He was definitely not up to any of the personal hygiene standards set by her pack.
    If all that wasn’t enough to give her the heebie-jeebies, his clothes did. His classy ensemble consisted of a pair of grimy ripped jeans and a stained, slightly torn, used-to-be-white-long-long-ago wife-beater. Then there were the blaze orange suspenders holding the whole mess together.
    Honestly, she’d seen beggars dressed better.
    “My—my name is Hannah. What’s yours?”
    “Scott. What happened? Did you do this to me? Is that why Mac and Jimmy brought you here?”
    “Hardly.” Hannah swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I’m Mac’s mate. See?”