Free Mate Her by Jenika Snow

rage was tangible. “Please, it wasn’t his fault. He was leaving to get
more water, and I asked to go with him to get out and see what my new home was
like. I wanted to leave. It was nice, up until…” She shrugged.
    “You’re hurt,” Thorque said and moved closer to her. He grabbed her hands and looked at them, and then
looked at her head. When he touched the back of it she winced. “Let me get you
something to heal them.” He was gone and moving toward the cooking area to grab
a few vials off of a ledge. Brawn took another step, and she held her hand out,
placing it on his warm chest.
    “I understand why you’re mad—”
    “Do you?” Brawn clipped out the word, his anger
evident. “If he would have let us know, we could have gone together. It is even
more dangerous during the night, and we would have not wanted you out there
with only Lukin to watch over you.”
    “I can watch over our mate just as well as the two
of you.” Lukin sounded enraged. “She fell, and I took
care of the Hellion that came after us.”
    “There was a fucking Hellion that came after you?”
Brawn was positively shaking now, and she moved back an inch.
    Thorque had her in his arms and was leading her into the sleeping chamber seconds
later. When she was sitting down she heard flesh hitting flesh, of things
breaking, and of the clear fight that she should stop.
    “No, you’re not going out there when they need to
get this out,” Thorque said determinedly. “He
shouldn’t have taken you out in the first place, and especially not without
letting us know. You are all of ours, Minka .” He grabbed a hide rag and poured some of the gel in
one vial on it. When he grabbed her hand and placed the rag on it, the pain
instantly vanished. He held it there for a few seconds, and then placed it on
the other one. She looked at her palms once he removed the hide, and was amazed
that the open cuts were now sealed.
    “That’s amazing.” The sound of something else
crashing in the other room prompted her to stand. “What if they kill each
other?”
    “I assure you they will not, but they need to get
this out or they will be huffing and growling until they do.” He handed her the
vial. “ Drink, and it’ll heal the wounds from the
inside out.”
    She grabbed the small black piece of rock, removed
the wax-like lid, and then took the substance. It didn’t taste like anything,
but warmth filled her as it traveled down her throat. The pain in her head
might have faded, but she was left with the memories of that horrid beast.
Brawn and Lukin were out there right now fighting
over this situation that she had put herself in, and she didn’t want that, but
she didn’t know them well enough to understand why they did the things they
did. They were a species that was strong and feared by many, and so it was only
natural, she supposed, that they needed violence to ease their energy.
    “Do they fight like this often?” She looked at Thorque , who was cleaning up the supplies.
    “When the tension is high, or Lukin acts before thinking.” Thorque stared at her and smiled.
    “Why aren’t you out there releasing that energy,
too?” She stared at him, not wanting him to fight, but surely he had the need
as well?
    “I may be a Hades warrior, but I tend to use my mind
more than my muscles when the time calls for it.” When he was finished putting
the supplies away he sat beside her. Taking her hand in his, she stared down at
the different tone of their skin color. She was a pale, peachy shade compared
to his dark red tone. She lifted her gaze to his face, to the sharp angles of
his square jaw and strong nose, and looked at his black yet soulful eyes. This
male used his brain to figure things out, to solve his problems. It may not be
what was in his chemical make-up being a superior species, but for him it was
what he knew. It was so strange being able to look into their faces, and know
what these men were about. Could the mating and breeding