Free Eyes on the Pride (Awakening Pride Book 8) by Lacey Thorn Page B

mission to save as many shifters as she can, and she has. She was captured several times and tortured by the Blanes for her efforts.”
    “Better tortured than dead,” Calloway grunted.
    “She was buried alive, Calloway. Placed in a coffin and dropped beneath the ground for days. From what I’ve read, her father had the chamber built so oxygen could be pumped into it, allowing them to prolong the torture of those put inside.”
    “Jesus Christ! How do you know that?”
    “We have accounts from several watchers about shifters she managed to save. A few of them discovered what happened to Amia and made record of it. I’ve always thought of her as a hero. They say she has the sight.”
    “What sight?” Calloway asked. If she could see the future, surely, she could have protected herself from what she’d gone through.
    “She sees auras around shifters. She can look at you and see what you are, even though she’s human.”
    He gave her a questioning look.
    “It’s a hunter skill. Most of the groups, who go on the hunt together, take a person with them who was born with that unique skill. I’ve heard they actually breed for it. If a male is known to have it, they encourage him to mate with as many women as he can in the hope the kids will have it.”
    “They don’t mate,” Calloway uttered with a growl. “They don’t understand the concept.”
    “I didn’t mean…” She let her words trickle off. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Are you okay, Calloway?”
    Hell, no, he wasn’t. The more he learned about the pride and their members, the more concerned he became for the safety of his mate.
    “I should have had you tell me all about the pride while we were driving. I know basic stuff from Gideon, but you know all about them.”
    “We were a little busy with other things on the drive,” she murmured, her voice going husky and causing his cock to twitch at the reminder of what they’d been busy doing. They must have stopped half a dozen times along the way to sate their burning need for one another. He was half-tempted to ask for a room first, just so he could take her again and make sure she was even more saturated in his scent.
    “How do I look?” Darby asked as they parked in front of a sprawling farmhouse. Reno and Gideon were already out and waiting for them on the porch steps.
    “You’re gorgeous,” Calloway told her.
    “You’re not even looking at me,” she said with a sigh.
    “I don’t have to,” he vowed, moving his gaze to her and taking her in. He reached out and plucked the band from her hair, delighting in the way her curls tumbled around her shoulders. “You always look beautiful.”
    “Calloway!”
    He pocketed the band, slipping out of the truck and heading around to get her door. There was something in the air. He felt a tug inside him, his beast filled with anticipation and something else he couldn’t explain. He opened the passenger door, lifted Darby down beside him and stayed facing her after he shut the door.
    “Calloway?” Her voice was soft, fearful. “You’re pale. What’s going on? What do you need me to do?”
    “I can’t…” He shook his head. Whatever was rising inside him was reaching a crescendo pitch. His heart raced. His knees were a bit weak, as if he might pitch down onto them any minute.
    Footsteps sounded behind him, and the tug grew stronger, fiercer, ripping the air from his lungs. What the hell was going on?
    “Calloway Meyer.”
    His name, nothing more, but the command was evident in the voice he’d only heard over the phone so far.
    Darby shocked him by stepping around him, placing herself in front of him and facing off with the alpha of the pride.
    “Did you do something to him?” she demanded, anger snapping in her voice. His precious mate, who’d been so nervous to meet Utah Pearce, was now practically shouting at him.
    “Go with it,” a soft feminine voice called to him. “I had the same reaction.”
    Lion. She was a