Jared: Mating Fever (Rocked by the Bear Book 5) by V. Vaughn Page B

haven’t had to deal with hunters until lately, and while they grew up knowing about the danger, the actual reality of it is new to them too. Jared’s long, elegant fingers move smoothly over the rifle as he inspects it. I think about my mate’s love for music and appreciation of my paintings. We’re more human than bear. And my humanity is determined to find a way to solve the hunter problem without killing.

11
    S asha gulps down the glass of water I hold up to her mouth, and when she’s done, I crouch down to check her restraints. They’re tight, and my recent memory of what that feels like makes me say, “I’m going to loosen these to be more comfortable.” Her wrists are thin, and I imagine they’re fragile like glass as I hold them.
    “She’s not a pet. You can’t keep her,” Jared tells me telepathically.
    “I know that. But we don’t have to be cruel. She’s—” Human. She lives in fear of something she doesn’t understand, and I can’t let her die because of ignorance. “I think we need to let her go before your warriors get here.”
    “So she can return with help to kill us all in our sleep? No.”
    I sit across from Sasha again and notice her jeans have holes from wear. Her hoodie is frayed and stained. I ask, “Where are you from?”
    “South of here.”
    I lean back and swing my foot as I study her for a moment. She looks like your typical college girl that might be wearing her last clothes before she breaks down to do laundry. I say, “Help me understand why a group of people I know to be human in almost every way deserve to die.”
    “Because. You’re—”
    Jared interrupts her. “Beasts, yeah, we’ve heard that already. But as you can see, we aren’t. So what is it?”
    Sasha appears confused. “I just know you need to die.”
    I glance at Jared before I say, “We could have killed you earlier, but we didn’t. Do you know why?” She shrugs, and I say, “Because we have compassion and value life. Do you?”
    “Of course I do.”
    I think about how Sasha was scared to death in the woods, and I wonder if she’s ever killed someone. “Then why were you hiding behind a tree with a gun waiting for the right moment to kill someone you’ve never even met? Do you do this often?”
    “No! I’ve nev—” She sucks in her lips as if she can take her words back.
    I say, “You’ve never killed anyone, have you?” When she doesn’t answer I say, “I haven’t either.”
    I speak in my mate’s mind. “Jared.”
    “Damn it.” Jared’s chair scrapes on the floor as he stands quickly and lifts the gun. “I hate this.”
    “Do you think your clan’s warriors will kill her?”
    His tone is exasperated as he walks into the kitchen. “I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with this before.”
    His words make me think that yesterday might have been the first time Jared ever killed someone, and my stomach clenches. “Oh, Jared.”
    “Yeah.”
    I get up and go to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tight. He squeezes me back just as hard and sighs before I ask, “That man yesterday was the first person you’ve ever killed, wasn’t he?”
    “Yes.” I gaze up at my mate, and he shakes his head. “I’m just like Sasha. I was taught that hunters are evil. How could I be so blind?”
    I swallow as I recall what it felt like to be strangled and know that if Jared hadn’t yanked the hunter off of me, I’d be dead. “No. You’re not. Yesterday you had no choice. That man was the one that shot at you the other day, and he wouldn’t have given up until we were both dead.”
    “This isn’t what werebear are.” He gazes down at me, and the pain I see in his eyes makes my chest ache. “It’s not what I want to be.”
    I reach up and place my hand on his cheek as I breathe in the man I love more than anything. His heart is kind, and I want to find a way to ease his guilt over saving us both. “I know.”
    A thud makes us both turn to notice Sasha has toppled over