Jinx's Mate by Marissa Dobson Read Free Book Online Page A

he cared more about her than he ever
showed. Or maybe Summer just wanted to believe that.
    “Everyone’s
gone.” Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “You okay?”
    “No.”
She chuckled through her tears. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be okay again, but
somehow I’ll find a way through it. What choice do I have?”
    “If
I could make things better, you know I would.”
    She
nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, for all of this.”
    “You’re
welcome.”
    “Ben…”
A voice called from the door. It sounded like Tex, but Summer didn’t turn
around to see.
    “I
should go,” Ben said, squeezing her close. “Taber is taking Ty back to Alaska
today, and we’re supposed to have one more training session. I’ll stay if you
need me.”
    “No.”
She shook her head, running her fingers over the urn. “Go ahead. I’m fine. I
need a few minutes alone and then I should check on some of the others.”
    “I’ll
find you later.” He kissed her forehead and stood.
    “Honestly,
I’m fine.” Every part of her hated to lie to him but she wanted him to go. He
needed the training, or she might be burying him next.
    She
closed her eyes, let the silence wrap around her, bringing the memories of
Autumn back to her. Grief tore her heart in two, stealing away her breath,
until she thought there was nothing left. Anger sprang up on its tail. Anger at
Avery, at the clan for not doing something to stop him, at herself for not
doing something. It seemed her own life had meant more to her than jumping to
Autumn’s aid.
    Autumn’s
torture was supposed to be just like all the other times she had to stand by
and watch Avery cut away the will to fight from the members. Only this time it
was different, costing her sister’s life. She died in order to free us. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself. It wasn’t the first death Avery
was responsible for, but it was the last.
    “May
I join you?” Jinx asked, and she opened her eyes to find him standing in front
of her.
    “Where
did you come from?”
    “My
mother’s loins.”
    His
joke brought a smile to her face.
    “That’s
not what I meant. I didn’t hear you or even feel you coming.” She should have
known he was coming to her. It was part of mating to always feel your mate, to
know where he was even when they were separated.
    “You
were occupied.” He held out his hand. “Come with me.”
    “Maybe
later, I just want to…” She didn’t finish the sentence. To say she wanted to
stay with Autumn sounded stupid. Autumn wasn’t there, just the ashes from her
body, but it was what she wanted.
    “I
know you want to stay but I have something you need to see. It can’t wait.”
    “What?”
    “Ben
is about to start practicing with Ty. I want to show you how he’s doing. Ty’s
working with him in the gym. We can see it from one of the offices without
disturbing them. You’ll be able to see you have nothing to worry about. What do
you say, will you come with me?”
    She
sat the urn aside, her fingers sliding over the smooth surface one last time
before nodding. If in a few days she was going to have to leave with Jinx she
needed to know Ben would be safe. She had no doubt he would protect those under
him, but when it came to hand-to-hand combat he had no training. It was always
possible another tiger from a different clan would see this as an opportunity
to claim the Alpha position over their clan. The Texas clan was in a difficult
position, where it left them prey to others if they couldn’t prove their
strength.
    For
the first time in a long time, as she wandered down the halls she saw people
moving from one place to another, or gathering together in one of the many
lobby areas throughout the resort. It lifted her heart to see so much change in
only a few days. If she came back in a month, or three, how different would her
clan be? It pained her slightly to know she wouldn’t be there to see them
evolve.
    “We’ll
come back as