Soul Bonded by Meghan Malone Read Free Book Online Page B

muscles turned to water. Rafe had found her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    “Yours?” The biter laughed, then spat in Katie’s direction. She struggled to sit, desperate to escape from her frozen prison. “I found it first.”
    “Actually, you didn’t. I found her a couple days ago.” Rafe met her eyes when she finally sat up. Naked and also fully aroused, he stood over the crumpled body of the blond man, blood staining the snow around his bare legs. The blond’s throat had been torn out and Rafe’s chin dripped with crimson. He pinned her with a hard look. “I simply misplaced her tonight.”
    “Oh, well.” The biter twisted her hair in his fist until she cried out. “Finders, keepers. I thought your pack didn’t go for humans, anyway.”
    “We don’t hunt them, no.” Disdain passed over Rafe’s handsome face. “We don’t kill them.”
    “So then what do you care?” He dragged Katie up and held her against his naked thigh. “You want a turn after me? I can’t promise I won’t chew her up a little. I’ll leave her face, though. Keep her pretty for you.”
    Rafe’s expression hardened. “You’re not going to touch her. In fact, I suggest you take your hands off her right now.”
    The biter sniffed, staring Rafe down, then nodded at the body on the ground. “He dead?”
    Rafe’s icy stare never wavered. “Yeah.”
    “You killed one of your own kind for a human. Think your alpha will agree with that?”
    “I’ll deal with my alpha.” Rafe took a step closer, never breaking eye contact with the biter. “Let Katie go. Now.”
    “ Katie? ” The hand in her hair jerked sharply, bringing fresh tears to her eyes. “It has a name?”
    Rafe lunged forward with a primal growl. “I said, let her go. She’s mine . Do you understand?”
    The biter loosened his grip on her hair, surprise written all over his face. Staring at Rafe, he leaned in close and pressed his nose into Katie’s neck, inhaling deeply while she shuddered and tried to pull away. Laughter shook the biter’s powerful frame as he shoved her back into the snow. “With a human ? That’s disgusting.”
    “You know I’ll kill you if you touch her. Just like I killed your buddy.” Rafe stalked closer, openly appraising her body as he approached. “Is it really worth it?”
    “You tell me.” The biter puffed up his chest and stepped away from where she’d fallen. The two naked men faced each other, squaring off. Incredibly, neither of them seemed affected by the cold. “Is she worth it?”
    “She’s mine. That means I’ll die to protect her. Even if she is just a human.” Rafe ran his worried gaze over her bare skin, which had gone numb in the freezing wind. The reason for his fierce devotion was a mystery, one that should have unsettled her. Instead it made her feel safe. Protected. Her eyes met his. “Go take your friend’s body back to his mate, if he had one.”
    “He does. A mate, and a son.”
    Rafe cringed. “No one else has to die tonight. Just leave us. This was a misunderstanding, but now it’s over.”
    The biter chuckled. “Oh, this isn’t over. Not at all.” With one last, dismissive glance at Katie, he walked over to his friend’s corpse and nudged it with his foot. “This murder won’t go unanswered. I promise you that.”
    “He was going to rape and kill my bond-mate. Nobody will fault me for protecting her.”  
    Shivering at Rafe’s words, Katie gathered her torn clothing around her exposed body. His bond-mate ? What the hell had happened while she was unconscious?
    “We’ll see.” The biter loped toward Rafe, shooting him a stern sidelong glance as he passed. “Take your human slut and get out of here.” He paused in front of Katie and gripped his erection in his hand. “I’ll see you soon, Katie . Next time I’ll bring more friends. Hope you’re ready.”
    Rafe moved between them, a flesh-and-blood shield. “Come back and I’ll kill you. All of you.”
    “Good luck with that.” The biter