Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

SIERRA

S tiff and sore from not being able to move much for months on end prevented me from arguing as my gorgeous, muscles on top of muscles rescuer made short work of getting us out of the cave. Not that I'd let him know how instantly drawn to him I was. Besides, from our short time together, he didn't seem to lack for confidence, even if he seemed a bit delusional about us being fated mates.

But he knew my name.

Knew where to find me.

What if there was some truth to his declaration?

No longer caring about how I was rescued, I just wanted this nightmare to be over and take the world's longest bath and an even longer nap. So, if the naked grizzly shifter—still couldn't wrap my head around that information—if he had to carry me out of this godforsaken cave without a stitch on and sporting the largest cock I'd ever seen, then so be it. I'd file a complaint later.

However, the longer I was in his arms, the more unsettled I became. Every pleasure point was on high alert, which didn't calm my libido one bit. Who was this guy, really? He looked like he'd stepped right out of a Hollywood movie or one of those MMA octagon thingies. His chiseled features, physique and demeanor also reminded me of several movies featuring characters based on mythology.

"Not much longer now. My backpack isn't far, and then I'll put on some clothes. We'll hike back to the portal and be home before you know it." He gently placed me down on the least jagged spot he could find. With a long, heated glance, this man, hell, I didn't even know his name, made me tremble and want . How could he make me feel this way? I was in no condition to feel anything but relief at being free.

"Tell me you have chocolate or Pop-Tarts or ooh, chocolate Pop-Tarts in your backpack and I'll follow you anywhere."

My rescuer flashed me a dazzling smile, so unexpected considering where I'd just been, not to mention he was freaking naked and looked like a sculpted god, I froze in shock. Shock from how right this moment felt. Was all this a hallucination? Had the sulfur fumes truly altered my brain chemistry?

And just like that, a warmth so unknown, so blissful, enveloped me. And it had nothing in common with the stinging heat I'd suffered while in the cave. This was more a full-body slam of endorphins. Before I could wrap my head around the moment, the still naked giant leaned into me, and noisily took in a breath.

Not a normal breath.

A deep inhale.

Something a starving man smelling his first meal in days would take.

It was as if time stopped, and the previous months never happened and the man I never knew I needed, wanted had appeared.

Hovering just inches from my left ear I thought he was going to kiss me. And I wanted his lips on mine. But then he pulled back, spun to face away from me then grabbed an object hidden behind a protruding rock. He pulled out a pair of dark cargo pants and yanked them up over his firm backside and thankfully encased the hard as steel erection I'd been wanting to touch if only to see how it would feel like in my hand.

Shaking off the absurd desire, I remembered I what I should be feeling—pissed off. "Did you just sniff me?"

"I had to make sure that Dante didn't…mark you." He shoved his beefy arms through a well-worn blue plaid flannel shirt. Upending the pack, enormous boots tumbled out, and he stepped into them before turning back toward me. I took my first full breath of clean air in forever and instead of being grateful, I was equal parts turned on and confused off by his response.

"Mark me. Are you nuts? I'm not property. What century are you from? Wait, don't answer that. I'm not sure I want to really know. Tell me who, or what, are you?" I knew I was on the cusp of a full breakdown, but this man had pushed all my buttons. Every. Single. One. And it scared me to the depth of my being.

"Ah, love. Search deep down within yourself. You are my mate. I am yours. Which also means I am your protector. My name is Mackenzie Smythe and I will avenge you should it ever be necessary. Now, before we leave, I need to know one thing. Are you…please forgive me…are you untouched?"

"By that vile demon, or in general?" Sighing, this had to be the craziest conversation I've ever had. That anyone in the history of conversations has had. Every rom-com I've ever read or watched had so not prepared me for this real-life messed-up meet-cute.

"Do not poke the bear, love. He's spoiling for a fight. The henchmen Dante left behind to guard you were merely a snack for him. And I barely convinced him to shift back once he was done."

"Bear? Is that the sound I heard? Where is it?" Reminding me of his earlier claim, I scanned the horizon. There was nowhere an animal that size could hide.

"Answer me, love?—"

"Stop calling me that! I don't know you. As far as that delusional demon getting his claws on me. Didn't happen. However, as for as me being pure? I'm thirty-three. I had a life before I was taken. A full life. One I'd like to go back to."

Mac paused, then started reassembling the scattered items from his pack. "How is it possible you know nothing of the prophecy? First my brother's mate, now you." He swung the tattered bag over a shoulder and towered over me.

Oh, my god. He honestly believed everything he was saying.

"What prophecy?" I whispered. His words left me reeling. Flashes of long-ago overheard conversations between my father and the coven leader tickled my memory. I was so young at the time he left; plus the fact I never knew my mother. I had no connection to where I came from, let alone what had happened before I was born. Could this prophecy explain the dark magic that tempted me in my youth?

"We need to leave. I can't guarantee more demons will not appear. Getting you to safety, and to my brother Roane to perform our binding ceremony, needs to be our top priority. But before we go, please, one more time just so there is no doubt, did Dante…touch you?" A snarl erupted from his wide chest. Mac's jaw had clenched and his lips barely moved when he spoke.

"Did you just snarl at me?"

"Not at you. At the images I've been struggling to suppress for months. I'm not good at softness, Sierra. Please put me out of my misery and let me know the demon did not defile you?"

My head spun at the yo-yo ride I'd been on since he burst into the cave. My screaming hormones alternating between desire and fear. All I wanted was a chocolate Pop-Tart, okay an entire box, and a week to recover before I dealt with how I wanted to crawl into Mac's arms, giving myself over to him and his claims.

I always felt I'd know when "the one" showed up. That it'd be instant and easy.

But this. Him? All of it was as far from the definition of easy as anyone in their right mind could come up with. I was tired, and the fight went out of me. Then goddess save him because one positive thing that had come from my captivity and his rescue: my magic had reawakened.

I felt it grow with each passing moment. And without the demon's bindings, I was no longer afraid to test the power within me should I need to even against this towering man who stirred my desire like no other.

"No." The single word acted as a tonic and I watched in amazement as his whole being relaxed. And then I felt his relief as if it were my own. What the hell was happening?