Minded? He was going to f**king gut the bastard.

"I'm not with him," Danni said with a careless shrug as she perused the campsite, purposely letting her eyes drift over the na**d forms of the males and allowing her eyes to linger where they shouldn't.

Fuck that.

"Good," Jax said, grinning. "I'll be right back."

"Don't bother," Caine said as he reached out and wrapped his hand around Danni's beautiful raven hair and pulled her to him. Before she could tell him to go to hell he dropped his mouth to hers and showed every male in that campsite that she belonged to him.

When she bit his lip in warning he chuckled, but didn't stop. By the time he released her there would be no question in her mind that she was his mate. He didn't share and if she thought to allow another male to touch her then she'd better rethink that little plan because he wasn't f**king playing around.

********

Did he really think that she was going to let him have another go after announcing that he wanted to have sex with someone else? That really was just sad, she thought as she ignored her body's response to him and shoved him away.

But he didn't go far.

He cupped her face in his large warm hands as he forced her to look up and meet his red eyes. "You're mine, Danni," he said firmly.

She reached up and gripped his wrists. "No, I'm not," she said, shoving his hands away and forcing herself to ignore how much it hurt to say that. It felt like her very soul was screaming in protest at the claim.

Sleeping with him had been a mistake. She should have never done that. She wished she could take it back. Being with him last night had been wonderful, thrilling and felt so right, so perfect. She'd forced herself to leave before either one of them could wreck it, but apparently she hadn't moved fast enough. He ruined everything when he demanded a warm body or two in front of her like she was nothing. Did he really think that it wouldn't hurt her?

No, he probably hadn't cared.

"Go feed," she said, forcing the words out of her mouth as she pretended that the very suggestion didn't leave her feeling empty. "I'm going to get cleaned up."

"Danni,-"

"Bon appetite," she said with a mock smile before she turned around and headed for the woods, hoping that she'd be able to scent the fresh water. She prayed that it was a good distance away from the camp because she knew hearing him with another woman would kill whatever hope she had left that she meant something, anything to him.

She forced herself to walk to the woods, refusing to look back at him and let him see how truly pathetic she was. While she was hoping that she meant something to him, in truth she was just a f**k. He'd admitted as much last night, but that hadn't stopped her from hoping that she'd meant more to him. She hoped he'd realize how much she meant to him and come after her. God, she really was pathetic.

To him, she would always be an old responsibility that he couldn't escape and now that he'd turned her he was stuck with an old obligation that he clearly didn't want, she realized as anger surged through her and she moved faster through the woods until she was running. She didn't want this, didn't ask for this. Up until a couple of days ago she'd been dying of cancer and preparing herself for the inevitable.

If it hadn't been for Greg, the sadistic bastard, Caine never would have found out. Maybe they would have found a way to escape before the disease spread to her skin and gave her away, but if he had asked, and she doubted that he would have, she would have refused to be turned. This wasn't the life she wanted for herself.

Being a monster with an endless life wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to work for the Sentinels, to be accepted as one and to be the best at what she did so that no one ever doubted that she belonged again. Now she didn't even have that. She could never go back to work for the Sentinels because she would be putting Caine in danger.

She hated him for making her love him so long ago, for making her think that someone actually cared about her only to have her heart broken without so much as an explanation. She hated the way he acted like he didn't know her over the years. Hated how he treated her like she was just another human that annoyed him. She wished like hell that he kept that act up and left her for dead when Greg threw the switch. Most of all she just hated him.

And she hated herself even more.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the lake through the trees, but didn't stop. She kept running, needing to put space between them. Most of all she needed to put all the walls that used to protect her heart from him back up. She needed to do it now before she did something foolish and fell for a man who let her know in so many ways just how much he truly didn't care.

Well, that was fine with her, more than fine actually, because she never wanted to see him again. She was going to run and-

Agonizing pain exploded in her back and tore through her stomach, shredding tissue and bone seconds before she heard the echoing sounds of a rifle being fired in the not too far distance. A scream escaped her lips as she felt her skin being ripped apart, her organs shredded and her spine shattered before the molten hot bullet made its way through her stomach. Her legs gave out as she plastered her hands against her stomach as if it would stop the pain, but it didn't. Nothing could, she realized as she hit the ground, hard.

She should be dead, she realized as the pain doubled and she wished like hell that she was just as her reality dimmed and her mind zeroed in on the pain, leaving her in a black haze.

Chapter 27

"Son of a bitch!" Jax snapped as he clasped a hand against his neck.

"Stop bitching," Caine said as he wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand and pushed the Alpha out of his way so that he could go after his mate.

"Bitching? You don't think you were a tad rough?" Jax snapped, stepping in his path and blocking his way as he held up his hand, showing Caine his bloody palm.

Caine inwardly winced. He may have been a little rough with the Alpha, but it wasn't anything that he didn't deserve, he reminded himself. "Stay the hell away from my mate."

"She was more than willing," Jax pointed out as he pressed his hand back against his neck.

"She wasn't aroused," Caine felt the urge to point out.

Jax simply shrugged. "She would have been before I took her."

Caine punched him, sending him stumbling back. Jax allowed his canines to lower as he dropped his hands to his sides and stepped in front of Caine. "I owe you, Pyte, but don't f**king push it. You're the one who f**ked up, not me. You made her fair game for everyone in my pack the second you asked if you could have a female to f**k."

"I don't want a mate!" Caine snapped, feeling panic set in as he looked around and didn't see Danni. Where the hell was she? He scented the air, but there was no trace of her scent. She was too far away.

Jax rolled his eyes at that announcement. "Nobody does, ass**le, but at least you got to choose. All I have to do is come into contact with mine and my dick will go limp for every female out there and I'll be stuck with some bitch for the rest of my life. Count yourself lucky that you at least have someone that loves you."

All shifters had destined mates. While Sentinels had soul mates who matched almost perfectly even if they didn't love each other, shifters were stuck with whatever shifter was genetically perfect for them. They could only breed with their mate so until they found their destined mates they were free to f**k whoever they wanted without worry. The second they came into contact with their destined mate they would become marked as mated, usually marked by a tattoo somewhere on their hand or arm.