I sighed. “You felt it, right? The pull of the wolf, the web of instinct and destiny weaving between us.” I shook my head. “It pisses me off that those dicks hit you, but now…” I blew out a breath. “I can’t explain it in words. I need to protect you from that. Your safety is all that matters.”

She turned my way. “You know what drew me to you before we ever touched?”

I wanted to say my good looks, but I got the feeling she wasn’t in the mood for humor. Plus, she wasn’t really asking. Her head bumped the headrest as she stared up at the roof. “When I’m with you, I feel like me again. The real me, not this werewolf I got turned into.” Her dark eyes pinned me in my seat. “Please don’t turn into one of them. I’m not a thing to be possessed or protected. I’m Raven Wood. You’re the one who helped me remember that.”

I ground my teeth, struggling to think before I spoke. “You’re not seriously putting me into the same category as that excuse for a Pack you’re stuck in, are you?”

“No.” She faced forward again. “But it’s a really fine line. And it goes both ways.”

“What does?”

She let go of the wheel, her hands dropping into her lap. “I want to protect you, too. And I know these guys better than you do. If you ride in this van and go to the bar with me, Caldwell is going to kill you.” Her gaze rose to my face. “I’ve managed to stay alive for the past three months. I can take care of myself. What I need is help getting me and my sister out. You should focus on that and keep yourself safe in the process.”

I fucking hated that what she said made sense. I was thinking with my heart, so damned stoked to have finally found my mate, that I wanted every wolf in the world to know she was mine.

But she wasn’t a trophy to put on a shelf.

And as much as it killed me to think one of those assholes might touch her, I’d be no use to her dead.

I cleared my throat, searching for my voice. “There’s a good chance you might be smarter than me.”

That almost made her smile. “Nah, I just like being around you while you’re still breathing.” She glanced my way. “I’m pretty selfish like that.”

I laughed. She amazed me. Changed into a shifter against her will, stuck in a sick Pack, and through it all, my mate made me laugh.

Years of searching, worrying I’d never find her. And she was worth every minute of it all.