“Maybe it’s the stress, as I said. And you’ve had to stay too close to keep an eye on her.”

“No.” Fury darkened Drantos’s features again. “I’m sure. She’s the one. As soon as I scented her arousal it became clear. I should have known when I tasted her to see what her bloodlines were. It affected me so strongly even though I only took a few drops.”

“Fuck.” Kraven ran his fingers through his messed-up spiky hair and turned his head to stare at the survivors around the fire. “We’ve drawn a little attention. Two of the humans are watching us.” His voice lowered and he smiled. “Sit your big ass down and look happy.”

“We need to go now.” Drantos sat.

“I need some sleep first. We’re going to have to haul them through the woods at a fast pace.”

“We leave now. I can’t sleep with her, and I’m going to be on you in a heartbeat if you touch her. I feel fiercely protective. I’d fight you, Kraven. They can’t produce enough body heat not to freeze during the night unless we put them closer to the fire and the other crash victims. There are a few men who might set me off if they pay any attention to Dusti. Let’s just move out. We’ll carry them to keep them warm with our body heat.”

“We need some sleep first, brother. Try to be rational. Think.”

Drantos took a few deep breaths. “I’m in control now.”

“Bullshit. You just want to touch her again, and you won’t make it fifty feet without fucking her in your current condition.” Kraven turned his head to shoot Dusti a glare. “Curl up with your sister. Don’t try to wake her. Are we clear? You can keep each other warm and I can get some sleep before we have to hike out of here.”

Dusti trembled hard. Confusion and alarm held her immobile. Her body still ached so badly it had become a deep physical pain. She tore her gaze from Kraven to stare at Drantos. She fought the desperate need she still felt to crawl to him. Her turned-on body longed to touch him and even climb onto his lap. She fought the urge hard as her nipples tightened painfully and she fisted her hands to avoid reaching out to him.

His gaze locked with hers and he softly growled.

Kraven suddenly moved between them to break their eye contact. “Damn it! Okay. Give me a minute to think.”

“I want,” Drantos softly rumbled. “Bad.”

“No shit. You’re about to bust your zipper and I’m really going to mental hell for noticing that. I can smell the damn lust; it’s so thick I’m about to choke on it. Take a walk and have some private time to deal with your issue. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you and your hand need to get busy to prevent you from putting on a free porn show for everyone. That will curb some of your lust for now. You can’t touch her, Drantos. You know what will happen when you do. The last thing you’re going to want is to let her go once you’ve had her, and we need to get them to safety first. We don’t have a few days for you to create a bond.”

“Fuck,” Drantos cursed.

Dusti watched him stand. He refused to meet her gaze before he spun around to stomp out into the woods. She whimpered the second she lost sight of him. The reaction scared her, and worse, made her certain she had lost her mind.

Maybe someone had slipped her drugs. Maybe that iron shot Bat had given her had been defective and she was experiencing some freaky hyper-aphrodisiac reaction.

Kraven turned his head to frown at her. “Lay your ass down and curl up with your sister. It will pass now that he’s gone. Take some deep breaths. That will help too.”

Drantos couldn’t go far. His instincts demanded he keep Dusti within sight. His body hurt with the need to go to her and finish what he’d started. It became so strong he actually grabbed hold of a tree trunk to stay put.

Kraven had made a valid point. He wasn’t in control and Dusti was fragile. He might accidently cause her harm by being too rough. He needed to calm.

It helped as time passed and he breathed in fresh air that didn’t carry her scent. He hadn’t suspected she might be his mate when he’d tested her blood. She’d tasted good and had affected him, but the truth hadn’t really hit him until he’d been seducing her.

No damn way would Decker get Dusti. She was his.

He finally got his lust under control. Kraven’s suggestion of taking care of his own needs wouldn’t have fixed the problem. It was Dusti he wanted. The urge to protect her and keep her close overruled everything else. He slowly released the tree and returned to her side.

She lay facing her sister. Kraven sat behind Bat and regarded him with a frown. He glanced away from him to view the other passengers. Most of them had settled down to go to sleep or were already snoozing.

“You’re still pretty tense,” Kraven whispered. “You didn’t jack off.”

He clenched his teeth. “It won’t help.”

“Shit. I hope to never suffer what you are.”

He gently tucked the blanket closer to Dusti. She tensed, her body rigid. He knew she hadn’t fallen asleep. He pulled his hand back, too tempting to continue touching her. It wasn’t the time or the place.

“We need to get them out of here. I feel as if we’re sitting ducks.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Kraven reluctantly agreed. “It’s going to be tough traveling with them and they’ll slow us down…unless we give them a ride.”

He winced. Dusti didn’t believe anything he’d told her. She wasn’t prepared yet for the reality of how much her life had changed. He wanted to ease her into it, and seeing him in shift would terrify her. It would make her fight whatever attraction she felt toward him with more conviction. Terror tended to do that.

“No.” He glanced down at Dusti and then back at his brother. “Watch your words.”

“Showing is knowing,” his brother muttered.

“It’s too soon. It’s better to reveal ourselves slowly over time.”

“I understand your caution but that plan is going to hell if Decker’s enforcers find us before we can reach home. Is that really how you want her to learn the truth of your words? Did you even warn her how we look?”

Kraven had a point. Dusti would know he hadn’t lied if any of Decker’s clan found them. She’d be confronted with evidence in the form of what her eyes could actually see. The shock of seeing a shifted VampLycan in animal form might damage her mental health, since she was so resistant to everything he’d told her so far. He bit his lip, debating what to do.