I Saved Him, I Saved Her (Book 2 of Saving Series)

Chapter 33- Katie's POV

My heart leapt into my throat when I touched Daniel's head and a small grin appeared on my face while I rubbed my hand through his thick fur. I opened my eyes to see that he was enjoying this too and was grateful that he allowed me to touch his head.

"You're so handsome," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I rubbed his head and opened my eyes to see that he had his eyes closed too, "and warm."

Daniel wagged his tail and opened his eyes. He looked at me with such love and trust that it made my heart burst with pride and joy.

Finally, I sighed and took my head off of his head, and he frowned and flicked his eyes to the side before he looked at me, showing me his annoyance.

"Can... you shift?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. My cheeks grew redder, and I looked down, not able to meet his gaze. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Daniel whined and nudged me with his nose. He didn't say a word, or at least anything that I could understand, but I had a feeling that he didn't like me looking down at the ground.

I cleared my throat and looked at him, my cheeks turning redder. "Please?" I asked, my voice soft.

Daniel, my mate as Sarah called him, hesitated but nodded. He looked to the left and the right before he looked at me again.

"I'll stay right here," I said, having a feeling that he wanted me to stay there.

My cheeks grew red, and I looked down while I kicked at the dirt. "Are we safe?" I asked and looked at him through my eyelashes. "I know that Aunt Jess said that she'd make sure that we weren't going to be followed, but I am not sure if that's the case or not."

Daniel lifted his head and pricked his ears forward before he flicked them to the side of his head. His nostrils flared while he took a sniff of the air around us before he again focused his gaze on me.

I relaxed slightly when he looked at me, and I knew that it was his way of saying that we were safe and "alone."

"Ok, then go shift. I'll be here when you get back. Ok?"

Daniel hesitated but nodded before he went into the bushes to shift.

I did what I said I would do and stayed in the spot that I was in. I rubbed my wrists, grateful that there weren't any bruises from the binds that had bound my wrists together.

I wasn't sure how he would react to that and had a feeling that he would be mad at Aunt Jess even more if they did.

Daniel walked out of the bushes in human form with both a t-shirt and jeans on. He looked nervous before the nervousness turned to worry and anger while he saw me rub my wrists. "Are you hurt?" he asked, and the tone of his voice had me shrinking back away from him. "Did Mom get you hurt?"

I shook my head no, my throat closing. Fear filled my heart, and I took a step away from him, even though a part of me knew that he wasn't going to hurt me.

Daniel took a deep breath before he let out another growl and tried to calm down but to no avail. "Sorry," he said, gritting his teeth while he growled again and closed his eyes. "I don't like the idea of you getting hurt," he admitted.

I hesitated but nodded, but the fear didn't leave me like I prayed that it would. I took a deep breath and stayed a little away from him because I didn't know what he would do to me.

"I won't hurt you," he said softly. "I can't hurt you. It'd kill me if I hurt you." He opened his eyes, and his eyes were a darker brown, turning black.

I gulped before I nodded and walked over to him again. I stayed silent and gave him a hug, having a feeling that it would be the best way to calm him down before he did something to hurt someone else.

My mate stiffened before he did what I thought he would do and hugged me back. He buried his face into my hair and took a deep breath, and I wrinkled my nose but again stayed silent while he slowly started to relax.

My mate sighed with relief and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Thank you," he said softly. "I'm sorry that I scared you."

"It's ok," I mumbled and held onto him while I closed my eyes and let myself relax. "But no, Aunt Jess made sure that I wasn't hurt. She would have herself get hurt before she ever let anyone lay a hand on me."

"Hmmm," Daniel said. He cleared his throat and shifted, but he kept me in his warm arms. "I guess I have a lot to explain, huh?" he asked, and I had a feeling that he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," I replied and nodded, "but can we go home first please?" I asked. "I think we've been out here too long, and I don't want to worry anyone else..."

Daniel nodded and cleared his throat while he grew serious. "Come on," he said and held out his hand. "Let's go take you back to the pack, and then I'll answer all of your questions when we get home. Ok?"

I took his hand and nodded. "Ok," I said and licked my lips. "Thank you."

Daniel smiled and nodded before he started to walk to the pack, and I followed him, grateful that I was safe and sound and alive with my "father" nowhere to be seen, even if it was only for a little while.