The Jaguar Star (Tales of the Were: Jaguar Island Book 4), Bianca D'Arc [pdf e book reader .txt] 📗

that out of her mind for later consideration and focused on Ren. He looked a bit tired, but otherwise, he was recovering surprisingly fast. Katrina moved closer, placing her hand on his thigh and checking over the area that had been cut with her eyes.

“You should have let him cut me,” she murmured, feeling guilty that he’d been hurt so badly on her behalf.

Ren’s hands gripped her shoulders, his gaze seeking hers. “I could never allow you to be harmed,” he told her in that low, growly voice that made her insides flutter.

“But I wouldn’t have been hurt as bad by the magic blade,” she insisted quietly, holding his gaze and trying to understand his intensity.

“We don’t know that for certain,” he replied quickly, still in that low growl. “Even if it were true, I could not let you be hurt while I stood and did nothing. I would die for you, kitten. You are my life.”

Something inside her melted at his words and the truth she read in his expressive eyes. He was serious. Deadly serious. She realized at that moment just how much and how deeply he cared for her. The enormity of his love pierced her emotions and that, along with all the tumult of the past few minutes, released the dam that had been holding back the floodgates. Tears flooded her eyes, much to her shame and embarrassment, and would not be stopped from sliding down her cheeks in a torrent of emotional release.

Ren gathered her close, rocking her against his warm body. He was alive and whole, thanks be to whatever deity these people believed in. Katrina was so grateful that he’d been healed of the injury meant for her. She was grateful they’d captured the crazy man who had been trying to hurt them. She was ecstatic at the discovery of just how deeply Ren had committed to her and whatever last little remnant of her heart she’d been holding back was released into his care.

There was no need to protect herself any longer. Ren wasn’t going to leave her by choice. He might do something stupidly heroic like this again—though she sincerely hoped there would never be a repeat of anything remotely this dangerous—but he would never break her heart on purpose. He was hers as she was his.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The rest of the cast and crew left them alone for a few minutes while Katrina got the waterworks under control. They were cleaning up the set and checking for continuity from what they’d been working on before the interruption. Sonia was talking quietly with the werewolf Alpha on one side of the clearing while everybody else was working to get the filming up and running again.

By the time Katrina stopped crying, Liatha had returned from a quick trip to the costume room back at the castle with a spare jerkin for Ren. They’d made several exact copies of his costume pieces in case of damage, so all he had to do was put it on, and he was good to go. Katrina, however, needed some repair to her face. Crying had reddened her eyes and made them a bit puffy, but Franny was there with a cool gel pack, eye drops and a bit of makeup to hide the rest.

“Luckily, you don’t have any close ups this afternoon,” Franny remarked as she worked on restoring Katrina to her former state.

“Good thing we did them earlier,” Katrina agreed. “I’m sorry to make so much extra work for you. I’m not normally a crier.” She still felt embarrassed at breaking down when everybody else seemed to take the interruption in stride.

“Honey, you’ve had a lot to absorb these past few days, and then this attack. We get used to this sort of thing, sadly, but you’re a babe in the woods. You’re allowed to release the emotion. In fact, I’d be worried if you hadn’t. Seeing your mate hurt like that… Well, I can’t imagine it because I haven’t found my mate, but we all know how important mates are, and we’ve seen how devastating it can be for one part of a couple when the other is injured. You’re actually handling all these better than most uninitiated people would, I think.”

Franny’s words helped calm Katrina’s nerves. “You’re a good friend, Francesca. If I haven’t said that before, that’s my bad,” Katrina told her new friend, touching the back of Franny’s hand to emphasize the genuine emotion behind her words. Franny smiled back.

“Same, Kat. I’m glad you’re the one for Ren and part of the Clan.”

Sonia returned from her conference with the werewolf Alpha and took stock of everybody.

“Good job, all. Franny, great work on her eyes,” Sonia said, gesturing toward Katrina, who felt herself blush at the allusion to her mental breakdown. “Kat, do us all a favor and stash that old jerkin with the knife in it in the prop box Liatha brought down from the house. She’s going to guard it while we continue with our work before we lose the light.” Sonia motioned toward the property mistress who was sitting next to a rugged lockbox behind the camera setup. “Ren, thanks for taking one for the team. I believe that’s the human expression.”

Sonia laughed and the sound of her chuckle made the whole place feel lighter. Katrina was actually smiling as she picked up the bundle with the dagger in it and headed for Liatha.

Work resumed, and they finished the crowd shots they needed to round out the forest scene. Once Ren and Katrina were done for the day, Sonia tasked them with making sure the dagger got back to the house safely. Katrina would carry the box it rested in while Ren, and a few others who accompanied them, saw to her safety en route.

When they arrived back at the castle, several of Monty’s human family members were waiting in the drive for them. They took custody of the case with the knife in it from Katrina and took it