Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

difference.
    As another man walked back into the barn carrying clothes, the male shifter in front of her stood and strode toward him. When he started getting dressed, a new rush of emotions surged through Kat.
    A dam burst as tears and pain exploded from her. Not physical pain. Emotional pain. It was like a free-falling wave that wouldn’t crest. It went on and on. The tears streaming down her cheeks just wouldn’t stop.
    December helped her slip on the coat and zip it up.When Kat stood on shaky legs, it fell to midthigh, covering her, but it didn’t matter. She still felt exposed.
    Naked.
    Violated.
    She couldn’t stop crying or shaking. When the male who’d bitten her lifted her into his arms, she didn’t protest. It wasn’t an attraction, but she felt linked somehow to him. She needed his touch and as she wrapped her arms around his neck, an odd soothing pulse flowed through her. It didn’t last long, but his touch helped ease her pain and fear. “Where’s the man who got away?” she managed to gasp out through her tears. As she thought about what he’d done to her, fresh tears escaped.
    “Dead,” the man who’d brought the clothes said in a guttural growl. She realized he must be the other wolf from earlier.
    She also wished she could feel some relief to know that Greg, her tormentor, was dead. Instead, she felt nothing.
    “We need to get out of here,” the redhead with the blades murmured.
    “What about her?” December pointed to the blond woman still lying lifeless on the ground.
    The question jerked Kat back to her senses and dried up her tears. “I don’t know what she is, but she’s not human. She tried to save me. We need to bring her with us.”
    The other male nodded and scooped her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
    As they started to leave, the shifters stopped suddenly. December glanced around nervously. “What is it?” she whispered.
    Kat had no fear left inside her. Only pain.
    “Connor, Liam, and Jayce. They’re here,” the redhead said quietly.
    Kat buried her face against the male’s chest. “Don’t tell them how you found me,” she whispered.
    He didn’t respond. Just stroked his hand down her hair and murmured soft soothing sounds. He was going to tell them. She knew it. Fresh pain and tears—she didn’t know how she could have any left—welled up inside her. The thought of Jayce knowing what had happened to her made her sick. Bile rose in her throat, but she managed to control it.
    She heard when they entered the room and the collective murmur of curses and demands for an explanation. Liam was angry December was there and Connor was ranting about something else.
    But she refused to look at any of them. Like a coward she just kept her head buried against the chest of the shifter holding her. She didn’t even know his name, but letting him hold her was better than having to look at Jayce.
    To see pity in his gray eyes. She might want to feel his arms around her, but it wasn’t going to happen. Biting back another sob, she tried to block everything out.
    Jayce stared at Aiden holding Kat tightly in his arms and thought his heart would shatter. She wore only a coat and with her long, elegant legs dangling and completely bare, he wanted to go over there and cover her. He wanted to rip her from the other male’s arms and cradle her up against his chest, just so he could feel her warmth and reassure himself she was truly going to be all right.
    But he didn’t.
    She kept her face turned away from everyone while Connor and Liam were trying to figure out what happened. If Kat knew he was there, she gave no indication. It nearly killed him.
    Fighting to hold it together, he tuned everyone else out and kept his gaze on her.
    While he might not know what happened, the smell of her blood was fresh. And there was a lot of it. She’d been hurt. If he had to guess, probably tortured.
    The thought made his inner wolf howl with the need for vengeance. He preferred to fight in his human form because once he let his wolf out, people often died. He was in control, but his wolf was old and powerful and right now it wanted out.
    It wanted blood. And it really wanted death.
    As he listened to the conversations around him, he gathered that Ryan had gotten a lead on this place and they’d all rushed over.
    A low growl started in his throat as the truth of what happened came out. It was Kat’s blood on the ground and wall. Aiden had bitten her to save her from sure