No! Oh, dear God, no! He had almost killed her mother. He had almost killed her in his madness. If Dara hadn't intervened...
"Kothari...Kothi!" Dara cried out as he hissed again and spun away.
"Protect her, please protect her, Dara. Do what I cannot do. Guard my heart for me."
Kothari took off into the trees, running as fast and as far as he could from the human girl cradling her mother's anguished form. He had almost killed her and he didn't deserve to be anywhere near her. He truly was a monster, the very worst kind of monster in the world, because only a true monster would have come so treacherously close to murdering the one woman put on this planet for him. He had almost killed his mate...he had almost killed his mate.
Dara watched Kothari leave, secretly relieved to see his panth
