Alpha Protector (Shadow Sentinels World #3)

Chapter 28

S tone

“Hey.”

I started at the sound of Owen’s deep voice. He’d gentled it, which for some reason pissed me off almost as much as his presence in my mate’s room. I snarled at my brother, warning him not to come any closer. That snarl turned into a full-on growl when I saw Lionel behind him. The six-foot-four lion shifter lifted his hands, palms out, and even though I knew it would cost him in ego, he lowered his gaze. No matter that my rational brain told me he was being respectful and was no threat, he’d entered the room when my mate was injured and vulnerable, and he was an unmated male. I wanted to rip his head off—it didn’t matter that deep down, I trusted him to never hurt her or me.

“Sorry, man, don’t kill the messengers. Connor and Ventry need to talk to you about that Darkling dude.” Owen’s gaze never left me, and the only reason I hadn’t thrown them both out was Owen was mated and had a family of his own. And he kept his body between Lionel and me, whose shoulders were tight, his amber eyes warily watching my every move.

“Connor thinks you should take a break, brother,” Owen said, searching my face, his own softer than usual.

I gritted my teeth. I hadn’t left Shannon’s side for a second. I was still covered in dried blood, yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave her for something as inconsequential as a shower. An errant strand of hair fell across her face as she shifted in her sleep. My fingers twitched. I wanted to brush it off before it irritated her enough to disturb her, yet touching her with my blood-stained hands made me cringe.

I closed my eyes. Her injuries were because of me. I couldn't get past the fact that I brought her to this godsdamned world. I should never have taken her to the cottage. My arrogance at believing my father would never find me, or that even if he did, I’d be stronger than him, had been my downfall. In Airling’s words, I was a fucking idiot.

“No, I’m not leaving. Not even for Con.”

Lionel blew out a breath, his cheeks puffing out while he cracked his neck. “Shit.”

His mumbled curse reached me just as someone else sauntered in, pushing Owen sideways.

“See? Told you it was stupid for you guys to come instead of letting me,” Ember drawled.

Lionel shrugged and smirked. “But it wasn’t up to us. Connor told me to back up my beta. And I can’t defy the big bad.”

Ember raised a sardonic brow. “Really? You defy him all the time. In fact, I’m surprised you’re still breathing. I mean, ‘the big bad?’ Where the fuck did that come from? And what does that make me? Red fucking riding hood? I mean, really, Lionel?”

He grinned widely. “Well, if the cape fits….”

“I’m not fucking leaving her,” I growled loud enough that their bickering stopped immediately. “Get out. Now.” It didn’t matter that this was the Queen of Shifters I spoke to. Shannon needed rest, and they were disturbing her. My wolf snarled and snapped in my head, making it hard to think. He needed that unmated male away from our mate.

Lionel raised his brows, but I couldn’t care less. I was fucking exhausted, yet my wolf wouldn’t let me leave Shannon anymore than I could force myself to. She was ours . Ours to keep safe. I’d fucked up before; leaving her vulnerable would never ever happen again. And that meant no one else should be in this room until she was awake enough to tell me herself to fuck off or to let me mark her.

Mine.

My breath sawed in and out of my lungs, power gathering around my fists as a purple haze settled across my vision.

“Get out!!”

The walls shook, and my magic slammed forward. They needed to leave. Right. Fucking. Now. The rational part of my brain knew this behaviour was unacceptable, that this was my family, but I couldn’t stop. Shannon wasn’t safe until she woke up enough for us to mate. Breaths were coming fast and furious, blood roaring in my ears, and my wolf was howling madly underneath it all.

“Whoa!” yelled Lionel, leaping away from my magical onslaught right before Ember threw up a shield of flame.

I howled and yanked up more magic, throwing it at the unmated male.

“Get Connor, now!” she ordered that fucker without dropping my gaze.

Owen took a slow step to the side, blocking my access to the door. My wolf tried to surface, yet I still fought him, a tiny, rational part of my brain fighting my feral instincts to destroy any threats and mark what was mine. We wanted to get rid of every soul in the vicinity of our mate, force them from the room and seal the door with magic. Sweat rolled down my forehead. No, she was injured, mating would hurt her… Gods, I was so tired, I couldn’t think straight, my body shaking with the effort of holding my wolf back. Another wave of power hit the room, but it wasn’t from me.

“No need, my love. I thought this might happen. He’s fucking exhausted, he’s not eaten, not slept, and his wolf is in a mating rage. He won’t settle until he’s claimed Shannon. Every unmated male who comes near will set him off. In fact, he’s hit the point he’s ready to destroy everyone in this room.”

Ember rolled her eyes and huffed. “Then why’d you send Lionel with Owen?”

Connor shrugged, holding my furious gaze. “To prove a point. He needs to be forced to move, or he’s going to end up killing the next person who walks through that door and possibly hurting Shannon in the process.”

Ember raised her brows and eyed me incredulously. “Are you having a laugh, Con? We can’t force Stone out of this room. He’ll fight too hard, and we’ll all end up damaged. Besides, he needs to be near her. He’s fucking breaking. Baby, he thought she was going to die. How would you feel if this was me?”

Connor’s brows dipped, his nostrils flaring. He didn’t like that question, so he ignored it. “Yeah, but this will get worse the more exhausted he gets. And when she’s awake, he’ll take her without any thought. His beast has almost taken over, and he could hurt her even more. How do you think that will make him feel afterwards?”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, shit indeed. We have to do this, Firecracker, for both their sakes. When she’s strong enough, we’ll take her to him. Until then Ventry can help us keep him contained.”*

My wolf pushed forward as Connor continued to hold my gaze. Normally, I’d dip my head, if not my gaze, for my Alpha, but his continued stare only incensed me more; it didn’t intimidate me. I didn’t care if he was mated; he needed to leave Shannon’s room. For now, this was her safe space, a place I needed to keep her from harm. I’d failed before, but not this time. I’d kill anyone who got too close while she was vulnerable. When we were bound, mated like the Mother Wolf wanted, I’d be willing to leave her side, but until then, no one should be near her except me.

My wolf and I were in agreement. My king needed to leave the room.

“Leave!” Once again, the deep animalistic bellow of my demand rattled the chandelier.

Connor snarled, his beast flashing in his eyes. “Do not try and shift, brother.” His power slammed into me, preventing the movement in my cells. I snarled, my wolf growling and snapping as I launched across the room. Connor stormed forward, shifting into the beast from Hell, the Shifter King who housed the spirit of the first Hell Hound to escape Lucifer’s control. I tightened my fists, punching his jaw. The impact ricocheted up my arm and into my shoulder, my knuckles screaming in pain. Fuck, it was like hitting a concrete wall. He didn’t even falter, just snarled and rammed his fist into my gut, stealing my breath before he grabbed my neck and slammed me into the wall. The heavy stone cracked.

“Stop. You cannot stay here, brother. You’ll hurt her. You know you will. I am doing this to keep both of you safe.”

I snarled, dredging my magic up from the depleted well inside my soul, determined to get this male off me and away from my mate. I thrashed as another threat entered the room. Fae. His scent riled me more. Another unmated male and a Fae. He could take Shannon away, compel her like my father had. Desperate to stop that from happening, my fists made contact with bones. They didn’t break, but Connor grunted. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Owen skirt the room.

“Need any help?” Owen’s attention never left me, though his words weren’t aimed at me.

Connor tightened his hold on my throat, and my breath rasped as I fought to change. “No. And stay away from Shannon. All of you. Or he’ll rip himself apart against me trying to protect her.”

He was right. I would. A rational part of my brain knew this was wrong. I knew this beast. He was someone I trusted, but my mind was foggy, my wolf concentrating only on my mate and keeping everyone who was a potential threat away from her. No one would take her from me. No one would force themselves on her ever again. Enough! She’d been through enough!

“She. Is. Mine!” I shouted in a guttural, animalistic voice, pushing away from the wall with my body and one foot.

Connor slammed me back again causing pain to reverberate down my spine from the impact. Fine. Since I couldn't fight him as a wolf, I’d incinerate him with magic. My vision turned everything in the room violet.

“Connor?” A woman smelling of ash and fire stepped closer, and the beast snarled at her before flicking his attention black to me. I could feel his power pushing into me, but my wolf fought with teeth and claws against the mightier force of the Alpha wolf. There was no way that power was getting into my body. It would be game over for me if it did, and that would leave Shannon at risk.

I threw my head forward and slammed my forehead into his elongated nose. Stars flickered behind my eyes at the impact, pain shooting over my forehead and nose at the same time as warmth exploded down my nostrils and redness clouded my vision. Shit. I'd not accounted for his godsdamned teeth.

Staying conscious was a priority. This monster and the female with the flames gathered around her hands could hurt her. I dragged magic into my hands as yet another threat stormed across the room. The tall, broad Fae looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember why. It didn’t matter; he was unmated. I snarled. Fuck! How could I protect her against so many?

I swung my head as Shannon stirred, my vision homing in on her pale face. The skin wrinkled on the bridge of her nose like she could feel the anger and threat in the room.

“Shannon! Wake up!” If she was awake, at least she could fight. I shook my head. She shouldn’t need to fight. Not here. This was a safe space. No. No, it wasn’t. My wolf’s anger at the proximity of these creatures consumed me, ripping at my cells and the power of the Alpha that held him back. I roared, releasing my frustration and inadequacy.

The female, who was able to control fire, softened her voice. “Stone, Please stop. We won’t hurt her; she’s our family, you know that. Just like you are.”

I inhaled the scent of the beta wolf who’d slunk closer, making me thrash harder as I dragged up my magic. Good. There was enough that one blast would take them all out. His eyes widened, but his voice remained calm. “Come on, buddy, you need to come back to us …”

I rolled my neck. They were trying to get me to leave her. “No! Leave!”

“We can’t. I will not leave you with her. You aren’t yourself, brother. You’ll hurt her if you don’t come with us.” The guttural voice of the hell beast rocked through me, its power suffocating as it wrapped around me and my wolf.

“No!” I yelled, letting magic rip from me—except it went nowhere. It swirled around my body like a violet lightning storm, some other more powerful magic working with the hell beast’s to contain it.

“That will stop his magic for a while,” said the tall, broad Fae. He assessed me with narrowed, bright eyes, his face and jaw tense. “Hello, my friend.”

“He’s not your friend right now, Vent,” drawled the beast as he stepped back.

No fucking way would they take me down when my mate was the prize. None of them would.

“Well, fuck me,” drawled a female with blue hair, her eyes darting from me to Shannon. “He’s definitely lost the plot.”

“Not a good time for your smart mouth,” the male snapped at her. “She needs him to leave before he hurts her.”

He nodded at Shannon who was whimpering in her sleep. The sound broke something in me, and a rage like no other hit, stealing my restraint. “Mine!” I roared and thrust the hell beast aside with every bit of strength I had left and charged at the unmated Fae. The Fae male’s face broke into a delighted grin, his eyes sparking. Snarling, I sprinted, ready to take out the threat to my mate, and bared my teeth despite my wolf being locked down until I could barely feel him.

“It seems you need a nap, my friend. Forgive me for this.”

Just as I reached him, his fist slammed into my jaw. Pain exploded through my face at the same time as magic crushed my lungs. Before I could land my punch on the Fae, a huge clawed hand grabbed my arm and sent me tumbling across the room and slamming into the wall. Plaster dust burst into the air, and I fell to the ground, my head slamming into the tiled floor. It was impossible to move when magic held me down. It was too strong to fight. Even my own was smothered by it.

The hell beast stood over me and watched for a moment as I fought the darkness that threatened to take me from my mate. “Enough,” he growled and knelt next to me.

Bellowing, I made one last effort to fight the suffocating force pressing me into the floor and took a swing at him, but I was done. My attack was weak.

“It’s okay, brother. I swear on my life I will make sure she’s safe.” His face morphed back into someone familiar. Horror, that’s all I could feel as my anger ebbed away, and rational thought came back, along with overwhelming exhaustion.

“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry, Con.”

His smile was full of regret. “So am I, brother. So am I.”

I had a split-second view of his massive fist heading towards my jaw before more pain exploded, and then blackness swallowed me.