Chapter Forty-One
Dristan
The fury that filled me as I saw the blond male standing over my mate where she was tied in a chair was nothing compared to what I’d experienced when I realized the fucker had a knife and a gun. He’d spread a tarp under my beautiful female. He’d prepared a room to kill her. Snuff her precious lifeforce from this world. He’d have taken something from me that was never his to take. These males had abducted her—touching her soft, beautiful skin with cruelty—earning the full force of my ire.
“Hold him,” I growled at Rudgar, where he pinned the blond male to the floor. “I’m coming for him next.”
“Next,” the cyclops scoffed, swiping the blood off his chin from my last hit. “As if you could beat me without help.”
Kor growled, his palms curled into fists. “Your funeral, asshole.” He sneered, stepping away and blocking the entrance.
Faint sirens broke through the quiet, but there was enough time to ease the bloodlust pounding in my skull. The bloodlust of my ancestors filled me—the primal need to protect my mate rushing to the forefront of my being. I faced off against the male, ducking a punch with ease. I gave a cocky grin, which I lost as soon as his other fist slammed into my stomach, doubling me over with a wheeze.
He bellowed with rage as his knee connected with my face. Much harder and he would have broken my nose, but my bones and cartilage were made to take a beating.
Grunting, I staggered to my feet, facing off against him. I watched the smug bastard smirk at me, but all I saw was my beautiful mate—terror written all over her face. With a snarl, I launched myself at him, slamming him into the table behind him. It crushed under our combined weight.
I straddled his chest, slamming my fist into his face and then followed up with another and another.
He tried to shove me off of him, but I held firm, rolling until he was beneath me again. I reared back and slammed my forehead into the bridge of his nose until he was bleeding, howling under me like a wounded animal.
With a growl, I used his weakened state to raise myself before slamming my elbow down into his temple and then my fist into his eye. His heaving body stilled under me, falling flat to the floor like a giant sack of potatoes. I pulled back my arm, surveying him and making sure that he wasn’t pretending before standing—with some effort.
The memory of how my female had looked filled my head again and I reared my foot back to kick the fucker in the nuts when Kor grabbed my shoulder, shaking his head.
“Too much and they’ll say it wasn’t defense,” he warned.
I scowled, punting the cyclops in the ribs instead, his grunt of pain causing a feral grin to replace the scowl while Kor rolled his eyes. I moved to the blond male next as the sirens echoed in the distance.
He was watching me get closer with wide eyes. Rudgar had him up, his arms behind his back when I tipped my chin at him.
“So you make a living by bullying people that are weaker than you,” I sneered, lifting the knife that my mate had dropped on the floor on her way to the door. “And you think you’re safe because no one’s caught you before.”
He shook his head. “No, we don’t—”
“We have enough evidence. And witnesses,” Kor said from where he was leaning over the cyclops, his own gun pointed at his head. “Don’t worry. You’ll be going somewhere where you’ll be able to pick on someone your own size.”
Rudgar squeezed the man’s wrists, making him squeal. “More likely they’ll be picking on you .”
“W–we’re not doing anything wrong,” he whined, shaking his head hard and fast. “We’re trying to provide more housing for—”
“The poor and underdeveloped areas,” I drawled, tilting my head at Rudgar. My brother lifted one of the male’s arms away from his body, spreading his palm against the table—exactly where he’d been leaning down and threatening my female.
Without a second to waste, I slammed the knife through the back of his uninjured hand. The loud, high-pitched scream echoed through the room and I leaned in, grinning at him. “Sounds to me like you sold your soul to the wrong group. One call from our lawyer,” I said, tilting my head toward the male, “And we got all the information we need. You fucked up now, involving Penelope. We can re-open all the previous investigations your company’s had against it.” I leaned down, an inch away from him, my lip curled. “You should consider yourself grateful that they’ll be arresting you soon. Otherwise, I’d kill you and make you disappear. But not before I had my fun with you first.”
I twisted the knife and he whimpered, sobs leaving his throat. I bared my fangs at him. “You fucked with the wrong female, asshole.”
The knife was out and at his throat in an instant. I was prepared to do what I had to, to protect my mate, but Rudgar shook his head behind him, where only I could see. Primal fury burned inside me.
Vengeance.
I needed it, but I also saw the warning in my brother’s gaze. If I did this, I’d be arrested. The police probably wouldn’t give me too hard a time for roughing him up, but taking his life would open an entirely new can of worms.
Cursing in orcish, I pulled the blade away. “Be grateful your life is worth nothing to me,” I spat, kneeing him in the balls and listening to him scream because I could. I turned, dropping the knife on the floor and left the two bastards to my brother and friend.
I rushed out of the door of the tiny building, spotting Penelope right away. My female was sitting in the driver’s seat, her tiny hands clutching the steering wheel like her life depended on it, and she was shaking like a leaf.
The relief that I saw in my female’s gaze when she spotted me made emotion swell in my chest. Made my protective urges go into overdrive once more. The way her body sagged in on itself, her lower lip trembling—was something I’d never forget for the rest of my days. I strode to her door, yanking it open and pulling her against me. She clutched me close, sagging in my arms.
“Dristan,” she murmured against my chest, nuzzling against me. “You’re safe.”
“Of course I am,” I squeezed my eyes shut, guilt assailing me. “No one could ever keep me from you.”
She sighed with relief against my shirt, but she stiffened again when she heard the sirens get louder and the crunch of gravel under the tires of the police cars. She flattened herself against me, trembling as she peeked over my shoulder.
I held her tight, rubbing my palm along her back as the police swarmed around the car, eyeing us with suspicion. They relaxed when they noticed how she was clinging to me, though, her face buried against my throat.
“Sir, please step away from the vehicle,” one of them called, and I knew it was a precaution, but I put my hands up and stepped away with caution. My female didn’t release me, going with me, her arms around me, her face hidden as she sobbed.
I tilted my head toward the building. “There are four males in there. The two orcs came with me to help with the rescue. The human and the cyclops were the ones who took her. They’ve been subdued.” All except one officer hurried toward the entrance. They slammed the door open and there were loud, barked orders from inside.
“Ma’am, are you safe?” the officer who’d stayed with us asked, her gun aimed at me.
“Yes,” Penelope sniffed back her tears and my heart swelled in my chest for my strong female as she pulled herself together, lifting her head to look at the other female. “This is my mate. He came to rescue me. He didn’t have anything to do with those men,” she explained.
I shouldn’t feel pride swell in my chest at being called her mate. It was too serious of a moment for all of that, but it happened anyway.
The officer nodded. “Stay here while we clear the building. Do we need to get you medical assistance?”
Penelope shook her head. “No,” she said, swallowing hard, licking her dry, chapped lips. “They didn’t get a chance to use the knife or gun before my mate came in with his brother and his friend.” Her voice was shaky, but she was trying to get the facts out and I couldn’t be prouder of her.
My annoyance still spiked at the thought of that festering pustule using his knife to threaten her, so I held her closer, allowing her scent—still mingled with mine—to wash over me, soothing the beast inside. “I have you,” I murmured against her curls as she trembled against me, her sniffle loud as her tears wet my shirt.
She nodded, not able to form words, rubbing her cheek against me. I watched as the officers exited the building with the human and cyclops handcuffed, my brother and friend escorted behind them, Kor’s voice a deep rumble as he spoke with the one that appeared to be in charge.
I felt my female go stiff in my arms, and I knew she didn’t want to look at the males. “Can I get her into the SUV?” I asked the female officer who still stood near me, watchful and protective.
She gave me a quick nod, allowing me to get my female seated, tucking her face into my palm. She was so tiny compared to me. So vulnerable. I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you, rega . And I’m so proud of you,” I whispered.
She gave me a tremulous smile, tilting her face upward for a kiss. I met her halfway, nuzzling our noses together.
By then, the perpetrators had been taken into the marked vehicles and I didn’t have to worry about my female seeing them again. I’d find a way to make sure she never saw them again. There was no way she’d face them in court. They would go down without her needing to give a single testimony.
I already had evidence against them, and I intended to dig up more. I was certain there would be a lot more where they were concerned.
“Kor’s going to get this settled and then we can get out of here,” I murmured in my most soothing voice.
She swallowed hard, clutching me close and running her fingers over my arms, as if making sure I was really there. My heart melted for my female. I turned to look at Kor, and he met my gaze, giving me a nod before continuing his conversation with the officer in charge.
It wasn’t long before we were allowed to leave—with the promise to return to the police station to give our statements.
As we drove off, I cradled her on my lap in the backseat, singing an old orcish lullaby, that I remembered my mother singing to Rudgar and I, against her hair.