Chapter Two
Santiago kept one eye on Jacob and Deputy Gilmore. The other stayed locked on Percy, making sure he didn’t drift too far.
Even if it was a setup, slamming his fist into that bastard’s face had felt damn good.
The only reason Jacob wasn’t buried deep in the woods? Matias had ordered him not to kill the bastard.
Not a word had been said about breaking his nose.
“Who called in the disturbance?”
Matias turned toward Gilmore.
Even though his alpha stood on the porch and the deputy was on the walkway, Matias’s commanding presence dominated the scene.
“Since you’re not involved, Mr. Salvador, this isn’t your concern.”
Deputy Gilmore rolled his shoulders, then looked left, offering a lazy shrug as a couple strolled past with a yapping dog. “Wouldn’t tell you even if you were. Calls are confidential.”
He finished with a scathing smirk aimed at Matias. “Wouldn’t want retaliation against a concerned citizen,”
he added with fake civility.
Santiago exhaled slowly, dragging his beasts back under control. If Gilmore had any clue what he was really dealing with... Disrespecting Matias? The male was begging for death and didn’t even know it.
The corner of Matias’s mouth curled upward. “What kind of disturbance was reported?”
He stood with a casual air, hands loosely clasped in front of him, but the relaxed posture belied how fast he could move if provoked. “I’m sure you could at least provide that, officer .”
This was a powder keg waiting to blow. Matias wasn’t a man to trifle with, and Gilmore was riding high on his badge and borrowed authority. If the deputy pushed too far, Santiago would bury the bastard without hesitation.
He was one of two enforcers for the Salvador pack—and Santiago took that role dead seriously. Someone was disrespecting his alpha, playing a game he had no chance of winning.
Turning slightly, Santiago slid his phone from his back pocket and passed it to Percy. His voice barely above a whisper, he said, “Text Diablo.”
Percy shifted to stand directly behind him, away from curious eyes. “ Le diré que vuele su pez el miércoles ,”
he whispered with conviction.
I’ll tell him to fly his fish on Wednesday.
What in hell was Percy talking about? Santiago didn’t know what was worse—Elijah’s constant butchering of their beautiful language or his mate’s random-ass nonsense.
Should he laugh… or just start carrying earplugs?
This was his life now—ever since his wolf chose Percy. Santiago had felt the moment it happened. In that hospital room, right after he nearly... No. Not now. There were more pressing problems. He could avoid thinking about it later.
His focus snapped back when Matias stepped down one stair, then another. “I asked you a question, officer.”
Behind Santiago, Percy was furiously tapping away on the screen, but he wasn’t sure if the male was telling Diablo to get his ass here or requesting a delivery of flying fish.
He snapped his fingers, pointing toward the screen door just as Gilmore straightened, his barely-there grip on his gun making Santiago’s hackles rise. Matias noticed. He stood a little taller, wearing a look that dared Gilmore to make the first move.
Thank god Percy and Elijah hadn’t argued. They slipped into the house, the screen door creaking shut behind them.
Jacob lingered on the porch, that filthy rag still pressed to his bloody nose. Santiago didn’t miss the smile beneath it. The bastard was hoping for chaos, and probably praying someone would give it to him.
Why hadn’t he taken off when he saw me come outside? Why stick around, even after I broke the bitch’s nose?
Gilmore had shown up too damn fast.
This was a setup.
It clicked. Jacob had insulted Percy on purpose. He wanted Santiago arrested. Out of the way. Santiago was the only person standing between Jacob, Percy, and Macey.
But why provoke Santiago now? What was the lowlife planning?
If things went sideways, Santiago needed Diablo there to keep an eye on the mates, and on Macey.
Mates.
One of whom was his. Santiago had been feeling the vibes with Percy from the moment they’d met, but his wolf had ignored the human. Honestly, he hadn’t thought it ever would. A shifter’s wolf was very selective.
He could’ve fallen hard, devoted himself fully, and still had his wolf dismiss Percy like it meant nothing. Just a fleeting infatuation.
“Don’t move a fucking muscle.”
Santiago pointed at Jacob, moving closer to Matias. “Twitch the wrong way and you’ll need a dozen more of those filthy rags.”
A glance at Gilmore confirmed he wasn’t reaching for his gun. He was going for his cuffs. “Are you pressing assault charges, Mr. Weaver?”
“Yes, I am,”
Percy’s father said, smug as hell.
? Two more patrol cars pulled up, parking diagonally in the middle of the street. Neighbors trickled out onto porches and lawns, craning their necks to see what was going down.
Three more deputies approached, one of their radios erupting with garbled police chatter.
Santiago glanced around, spotting children in their yards, their curious gazes pointed toward the unfolding scene. A pregnant woman on her porch, her husband behind her, his hand on her stomach. Deputy Folger was among the cops, a decent guy who actually cared about the law. Married, two young kids.
Matias was deadly calm as he slipped off his leather. Santiago would stand with him, fight beside him, die for him if it came to that. But this had to be stopped before the entire neighborhood saw them shift.
Before the street ran red.
“I’ll go,”
he said to Matias. “I owe you for what you’re about to do, but we both know this is a can of worms we can’t afford to open.”
One of the kids squealed in delight, unaware of the wolves standing right across the street, pack justice, willing to stand up against corruption.
Fuck. Santiago couldn’t become their worst nightmare if they saw him and Matias shift into their third forms. Their beasts, the ones they never let humans glimpse.
He couldn’t have that on his conscience. He couldn’t allow their secret to get out because he couldn’t control his temper when it came to Percy. One satisfying punch wasn’t worth their exposure.
Matias’s nostrils flared, eyes glowing faint amber. If he lost control, the cops, Jacob, and every nosy neighbor in range would end up dead.
Then the rumble started.
Eight motorcycles thundered down the street, driving onto Percy’s and Santiago’s lawns, Diablo leading the pack, every inch the chaos he’d been named for.
If Matias didn’t order them to stand down, there would be a bloodbath right in the middle of his and Percy’s neighborhood.
“I can handle human cops,”
Santiago said, voice low, meant only for his alpha. The deputies were getting twitchy, fingers edging too close to their service weapons.
“ Cuida de mi companero. Su padre está tramando algo ,”
he said to Diablo. Take care of my mate. His father’s up to no good.
Every pack eye turned to him. No one had known Percy was his mate. Surprise . Not how he’d wanted to announce it, but he needed them to know how deep it went with Percy. How serious it was to keep him protected at all costs. The human was no longer just someone Santiago wanted to get to know better. He was now Santiago’s life.
“No one will get to him,”
Matias snarled. “You have my word.”
Santiago held his gaze. “Don’t take him to the tavern. He’s not ready.”
“ Cuidaré a tu nino en tu casa y también cuidaré de su madre .”
I’ll babysit your brat and keep an eye on his mom, too. Diablo grinned, but his eyes spoke of barely contained violence if a single cop so much as sneezed the wrong way.
“His house,”
Santiago corrected. “Not mine.”
A single nod. A silent promise. Santiago trusted Matias with Percy and Macey, but the alpha had pack business to handle. Diablo was more than capable, even if he still couldn’t shift.
Shit. Santiago really didn’t want to spend the night in jail. He hadn’t even gotten a bite of Percy’s spaghetti. Looked like Diablo would be the one enjoying it instead. Gilmore had no idea how badly that pissed off Santiago. The goddamn garlic bread alone was enough to make him want to commit homicide just to enjoy a bite of something Percy made with his own hands.
Jacob was becoming a liability Santiago needed to handle before the piece of scum escalated any further. So far, Percy’s father was a menace, but hadn’t been cunning. This had been intentional. Premediated, and that raised the stakes.
With a frustrated sigh, he walked toward Gilmore. “ Será mejor que reces para que mi alfa nunca anule la orden que te mantiene a salvo de los verdaderos monstruos ,”
Santiago said calmly, a smile tugging at his lips.
You’d better pray my alpha never revokes the order keeping you safe from the real monsters.
“I hope that wasn’t a threat.”
Gilmore twirled his finger. “Turn so I can cuff you.”
He leaned in close after snapping them in place. Santiago snarled, resisting the urge to rip out his throat for daring to stand at his back. No one stood at his back. Ever. “You’re going to love the five-star accommodations.”
Santiago highly doubted it would even qualify as a one-star accommodation.
The screen door slammed open, Percy barreling toward them. Santiago’s arms ached to circle around his elegido . “This is bullshit! Jacob should be arrested, not Santiago! You bastard!”
Elijah grabbed him, coaxing him back toward the house, though Percy fought against his best friend’s hold. “Let him go!”
Santiago’s wolf growled, his third form—his lycanthrope—snarling relentlessly. He had to remind himself why he was doing this, why he was letting the cops take him away from his carino , because he was seconds away from snapping the cuffs and going after his mate just to bring him comfort.
Two pack members forced Jacob off the porch. He stomped down the stairs, shouting that they had no right to make him leave. His gaze burned into Jacob, his hatred for the male digging deeper into his heart.
Santiago’s gaze locked with Diablo’s, feeling his own eyes glow faintly. Diablo threw up a peace sign. His silent vow to protect Percy.
The brotherhood, the trust, the power behind it. This was Santiago’s life, his family.
Then Santiago looked to Matias. “ Encuentra a la madre de mi companero.”
Find my mate’s mother.
Matias answered with a solemn nod.
Santiago could’ve blown up. He could’ve fought. But he didn’t, because Percy needed more than vengeance. He needed safety. And Santiago gave it, without question. He would always give it to Percy.
“Let’s get this shitshow over with.”
Santiago slid into the back of Gilmore’s cruiser, legs cramped, the top of his head brushing the interior roof. The rank asshole could have at least brought an SUV to arrest him instead of this Matchbox car. With his hands cuffed behind him, Santiago had to lean forward, his face nearly touching the disgusting plastic divider. There was no telling how many germs were on them.
As Gilmore pulled away, Santiago’s pack remained in Percy’s front yard—nineteen men strong, watching, their expressions somber, lethal.
But it was the sight of Percy crying on the porch that gutted him completely.
* * * *
The patrol cars rolled away, lights flashing as they finally allowed the idling vehicles to move forward.
Despite knowing why he’d done it, the sight of Santiago in handcuffs was seared into Matias’s mind. That corrupt son of a bitch had dared go after one of Matias’s own. His fingers twitched, craving violence against the ones who’d set up Santiago.
The neighbors gradually retreated into their homes, ushering their children and nosy gazes behind closed doors. Now, the street stood silent. The only proof of what had just gone down was Percy, shedding quiet tears while Elijah sat next to him on the steps, speaking softly.
Suddenly, Percy shot to his feet and stormed inside, the screen door slamming noisily behind him. A bang echoed inside. Matias was through the door in seconds, his men on his heels.
He’d given Santiago his word that Percy would be safe. If Jacob had slipped inside the house through the back, Matias would tear him apart himself.
They stopped short just outside the kitchen as Percy hurled a pot of pasta at the wall. The noodles splattered and stuck to the surface with a wet smack. The pot bounced off the fridge with a metallic clang before spinning to a stop.
With a furious slap, he overturned the tray of garlic bread. Pieces flew, scattering across the room. Percy smashed the tray against the edge of the stove, over and over. Then he flung it with a grunt. It soared past the window, missing the glass by inches.
Matias didn’t stop him. Just watched, jaw tight.”
A forceful sweep of his arm cleared the counter as a choked scream ripped from his throat as a bottle of dish soap hit the floor with a dull thud. Its plastic cap shot off like a popped cork, thick blue liquid oozing out to create a glossy, slippery mess.
Elijah rushed forward, desperate to reach his best friend, but Matias lifted a hand, halting him.
“He needs me,”
Elijah snapped.
“He needs this .”
Matias tipped his chin toward Percy just as the human yanked a chair from the table, sending it crashing to the floor.
Santiago’s arrest hadn’t triggered this alone. Matias doubted Percy had ever truly faced the trauma of his abduction or how close he’d come to death.
Elijah clutched his arm, grief lining his face as Percy tore the room apart. The pack stood still, a wall of silent strength in case he needed them.
If Santiago’s mate wanted to swing, they’d take the hits. If he needed space to destroy something else, they’d move aside.
Whatever he needed—they’d give it. He was family now, and family was protected.
Santiago had been ripped from the very moment he’d started to find peace in Percy. Their connection had taken the hit, but no one could convince Matias it wasn’t real.
They’d been circling each other for two months, Santiago treating Percy like breakable glass. But their eyes said everything. Every glance gave them away.
If they ever got their act together, Santiago and Percy just might reach a place where healing could finally begin.
Percy collapsed to his knees, flushed and sweating, his breath ragged. Tears hovered but didn’t fall as he looked around the wrecked kitchen, then buried his face in his hands, shoulders trembling.
Matias stepped aside, nodding for Elijah to go to him.
“No fucking way this is right,”
Suero muttered. “Santiago shouldn’t be separated from his mate. His elegido needs him. Percy is delicate right now.”
Delicate? Matias nearly laughed. “You clearly haven’t spent much time around him.”
Suero frowned, dead serious. “He’s human, Matias. Fragile. He needs his wolf.”
“Fragile?”
A flicker of pride stirred in Matias for Percy. “He’s stronger than you think. We’re wolves—we fight to release our stress. Percy and Elijah? They break shit, hurl sarcasm like weapons, and use their size like it’s a tactic.”
Matias’s muscles coiled tight, his claws unsheathing, when the screen door creaked open.
“Oh my.”
Macey stood just inside the entrance, her silhouette framed by the setting sun behind her. Big blue eyes that mirrored her son’s stared back at them, slightly wide, somewhat curious.
Matias stepped forward, giving her a soft smile. “This is quite a scene to come home to.”
He gestured toward his pack, but maintained eye contact. “We were helping with… an incident.”
He lifted the paper grocery bag from her arms and handed it off to Suero, who quickly accepted it.
“Is Percy okay?”
Her golden hair swayed slightly as she shifted her weight. “I got a flat and had to wait for a tow truck.”
“Physically, yes.”
Matias now knew what had kept her. Over the past two months—since Santiago had become her neighbor—Matias had had the pleasure of speaking with her on occasion. She’d even invited him to dinner twice. He’d accepted both times.
“Where is he?”
She kept glancing at everyone warily, probably wondering if they were the cause of whatever problem had occurred.
“Kitchen,”
Suero answered, shifting the bag to his other arm. “I’ll take you there.”
Like she didn’t know where her own kitchen was located. Matias watched as Suero held out his arm, but didn’t touch, as he coaxed her forward.
The pack stepped aside, clearing a path for her. Macey moved through the center like it was the most natural thing in the world, though her eyes flicked nervously from one massive man to another. She didn’t flinch, but her fingers trembled slightly at her sides.
Matias watched her closely. No bruises, no visible marks. Her face was drawn, tired maybe, but she looked fine, until she saw the kitchen. Until she saw her son.
Percy was sitting on the floor next to Elijah, his arms wrapped around his bent legs, his head resting on his best friend’s shoulder. His gaze was focused on the floor, seeming lost in thought.
Macey’s eyes rounded even more as her gaze traveled slowly across the wreckage. Garlic bread littered the floor. A pasta-coated wall glistened near the refrigerator. The baking tray lay like a forgotten shield beneath the kitchen window. Macey said nothing. She didn’t gasp. Didn’t question.
Matias followed, but stopped at the entryway, leaning his shoulder against the wall. She stepped over a metal strainer and picked up the overturned dish rack like she’d done it a hundred times before.
Inside the pantry, she grabbed a broom and dustpan, moving silently around Percy and Elijah. She tucked strands of hair behind her ear, glancing around like she was trying to decide where to start.
At Matias’s nod, three of his men stepped in to help clean up the mess.
The side of Matias’s mouth curled upward, watching as Suero kept hovering near Macey. At least four times, his arms lifted, his brows furrowed. Matias wondered if Suero was trying to mentally make her take a seat so she wouldn’t hurt herself sweeping.
Diablo smirked and whispered, “You think he’ll try to adopt her as his own mom?”
From the way Suero was behaving, it seemed he just might. Like Matias, the wolf had grown up without a mother. As ruthless as he was, Suero had a soft side, protective of those weaker than him.
“Here, I got it.”
Suero took the baking sheet, glared at it, then set it on the stove.
“He acts like the tray was about to attack her,”
Diablo said as Suero awkwardly smiled at her.
The brother was a little too eager.
“Better get the adoption papers ready.”
Diablo grinned when she looked up at Suero, then offered a soft thank you.
Matias’s brow rose a fraction. Suero actually blushed before looking away. If he wasn’t certain the male was gay, Matias would think the wolf had a crush on Macey.
Suero never quite knew what to do with maternal figures. This was evident when he slightly shifted away from her, muttering a quiet curse as if scolding himself for his actions.
“Do I rescue him now, or let him die with dignity?”
Diablo crossed his arms. “Brother looks like he needs to be put out of his misery.”
Matias noticed the quiet admiration on Suero’s face. It was both strange and kind of sweet to watch a wolf trying to protect a petite woman who was simply picking up pasta from the floor. Did Suero think the noodles were gonna launch an attack on her?
Macey stooped to pick up whatever she could from the sticky floor. Cesar passed her a damp cloth. Macey nodded, but neither of them spoke.
Miguel muttered something to Suero and gave him a playful nudge. Suero shot him a glare like he was seconds from beating his ass.
Percy didn’t look up as a single tear escaped. Elijah put an arm around him and spoke gently.
“I want to kill his father,”
Diablo murmured, his jaw set. “No way Santiago should take the heat for this.”
Matias agreed. “I’m heading to the station. Don’t let Elijah or Percy out of your sight.”
“Suero has Macey covered.”
Diablo smirked. “If she bakes him some cookies, brother might fall into a coma.”
Matias shook his head and twirled his finger, clearing the rest of the pack from the house. One way or another, Santiago was coming home. Matias would make sure of it.