Chapter Fifteen
Rowan stormed into Ben’s office.
“What’s going on?” Ben asked.
“She’s gone. Someone took our mate.”
Ben jerked to his feet. “How do you know?”
“Take a second and feel her.”
He closed his eyes and concentrated on his mate. Fury and fear built when he felt the terror she was in. He looked at his brother. “What do you know?”
“The only other person’s scent I picked up was Noelle’s.”
Ben was stunned. “She took her. But why?”
Rowan pushed the button for the top floor. “Yes. I sensed Noelle’s anger, and a bit of fear mixed in with our mates.”
They rushed into the apartment and hurried through every room. Ben picked up the scent at the elevator. “Let’s follow. Call our men and have them canvas the area and be ready for anything.”
Rowan was on the phone when Ben stopped the elevator on the floor that was used for storage. They walked through the room, following her scent, and went to the outside door.
Ben’s fear grew when he saw the ladder had been put down and felt Jenna’s distress grow. But what really got to him was the scent of the man, Payne, they’d been looking for. The thought of her in that monster’s hands made him want to shift and howl. It took everything not to stay focused.
“Every man in the vicinity is out looking.”
“Good. I want to get a car, but it would be hard to follow her scent that way. With all the people and polluted air, it’s going to be difficult enough.”
“Let’s go. If one of us has to change, we will. People will think it’s a person and large dog walking.”
They made it a mile when Ben finally made the decision. It was going to slow for him. “Shift and get us to her.”
“You got it.” Rowan walked behind a stack of boxes and came out a second later in his wolf.
“Good. Let’s go,” Ben said, following his brother as he rushed through the streets. Several people were startled when they saw Rowan, but Ben ignored them.
Rowan was taking them into the warehouse part of the city. Now, they had the scent of ships to contend with.
“You still got her?” Ben asked.
Rowan nodded and kept running. They were yards from her when something happened to create chaos with the people who took her. Oh, God, please just protect her.
They rushed around a corner to see Jenna with blood all over her, Payne on the ground, and his men fighting and trying to keep her from running.
Ben turned to his wolf, and with his brother, tore into the men that touched their mate. A few were able to shift and run off, but they got the majority.
He shifted back and walked over to Jenna, who was sitting on the ground with a box cutter in her hands and shaking.
“Easy, Mate,” he said, taking the knife and throwing it away. He picked her up and got them both in the car. “Call someone to meet us. We need to get away from here before the police arrive.”
“I’ll drive us,” Rowan said. “You just take care of our mate.”
“You got it.”
Rowan closed their door, and Ben heard the motor start. They started moving. He held her tightly against his chest and crooned to her until she settled a bit.
“We got you, Pet. It’s Ben. You’re safe.” He said it over and over again until she looked at him and focused.
“Ben?”
“Yes, Mate. I’ve got you.”
Her breath hitched. “I was so scared.”
“I know. I’m so sorry. No one should have ever had the chance to take you.”
She pressed her hand against his chest. “No. Noelle just came at the right time. It was the only time I’d been alone in the apartment, and both of you were nearby.”
“Noelle? What did she do?”
“She had a gun, and she made me go with her.”
Ben’s brows snapped together. “But why?”
“She hated humans and hated the fact that some of the shifters had human mates. She wanted you to.”
“But she wasn’t our mate,” Ben said. “What did she have to gain?”
“As long as she was with you, she didn’t care about you guys loving her. She just wanted you and the status it would bring her. Did you see her body?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“A few guys pulled her out ofthe car and dragged her somewhere as Payne fought to get me out of the car.”
“You cut him?”
She nodded. “Yes. His throat. He’s dead, right?”
Ben kissed her forehead, ignoring the blood and other fluids. “Yes, Mate. We’re so proud of you.”
The car stopped, and then the back door opened. Rowan slid in, took her legs, and laid them over his thighs, then the car started moving again.
“How is she?” Rowan asked.
“I think she’ll be okay,” Ben said. He told him about Noelle and what happened to her. We went on to tell him about the box knife Jenna got and how she slit the monster’s throat.
Rowan squeezed her leg. “We are so proud of you, Sweetheart.”
Ben still couldn’t get the thought of her being taken from them so easily out of his mind. He stared at the two as they talked softly to each other.
Rowan got his attention. “Is all the blood from just Payne?”
He shook his head. “No. He killed Noelle, who sat beside her.”
“Jesus Christ,” Rowan burst out before cuddling up with Jenna.
They made it home within minutes. Ben hoped no one was around when they brought Jenna out of the car. It might look frightening to see two naked men with blood smeared on them and a woman covered in blood.
He didn’t care. He just wanted to get his mate taken care of.