Chapter 15 #2
“We’ll talk about it later. Let me get a look at her.” She takes each of her hands and looks under her fingernails. I notice black marks.
“Sasha only had one lesson. I’m teaching her how to use and control her magic. Something must’ve really upset her, making her lose control of her magic.”
I remember Sasha said she had proof of Carson and Jenny’s betrayal. I’d look at it later.
“She found out who stole from her and framed her. It was her ex-boyfriend. And a woman she befriended, Jenny.”
“Oh, I’ll teach Sasha how to handle them.”
“I’ll take care of Carson.” My wolf growls again.
“You won’t have all the fun, Sheriff. Sasha will take care of Jenny,” Gloria confirms.
“Understood.”
Things aren’t black and white in the shifter world. Some people can’t be brought to justice. They have to die.
“I need to leave. I’ll assign deputies Blake and Jennings to guard the room.”
Blake is a lion shifter, and Jennings is a tiger shifter.
“Good. I’ll also do a protection spell. It will keep her safe,” Gloria says.
I stand to my feet. “Thank you.”
My gaze moves to Tara, who looks a little like her sister. “Tyson is coming with me. When you’re ready to go, Blake will have a deputy take you and Genevieve to my cabin, where you’ll both be safe.” I place a key in her hand.
She nods. “Thank you.”
After barking out orders over the walkie-talkie to my team, I storm out the front doors of the hospital, Tyson and Jax on my heels.
There’s a growl, and then I’m struck from the side hard enough to knock the air out of me and pushed to the ground.
The impact skids me across pavement, gravel biting into my shoulder before I even register what hit me.
The wolf’s jaw closes on my forearm, teeth grinding for purchase, trying to find the angle that’ll take it clean off. Pain rips white and hot up to my elbow.
My wolf howls and takes over my body. My pants and shirt burst at the seams and turn into tatters of fabric on the ground, and the world drops half a foot as I hit four legs instead of two — faster, lower, meaner.
Two more sets of eyes catch the parking lot lights off to my right: Tyson’s black coat already a blur, twisting hard to meet a tan-and-gray wolf twice his size head-on.
Jax roars somewhere behind me, and I catch the flash of his brown-and-white coat going down under a second attacker before he rolls clear and comes back up snarling.
Three of them, then. Maybe four. Carson wasn’t bluffing about the pack.
Lying on my back, my right hind paw slams into his stomach, knocking him several feet across the pavement. Humans scream and scatter, keeping their distance, a woman in scrubs yanking a gurney out of the way as the fight spills toward the ambulance bay.
Quickly, I roll onto all fours, snarling at the asshole as he shakes off the hit and circles back in.
Blood — mine — runs hot down my foreleg, but the pain barely registers anymore, drowned out under something older and colder.
Tyson and Jax hold their own a few yards off, a tangle of teeth and fur and low, furious sound.
I lift my head and roar, feeling the vibration of it under my own feet, letting every wolf in that parking lot know exactly whose ground they’re standing on.
The one I knocked down comes at me again, low and fast, aiming for my hind leg this time instead of my throat — smart, if he’d had the speed to back it up.
He doesn’t. I twist into him instead of away, and we go down together, a full-body collision of muscle and claws, rolling once across the asphalt before I get on top and stay there.
He tries biting me again, snapping wildly for my neck.
My teeth tear into his ear instead, and I don’t let go until I feel it give.
He screams — an ugly, almost-human sound wrong coming out of a wolf’s throat — and scrambles back, favoring the side I just opened up.
Tyson and Jax come up beside me, flanking, all three of us bloodied and breathing hard, staring down the wolves who are staring back with their fangs bared and their nerve running out fast. For a second, nobody moves.
Then, one by one, they break and run — first the one with the torn ear, then the other two peeling off after him into the tree line at the edge of the lot.
Maybe they’re going to get backup. Maybe they’ve had enough. Either way, we’ve got their scent now, and scent doesn’t wash off that easily.
Once I reach my SUV, I shift back and climb into fresh clothes I keep in my trunk. Tyson approaches, placing my waist holster in my hand.
“Now that we know their scent, we’ll need to search the woods,” I tell him.
“I’m ready.”
We’ll find them, and when we do, we’ll teach them a lesson.
Two days later, Sasha is discharged from the hospital. The nurse wheels her to the curb, where I lift her out of the wheelchair and settle her into the passenger seat of my blacked-out pickup truck.
“Didn’t know you had a personal vehicle,” she says.
“I’ve got a few. Just don’t get to drive them much.” I pull the seatbelt across her body.
“I brought this one out just for you,” I say with a smile as I secure it.
She grins. “I feel special.”
Our eyes meet. “You are.”
I close the door and scan the area, searching for Carson’s hired help. Tyson, Jax, and I tracked their scent to a barn near the edge of town. I need to make sure Sasha is safe at the cabin before I go after them. I circle the front of the truck and slip behind the wheel.
As I pull away from the curb, I say, “Witch, huh?”
She laughs. “Yeah. When I found out what Carson did, I got so upset magic burst from my fingers, setting the grass around the tree on fire. That’s when Carson and Jenny took off after me. I even zapped both their asses.”
I laugh softly. “They fucking deserved it.”
“Since Carson’s a wolf shifter, my magic barely fazed him. But Jenny…” She flashes a mischievous grin. “My magic definitely slowed her down.”
Her smile fades, and she hesitates. “Can’t believe he tried to kill me.” Her voice trembles.
I rest my hand gently on her thigh, moving it in soothing circles. “He sent hired wolves after me. They ambushed me as I left the hospital the other day.”
She covers my hand with hers, gasping softly, followed by a sharp wince.
For a brief second, I glance away from the road. “We can talk about this once you’re feeling better.”
“If you can help get me set up in the camper, just put things within reach — that would be great.”
I chuckle. “You think I’m taking you there?” I don’t give her a chance to answer.
“You’re coming home with me, and that’s final.”
I covered the rent for Evan’s camper through the summer — I didn’t want Sasha to have to stress about it.
She turns her head the best she can to stare out the window.
“When I found you slumped behind the wheel, unconscious, I completely lost it. Sasha, I didn’t know if you were going to make it.” My voice is thick with vulnerability.
Her fingers tighten around mine once more. “I’m here. Just scared.”
“You’re mine, little omega. I will kill for you if I have to.”
I tap the garage door opener and roll inside.
“Don’t kill him. Just put him and Jenny away for life.”
Jenny goes off to prison. Carson goes six feet deep.
For whatever reason, Sasha doesn’t want to go to bed. So I set her up in the living room on the sofa with pillows, blankets, and snacks.
Having her here feels comforting to my soul.
Dropping to my knees beside the sofa, I capture her face in my rough palms. “When the sun sets, I’ll leave. I have to hunt down the bastards. End this once and for all. Two deputies will be stationed outside.”
She gingerly pushes her cheek into my hand. “Okay.”
“You belong here with me, little omega. No more scent suppressants.”
Her amber eyes widen. “If I stop taking them completely, I’ll go into heat.”
“Your alpha will help you through your heat.”
She presses her lips against mine. “You better hurry back. I’ve been off the scent suppressants for two days. Soon my scent will rise, and I’ll be ready to nest. I guess I can turn the sofa into a nest.”
I scoop her into my arms again.
Her arms hook around my neck. “Where are you taking me?”
I don’t answer and ascend the stairs.
“I want the sofa.”
“In just a minute,” I say.
“I have a surprise.” I turn the doorknob and step over the threshold.
Her eyes widen and her mouth forms a cute O.
“It’s beautiful. Your ex-mate had good taste.”
I place her on the edge of the oversized bed.
“I built this addition onto the house a few years ago — just an empty room, nothing in it. This nest was made for you. In the last two days, Tara and Genevieve helped decorate your nest.”
She lays back slowly, hands gliding across the soft red blanket. “I love vibrant colors.”
Genevieve told me Sasha’s big on bright colors.
“The purple walls are gorgeous,” she says.
She moves her head the best she can to glance at the top of the bed. “The blue, pink, yellow, orange, and red pillows tie the room together perfectly.”
“There are cozy socks, sweaters, and more blankets in the oversized basket to the right.”
She points to the blankets, neatly folded on the bed. “These are more than enough.”
I shrug. “You have variety.”
She chuckles, then her arms circle her stomach as she winces.
“Now you know where your nest is. Let’s get you back to the sofa. I’ll get lunch going.”
I pull her into my arms. Her fingers stroke my hair along my nape. “My own nest. Thank you, Alpha.”
I take her lips in a sensual kiss. “You’re welcome, little omega.”
Her head rests on my chest as I walk down the stairs. Her eyelids fight to stay open as I lower her to the sofa.
“Rest, Sasha.”
I pull the blanket over her body. She gives in to sleep.
I stand back, watching her. I’m happy my omega is here in our home.
Heavy knuckles rattle the door. I stalk into the living room in just a pair of red basketball shorts and pull the door open.
Tyson, Tara, Genevieve, and Jax walk inside.
“Hello, Gavin,” Tara says.
“We’re here to keep Sasha company,” Genevieve adds.
“There’s a police detail outside,” I say.