Chapter 12 #2
I throw Griff a look of gratitude. “Here’s what’s gonna happen,” I tell Demetrius, over my shoulder. “You’re gonna be a man, and protect your sister. You hear me?”
“Yeah,” he says uncertainly.
“No dramatics, okay. You just protect her with your last breath. Now, shift.”
I wait until I hear the sound of fabric, moving, tearing, and the crunch of bones and a groan as his body stretches out into its wolf form. Then Griff and I exchange a glance, and our animals burst out of us.
We attack, taking them by surprise. Despite their bravado, they’re slower to react. And the fight is bloody. We don’t mess around. Three against two, we’ve got to be fast. Jaws snapping, gnashing.
I hate that Maya has to see it. But there’s no other option. My beast’s razor-sharp teeth tear through Easton pack flesh, spraying blood, crunching bones, until the carcasses of three large werewolves are splayed across the floor of the cabin.
Griff looks at me. I tilt my head at the door.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Maya interprets for me.
I’m not so keyed up that I don’t notice something new in her voice.
She doesn’t sound scared. She sounds calm, powerful.
I snatch up my clothes in my jaws and, to my amazement, Maya jumps onto my back and wraps her arms around my neck.
As I dash to the exit of the territory, my heart swells at the sensation of having my mate on my back, connecting with my animal, her hands gripping the thick fur around my neck.
When we arrive at our bikes, we shift back. I know Maya wants to hug Demetrius, but she holds back and I admire her judgment. There’ll be time for all that later. Now, we’ve got to focus on getting away from here, before the rest of the pack figures out what’s happened.
“Get on,” Griff tells Demetrius curtly, slapping his hand down on his passenger seat.
Demetrius does as he’s told. He looks stunned, confused. Like he’s finally figuring out that his dream of retribution isn’t exactly going according to plan.
Maya jumps up fast behind me and wraps her arms tight around my waist. I’m longing to be alone with her, so I can check in with her.
See how she’s handling the scene of carnage that she just witnessed.
I know she’s used to werewolf ways, but there’s a seed of doubt in my mind that she won’t feel the same about me now.
No, she’s my mate, I remind myself as I start up my motorcycle’s powerful engine. Whatever doubts she might have, I’ll iron them out. Do whatever it takes to prove that I’ve always got her best interests at heart.
We ride hella fast, Griff and I both pushing our motorcycles to the max.
Before long, the Easton territory is just a cloud of dust.
I’m not heading for anywhere in particular. My priority was getting in and out of there with as little distress for Maya as possible.
Well, that part didn’t go exactly according to plan.
But at least we have Demetrius. That’s the main thing.
When we’ve been riding for forty-five minutes, I signal to Griff to pull over at the next gas station.
The moment Griff brings his bike to a stop, Demetrius leaps off the back.
“Why the hell did you do that?” he bawls.
The normally unflappable Griff looks stunned. “Do what? You mean, save your ass?”
“I was making progress. I’d convinced them to go after my father’s killers!”
Maya jumps off my bike and tears off her helmet.
“You big dummy!” she yells at Demetrius.
“You have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?
” She’s hopping mad. A tiny ball of fury, and it’s kind of awesome to see.
Awesome in a way that connects directly with my cock.
“They were about to kill you, not help you, you idiot.”
“No, they weren’t. We were tight.” Demetrius puffs his chest out, but a look of uncertainty crosses his face.
“Are you wondering how I know this?” Maya shouts. “Because you sure as hell should be!”
He frowns. “How did you find me?”
She jabs a finger at me. “Thanks to Forge, my mate.” And it’s hardly the most romantic moment, but I love the way she puts her claim on me like this.
“And his friend.” She points at Griff. “And some other guy I’ve never even met. They’ve been helping me track you down, so you don’t get yourself killed—”
Just then, there’s a roar of motorcycles behind us.
I turn to face them. “Fucking Eastons,” I mutter. “Guess they’re a lot smarter than I gave them credit for.”
And then my heart almost stops.
Because it’s not the Easton pack. It’s a bunch of bikers I know very well. Dismay rolls through me at the sight of my own pack’s colors.
I spot a prison-issue dagger tattoo on the bare shoulder of the first rider. Fucking Grinder.
My four former packmates roar to a stop. I push Maya behind me, warning her to stay back.
“Forge. Who woulda thought we’d find you in the middle of this shit,” Grinder sneers. “Thought I picked up your stink around Perdue Town.”
“What do you want?” I ignore him, directing my question at Bryn instead, who I assess to be the most senior of the four.
“This Demetrius?” He points at Maya’s brother, who’s now trying to hide behind Griff.
“I’m dealing with Demetrius,” I say flatly.
Bryn shakes his head. “Just hand him over and we’ll be on our way,” he growls, taking a step closer.
I feel Maya’s hand on my back, hot and nervous. I reach behind my back, squeeze it briefly. I hate so much that she’s suffering.
“You know the laws of retribution, Forge,” Grinder says. “We got some intelligence he was trying to stir up shit. Give him up. It’ll be better for everyone.”
I shake my head slowly. “Not happening.”
Bryn draws his lips back in an ugly snarl. “Don’t look like you’ve got a choice.” He shakes his head sadly. “Two against four. Ain’t gonna be pretty.”
To my dismay, all four of them step closer, teeth bared, skin bristling as their fur starts to break loose.
This is about to get very bad. My heart hammers as I prepare to take on my wolf. On my right-hand side, I see Griff’s hand moving beneath his jacket. I’m pretty sure he’s armed. I sure hope so.
Suddenly, Maya steps out from behind me. It happens so fast, I don’t have time to grab her.
“I’ll vouch for my brother,” she says in a louder voice than I’ve heard her use before.
My four packmates recoil in surprise.
“Sister?” Grinder crooks an eyebrow, nostrils flaring. “You don’t smell like his sister.”
She shrugs. “From a different mister.”
I stare at her in admiration. Part of me wants to grab her and pull her to safety. The other part needs to watch this unfold.
Then Grinder gives a lascivious grin, eyeing my mate with a leer that might get him dead. “And who are you to vouch for him?”
She plants her hands on her hips “Forge’s mate,” she says nonchalantly. “And mother of his child. Which means that your pack—” she jabs a finger at them. “And our pack—” she flicks a finger in Demetrius’s direction. “Are united. So, you’re not going to fuck with my brother.”
Grinder goggles at me. “That right, Forge?”
“Yup,” I say calmly, while my head spins at the sentence that has just come out of my mate’s mouth. She must be bluffing. She’s not in heat yet. Or she wasn’t last night—
“You harm a hair on Demetrius’s head, it’ll be a serious violation of pack law.” I turn my attention to Demetrius. “And you go after my pack for retribution, and that’ll be your last day on this earth. You understand?”
Demetrius nods. “Yes.”
“Now shake on it,” Maya demands.
As if they’re all in a dream, the four thugs from my pack solemnly shake hands with Demetrius, and then Maya, welcoming her to the pack and congratulating her on the baby.
She put them under a spell. That’s the only thing that makes any sense, I think, watching as four sets of club colors fade into the distance.
Even the stoic Griff looks shocked by the turn of events. Before he and Demetrius can throw out a bunch of questions, I grab Maya’s hand and drag her around the far side of the gas station, out of sight of everyone.
I drop to my knees in the dirt in front of her. My heart is thudding in my chest. “Are you really pregnant?”
Her cheeks go pink and she bites her lower lip. “I think so. I mean, I just ovulated an hour ago. And, y’ know, you put a lot of cum up me last night.”
I frown. There’s a whole lot of stuff I don’t know about women. “You can feel yourself ovulating?”
She grins. “Yeah. There’s usually this little thing.”
I go quiet and imagine that tiny egg launched into her womb, millions of my swimmers competing to reach it. Suddenly my throat feels real tight. I want to be a father. The thought swells inside me.
“Thought you weren’t ready for babies?” I get out at last.
She shakes her head. “I told myself I wasn’t cut out for kids after the way I was raised. But these last few days with you, I realized that secretly, all I’ve wanted is my own happy family. I can’t wait to have your babies, Forge.”
Now my eyes are stinging as well. Weird. “Really?”
“Really.” She dips her head and brings her sweet mouth down to mine.
Then I lift up her shirt and kiss her stomach. “Beautiful babies,” I murmur. “As long as they look like you.”
“As long as they have your eyes.”
We keep grinning like idiots and staring into each other’s eyes, until Demetrius appears, whining that it’s getting late, and when are we going to get going?
Keeping her gaze on mine, Maya bursts out laughing. It’s such a joyous, happy sound, and I’m glad, a million times over, that we rescued him. Anything to make her happy.
Anything at all.