Chapter Ten
T he second Suero pulled away in Santiago’s truck, the silence dropped like a hammer.
Kia stood in the middle of the living room, arms wrapped around himself, chest too tight to breathe. Every instinct screamed at him to chase after his mate, to yank open that truck door and not let him go.
But he didn’t. Because Suero had asked him to stay safe.
Now he just stood there, his body buzzing with the worst kind of fear. The kind that made you feel powerless.
He reached for his phone, praying a call to Xavier would help. Maybe if his uncle heard his voice—calm, safe, not kidnapped —he’d back off and no one would have to bleed today.
But as soon as he looked at it, his stomach dropped.
Silent mode. How? Kia didn’t remember silencing it, but the screen lit up like a guilt trip.
Fifteen missed calls.
One voicemail. Sent just an hour ago.
“Shit.”
How had he not seen this before now? When he’d left Suero’s, he’d just stuffed his phone into his pocket, not thinking to check it. He should have. Kia hadn’t gone home last night and knew Xavier would be furious.
Because you were too caught up in your wolf . He blew out a shaky breath, jaw tight, thumb hovering over the screen.
Then he tapped Play.
Xavier’s voice came through the speaker like a blade—sharp, cold, and coiled with restrained violence.
“I don’t know what they’ve done to you. But I promise you, my boys—if the wolves have harmed you, I will burn every one of them to ash. I’ll wipe out their pack, one by one, until you’re returned. I swear it on my sister’s name.”
Silence followed—flat, final, lethal. He lowered his hand, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the screen. He just stood there frozen, terrified of what Xavier might do and what Suero would have to do to stop him.
But worst of all, this wasn’t some kidnapping or hostage situation. It was a misunderstanding.
A catastrophic, life-altering, blood-soaked misunderstanding.
He hadn’t been taken. He’d been irresponsible. Caught up in something too fast, too big, too fierce.
And that was the problem, wasn’t it?
Any other adult spent the night away, nobody blinked. But Kia did it and a war got put on the table.
He screamed and dropped his phone when it rang, heart hammering into his throat. For a split second, he was sure it was Xavier again, only to realize it was Jared’s ringtone.
“I’m going to age ten years before this is over.”
Kia grabbed his phone from the floor and answered. “Hello.”
“Dude!”
Jared was breathless, full-on panting. “He’s actually threatening a war!”
“I just found out,”
Kia said, trying, and failing, to keep his voice level. “How many missed calls do you have from him?”
“Hang on. I just woke up. Let me check.”
Kia blinked. Woke up? “Wait. Where are you waking up from?”
“I’m, uh… We need to focus on Xavier. I have three missed calls. You?”
“Fifteen.”
Kia groaned, rubbing his forehead. “And a world-ending voicemail. I’m sending it to you. Take a listen for yourself.”
He put the call on speaker before forwarding the message, his thumb hovering over the screen like it might explode again.
“I’ll call you right back,”
Jared said, and then hung up.
Kia threw his arms up. “Sure! Leave me here spiraling with no lifeline to anyone. I’m completely cut off, but take your time !”
Something past the window caught his eye. Kia stepped closer, squinting, then hurried to the glass.
A petite woman was struggling to climb the porch steps next door.
She gripped the railing like it was all that stood between her and the ground, and nearly lost her balance as she took the next step.
Kia gasped.
Crisis temporarily forgotten, he flung the front door open and bolted outside, sneakers sliding slightly on the porch before he hit grass.
He didn’t know who she was. Didn’t matter. He just knew he couldn’t live with himself if she fell and he’d stood there, doing nothing.
Sprinting across the yard, Kia made it in time just before she went down.
“Whoa! Steady,”
he breathed, hands on her shoulders.
She flinched.
Kia immediately let go, hands flying up like he’d touched a live wire. But the sudden release made her stumble again, her foot catching on the edge of a step.
Lunging forward, he caught her a second time, more carefully now.
“I’m not gonna hurt you,”
he promised. “I’m just trying to steady you, ma’am.’
He adjusted his hold, gently guiding her upright, her weight surprisingly light against him. Her breath came in uneven little huffs, strands of blonde hair matted to her temple from the heat. The air was already warming up, humid, thick with the scent of cut grass and flowers from somewhere nearby.
“My name is Kia,”
he added quickly, hoping his tone did the work his words couldn’t. “Just let me help you up the stairs, all right?”
A faint whimper left her, but she nodded, and let him guide her step by careful step.
Behind him, Jared’s ringtone blared from his pocket. He ignored it.
“Kia?”
She held on to the railing as she glanced back at him, her brow creased. “Suero’s Kia?”
That threw him.
“You know Suero?”
Kia blinked, just as stunned.
She gave a slight nod, breath shaky. “Please… if you don’t mind, help me to the top of the steps. It’s not one of my good days.”
He didn’t know what that meant exactly, but the way she said it made him soften even more. He stepped in gently, sliding an arm around her waist, careful not to startle her this time. She leaned into him just enough to silently tell him she trusted the help.
“One step at a time,”
he murmured.
She moved slowly, deliberate in her pace. Her breath hitched once, but she didn’t stop. Kia stayed steady, guiding her.
“Almost there,”
he said, offering a quiet smile. “Just two more and you’ll have conquered Mount Everest. Feel proud. Not many survive the hike.”
She laughed, a soft, breathy sound, shaking her head at him. But it morphed into a groan on the last step.
Kia swatted at a bee hovering too close to her shoulder, muttering under his breath, “Nature’s trying to assassinate you. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”
She reached the top step.
“You did it!”
Kia grinned and threw his arms in the air, making fake crowd-cheering noises as she eased down onto the porch swing. “Ladies and gentlemen, a true hero among us!”
he announced dramatically, hopping in place and clapping like she’d just taken Olympic gold. “Tell me, ma’am, how does it feel to conquer such a beast of a mountain?”
He held out his fist like a microphone, then shoved it right in front of her face.
She stared at his hand a little closely. Kia pulled it back, tucking it behind him. “So, uh… how’re you feeling?”
“Macey,”
she said after a pause, her voice soft but clear. “Call me Macey.”
She fanned herself with one hand, catching her breath as her face tightened just slightly with discomfort. “Been better,”
she admitted, voice lower. “Do me a favor and don’t mention this to Suero. He tends to worry too much.”
Kia snorted. “That’s the truth.”
He glanced toward the door, then back at her. “Do you need anything? Water? Ice pack? Just say the word. I’ll grab it so you don’t have to move.”
She waved a hand, dismissive but not unkind. “I just need to rest a moment. No need to fuss over me.”
Her gaze lifted. “Where is Suero?”
Kia leaned against the porch railing, crossing his arms, trying to make himself smaller without drawing attention to the effort.
She seemed skittish, and he didn’t want her to feel threatened by him. He angled his posture slightly, but didn’t have to lean far. Kia wasn’t exactly towering.
But he was still a man, Macey was a woman, and clearly men frightened her. Someone had left their mark on her in ways no one ever should.
“He ditched me for bacon,”
he said with a half-smile, trying to keep his tone light even as the ache hit hard. The morning with Suero had felt perfect. Now he just missed him like crazy.
He’d only left for a meeting, but Kia still worried.
Because Xavier didn’t make idle threats.
Crap! That fast, it had slipped his mind to call his uncle. He’d gotten so wrapped up in helping Macey that he’d completely blanked. He inwardly moaned while praying his overprotective uncle didn’t level the town.
Wolves might be tough, but cheetah were calculated. Xavier could already be in Blackthorn and no one would even know.
“Turnabout is fair play, huh?”
Kia blinked, pulled from his thoughts. He frowned, suddenly uneasy, swallowing back the rush of discomfort. Suero had spoken to her about how Kia had ghosted the guy.
“I’m glad you’re okay,”
he murmured, pushing up to his feet and clearing his throat. “I’ll leave you to your day. It was nice meeting you.”
And with that, he stepped back, his heart still caught somewhere between panic, regret, and missing his mate like hell.
“No. Kia.”
She winced as she shifted again, pain flickering across her face. But then her expression softened, like she regretted the bite in her words. “It’s the pain, hon. I’m sorry. I overstepped like a protective mama bear. Please, stay. I’d like to get to know you.”
He didn’t answer right away. Still felt the sting of her jab. But he studied her, and saw no malice. Just a woman hurting, maybe more than she let on.
“And how, exactly, do you know Suero?”
Kia asked, voice even.
His mate had a thing about older women—awkward and weirdly reverent—but Suero was close enough to Macey that she knew their business.
That part didn’t bother Kia.
Suero talking to her? That was fair.
He’d been the one who’d frozen the guy out.
“He babysat me,”
she said with a laugh mixed with pain. Her features pinched as she readjusted her position on the swing for the third time.
“No offense, Macey, but you don’t look like someone who needs to be watched.”
He jerked forward slightly when he heard a subtle whimper. Not loud enough to be noticed, but Kia’s heightened senses caught it anyway.
Macey’s hands clenched in her lap, her fingers curling into fists. She turned her head toward the street, a wry smile tugging faintly at her lips.
“The night Suero showed up, it was to clear his head,”
she said quietly. “Some guy had dropped him without warning. I could see the hurt in his eyes.”
Kia swallowed. “We’d only dated for two weeks. I’d cut things off because I knew my uncle wouldn’t approve.”
Because Suero was a wolf and Xavier despised wolves. “I fooled myself into thinking he’d be fine.”
Kia gave a bitter laugh. “I mean, come on, Macey. He’s gorgeous. Men like him don’t stay single for long.”
“That’s a very shallow view, Kia.”
Her tone wasn’t sharp, just a gentle scold. “We spent the night talking,”
she said. “Watching bad movies and eating more empty calories than I care to remember.”
There was a quiet warmth in her voice that said that she remembered that night fondly. “Suero’s sweet. Caring. He lives a brutal life, but it hasn’t made him cruel.”
Had Suero told her about the pack? About shifters? Kia wanted to ask, but he kept his questions to himself. If she didn’t know, he didn’t want to reveal their existence.
“Don’t look surprised.”
She gripped the arm of the swing and sat forward. Another whimper escaped.
“He belongs to a motorcycle club. I’ve met the leader and the others. They look rough, sure, but they were kind to me when…”
She glanced away. “So I know Suero’s life isn’t easy. All I can do is be a good friend to him. The way he’s been to me.”
Kia could read between the lines. Don’t screw Suero over again.
She didn’t say it out loud. Didn’t have to.
After what Kia had done, Suero had given him another chance, had claimed him. He wasn’t about to take that for granted.
“You’re clearly in pain,”
he said softly. “Please… let me grab your medicine.”
She met his gaze then, no longer hiding anything. “On the kitchen counter. Bottle of water’s in the fridge.”
Kia nodded and darted inside then paused in the entryway, momentarily thrown off. He’d never been in her house before, but the layout was intuitive. The kitchen was at the back of the house, sunlight slanting through the window over the sink.
He spotted the pill bottle, swiped it from the counter, then grabbed a water from the fridge.
After a beat, he snagged a second bottle.
One for her. One for him. Just in case.
When he reached the screen door, Kia froze, his breath stalling in his lungs. Two men were standing on Santiago’s porch. One was knocking, both of them glancing around like they were casing the place.
Kia recognized them immediately.
Coalition members.
Enforcers.
The one knocking, Theo, had always looked down his nose at Kia, like the favor Xavier showed him was somehow his fault. But Kia had seen it, clear as day. The way Theo’s eyes lingered on Xavier a little too long.
The tightness in his jaw when Xavier mentioned his nephews. Jealousy wrapped in barely veiled professionalism.
And now they were here.
As badly as he wanted to give Macey her meds, Kia knew the second he stepped outside, he’d be hauled home like a fugitive.
“I see them,”
Macey whispered. “Just stay inside, hon. You also might want to call Suero.”
Kia backed away slowly, shaking. He set the water and pill bottle down on the coffee table, then fumbled for his phone.
If Xavier’s enforcers were already in town, calling his uncle would be useless. The alpha had already escalated the situation by sending cheetah into wolf territory to do a quiet sweep.
Xavier Fortelli was in predator mode now, and no amount of talking would pull him back.
Kia fired off a quick text to Jared.
Hide. Now.
Then he dialed Suero, hand trembling as he put the phone to his ear.
“Almost done, gatito . I’ll be heading back in—”
“They’re here,”
Kia whispered. His swallow echoed in the silence like a loaded gun.
“Who’s there?”
The background noise on Suero’s end of the phone cut off so fast it was like someone had hit a kill switch.
“His enforcers,”
Kia whispered. “They’re on Santiago’s porch.”
“Hide, Kia.”
Then came the noise—loud and immediate. The scrape of chairs. Boots pounding the floor. Motorcycles roaring to life.
The wolves were moving. For him. A cheetah they didn’t even know, but were willing to protect.
“I’m not there.”
Kia backed farther into the living room as Theo’s gaze slid toward Macey’s porch. He couldn’t let her get dragged into this. Whatever she’d been through, it had left her in pain, and the last thing Kia wanted was his chaos bleeding into her life.
But he couldn’t leave. Those weren’t just enforcers on the porch. They were trackers, and their precision was downright terrifying.
Even if Kia used the back door to escape, they’d be on him in seconds.
His only hope was to stay hidden. Stay quiet. And pray they didn’t come knocking.
“Where are you?”
Suero demanded. “You promised to stay put, elegido .”
“Macey’s.”
Silence.
Kia checked the screen, panicked he’d lost the call. Then came the sound. A heavy breath followed by a sharp curse.
“We’re on our way,”
Suero snapped. “Lock it down, Kia. Keep yourself and Macey safe.”
His heart hammered so hard it hurt. Kia heard it, that shift in Suero’s voice when he said “Macey.”
He cared deeply about her. And now Kia had to say the one thing that might break him.
“She’s stuck outside,”
he whispered. “Still on the swing. I can’t get her inside without them seeing me.”
“I’m on my fucking way,”
Suero growled, his voice a low, menacing rumble. “If anything happens to either of you, Xavier won’t see me coming.”
Tears welled up in Kia’s eyes, the thought of his uncle or his mate getting hurt was unbearable. They were both only trying to protect him.
Regardless of whether Xavier would listen, Kia had to try and reason with him.
The phone slipped from his trembling fingers, hitting the floor with a sharp clatter.
His breath came in short, shallow bursts, his heart pounding frantically as he watched Theo descend Santiago’s porch steps and head in his direction.