Chapter Eleven
T urning onto the main street in Blackthorn, Suero opened his throttle, shooting past his packmates, driven by a burning need to protect Kia and Macey.
The terror in Kia’s voice had been a dagger to Suero’s heart.
Barely thirty minutes had passed since he’d left his elegido , and Xavier’s lackeys were already at the door? A spy lurked among them—Suero was sure of it. How else would the enforcers know Kia’s location?
If Suero found out who the spy was, he would gut them as a stark warning to anyone with ill intentions toward their pack.
Fury surged through his veins at Xavier pulling this bullshit on his own nephew. Decisions made in the heat of the moment were reckless, and Xavier had just lit the fuse to spark a war.
Diablo matched his pace, his bike thundering alongside Suero’s as they weaved through traffic, devouring the road.
The Bluetooth in his ear buzzed. He tapped it on with a quick flick. “What?”
“Cops on your six,”
Miguel said.
“Can you get ’em off me?”
he asked, narrowly dodging a collision with a box truck. The driver yelled and flipped him off, but Suero ignored him.
“We’re already on it.”
Miguel hung up.
Suero glanced in his rearview mirrors, catching a glimpse of the flashing red and blue lights behind him. He couldn't afford to slow down, not with Kia and Macey in danger. His wolf snarled, desperate to let loose. If those cheetahs laid a finger on either of them, Suero would unleash a bloodbath unlike anything Blackthorn had ever seen.
A motorcycle shot past him on the right. Cesar. He nodded at Suero before swerving in front of one of the cop cars, cutting it off. The officer slammed on his brakes, tires screeching as the vehicle fishtailed.
Miguel flanked the second cop car, boxing it in and forcing it to a crawl. Suero hunched over his handlebars, opened his throttle fully, and rocketed ahead, leaving his brothers to deal with the deputies.
The wail of sirens began to fade behind him as Cesar’s and Miguel’s diversions worked.
Suero sped past a minivan and cut a sharp left, his bike almost horizontal as he took the turn. He straightened and hit the gas, flying down the residential street to Macey’s, Diablo still keeping pace.
So close. Hang on, Kia. I’m almost there.
As he rounded the corner onto his street, a low growl rumbled in his chest. One of the cheetahs—a dark-haired guy with a tattoo on his neck—was already on Macey’s porch, a twisted smirk on his face as he reached for the screen door. The other cheetah—sandy blond hair, green eyes—was posted at the bottom of the steps, hands clasped in front of him, like he was a security guard.
Suero didn’t slow down. At the last second, he wrenched the handlebars right, jumping the curb and skidding sideways across the lawn.
The cheetahs whipped around at the sound, eyes wide.
He kicked the bike stand down and vaulted off, landing in a predatory crouch. Rising slowly, he fixed them with a lethal glare.
“Touch that door and I’ll break every bone in your fucking hands, pendejo ,”
he snarled.
“This is none of your business, wolf.”
Macey’s gaze shot from the enforcer to Suero’s, eyes wide. Suero couldn’t worry about her finding out. Not when he had to get the cheetah off the porch.
“The hell it isn’t.”
Suero stalked forward. “You’re on our territory. And you’re threatening my mate.”
Diablo walked past them, trotting up the steps. The enforcer on the porch snarled, his body coiling.
“Chill out, asshole. I’m here for the lady.”
He curled his lip, snarling. “Try to stop me, you’ll hit the ground before you even realize you’re dead.”
Diablo turned to Macey. “Do you mind if I pick you up? Gonna take you to Santiago’s house.”
She shook her head, her gaze darting between everyone.
Diablo bent and gently lifted Macey from the swing, cradling her small frame in his beefy, inked arms. “Having fun yet, hermosa ?”
She curled her arms around his neck, eyes still wide. “Loads. Where’s Percy?”
“Safe.”
Diablo smiled warmly at her. “If I get rid of these jerks, will you bake me some cookies?”
He started down the steps, ignoring the cheetahs like they weren’t even there. “I love oatmeal raisin.”
The enforcer on the porch followed, but stopped, as if Diablo’s immense size gave him pause.
“Help Kia,”
she whispered, “and I’ll bake you whatever you want.”
Diablo’s grin widened, but Suero saw the simmering rage behind their dark depths. “Do not say that, Percy’s mom. You’ll never get rid of me if you feed me a home-cooked meal.”
He strode past Suero, and Macey glanced at him, but Diablo kept going, climbing Santiago’s steps.
As soon as he carried her inside, Suero grabbed the dark-haired man by the throat and slammed him back against the side of the house hard enough to rattle the windows. “You picked the wrong fucking day,”
he growled, his voice rough and feral. He could feel his wolf rising, the urge to tear into the man nearly overwhelming.
The enforcer knocked Suero’s hands away, but Suero slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. They grappled, rolling across the grass, trading vicious blows. The cheetah managed to get a knee into Suero’s gut, momentarily stunning him. In that split second, the enforcer scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the porch steps.
Toward Kia.
A red haze descended over Suero’s vision. With a guttural snarl, he launched himself at the cheetah, tackling him from behind. They crashed into the step railing in a hail of splintered wood and feral growls.
“Kia is mine, puto !”
Suero snarled as they slammed onto the walkway, locked in a deadly struggle.
The guy clawed at Suero’s hand, which was wrapped around his throat, choking him. “You just signed... your own death warrant... mutt.”
“No.”
Suero squeezed harder, his claws digging into his flesh. “You did, the second you threatened my family.”
Motorcycles roared up the street and skidded to a halt, tires screeching. The cheetah flipped and sprang to his feet, then crouched. “We’re here to bring Kia home safely.”
“You’re not taking my mate anywhere.”
Suero surged to his feet, canines bared.
The enforcer’s eyes widened a fraction. “Mate? That’s not possible. Kia would never—”
“Think very carefully before you finish that sentence,”
Suero snarled. “Because the next words out of your mouth could be your last.”
The guy laughed, cold and mocking. “Big words from a filthy wolf. You think your little pack scares us?”
“It should.”
The deep, authoritative voice came from behind Suero.
Matias.
His alpha strode forward, power emanating from him. He pinned the enforcer with a lethal glare. “Because if you spill blood on my land, I’ll paint this town red with cheetah entrails.”
The enforcer, bold as fucking brass, sneered and rolled his shoulders. “We have orders. Kia and Jared are coming with us.”
“Like hell they are.”
Suero took a step forward, his claws unsheathing. “Kia is here of his own free will. No one forced him.”
Matias held up a hand, stopping Suero, then addressed the cheetah. “Let me make something very clear.”
His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “Leave.”
The cheetah’s gaze lowered for a heartbeat before flicking back up. Then the corner of his mouth began to curl, slow and tight, like he was chewing on amusement and didn’t mind the bitter taste. “Make me.”
Matias’s hand shot out like a striking snake, claws sinking into soft flesh. His eyes glowed amber, like the brimstone fires of hell. The enforcer’s body went slack, crumpling as Matias released him.
Suero glanced at the other cheetah. “Suicidal?”
“Not today.”
The guy was relaxed, leaning against the house, arms crossed, appearing bored. “Got any good places around here to eat?”
“Sully?”
Santiago stepped forward. “You’re a bouncer and an enforcer?”
Sully grinned, as if genuinely happy to see Santiago. Until he opened his mouth. “Multitalented. Percy ditch you yet? Haven’t seen him at the club. Miss his sass.”
Santiago snarled, his eyes slightly glowing. “You know damn well Percy is my mate, jackass.”
“Xavier send you?”
Matias turned to Sully, and all humor fled the cheetah’s face. He didn’t cower, but it was clear he understood the gravity of the situation.
“He just wants his nephews. They vanished, wouldn’t answer their phones or reply to any texts. If they were your nephews, wouldn’t you risk war to have them returned home safely?”
He turned to Suero. “Kia really your chosen one?”
“Yes,”
Suero said with low snarl. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Hands up, palms out, Sully shook his head. “Then my job here is done. Seriously, any good food joints around here? I’m starving.”
Kia crept onto the porch, his gaze lowering to the dead body on the grass before it shot to Suero. In three strides, Suero reached the steps, climbing them before pulling his mate into his arms, relieved he hadn’t been hurt.
“Hey, kiddo,”
Sully said from the side of the porch. “Just need verbal confirmation you’re mated to his hairy ass.”
Suero was seriously going to gut the guy.
Kia eased back and glanced at Sully, eyes narrowed, shoulders rigid. “Suero is my mate.”
Fuck, he loved hearing his kitty cat say that out loud and claiming him publicly. Pride swelled in him, his wolf softly growling at his mate’s cheetah like it wanted to play.
“Call your uncle,”
Sully said, starting away, only for pack members to block him from leaving. A brotherhood standing shoulder-to-shoulder, fierce growls, unwavering loyalty.
Sully turned to face Matias. “I’m gonna give you the honest truth, but if you repeat it, I’ll deny I ever said it. I’m loyal to my alpha and would lay down my life for him. That being said, I wasn’t here to drag Kia home. I came to stop Theo from killing him.”
Suero tightened his arms around his mate. “Xavier sent his enforcers to kill his nephew?”
“No.”
Kia shook his head, staring at Sully as he moistened his lips with his tongue. “Theo was jealous of my relationship with my uncle.”
“You out of the way,”
Sully said, “Theo would have Xavier all to himself.”
“That’s just fucked up.”
Santiago shook his head, other pack members murmuring their agreement.
“Can I leave, or should I call my grandma and tell her I won’t be stopping by Sunday for dinner?”
Sully glanced at Matias as if resigned to his fate. The cheetah could try to fight, but he was facing down a pack of wolves and a lethal alpha. He wasn’t living through this moment if Matias decided to kill him.
The alpha gave a single nod, and the pack parted. “Find someplace in Riverside to eat,”
Matias said, voice even.
“Warning received.”
Sully gave a two-finger salute before walking away and disappearing down the street.
Matias turned to Suero. “I’ll call Xavier, but your mate needs to contact his uncle.”
With that, the men gathered around the dead cheetah, forming a barrier from prying eyes. A truck backed into Macey’s driveway. Two men slid Theo’s body into the back, then Tomas pulled away as Santiago grabbed the hose from the side of the house and washed the grass of blood.
Since Macey’s house was positioned away from the road and Santiago’s house was angled beside it, Suero was quite certain that no one had witnessed what Matias had done. Thankfully, the house on the other side of Macey’s was vacant, which further ensured privacy.
Not long after, the men cleared out, their motorcycles roaring as they rode off, the noise gradually diminishing. The porch was quiet now, just a light breeze rustling through the trees and the soft creak of the swing behind them. “How’re you holding up, gatito ?”
“I finally stood up for myself,”
he said, a small triumph edging the words. When he looked up at Suero, the curve of his lips as he smiled, it was like witnessing the first fiery streaks of dawn igniting the sky.
“So proud of you, carino. ”
With a low, possessive growl, Suero cupped his mate’s face, his thumbs caressing warm skin while brushing his lips over Kia’s. Then he claimed his mate’s lips, softly, reverently—making sure his kitten knew exactly what he meant to him. The world faded away.
It was just Kia’s soft purrs, his fingers curling into Suero’s shirt, pulling him close like his elegido was afraid he would vanish. Kia tasted like safety, like home, like every pounding beat of Suero’s heart.
He was astonished by the depth of love he felt for his gatito . He never imagined he would see Kia again, but he’d risked everything to find Suero.
No more running.
No more fear.
Just the two of them, living life on their terms and savoring every moment together.
Kia was his, and Suero would never let him go.