Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kip
I clenched my fists so tightly, the nails threatened to slice through the skin.
“Are you sure?” I ground out.
Mase nodded. “It’s definitely Alpha Donnelly’s scent.” He held the garment to his nose again and took a whiff. “And it has my blood on it too.”
He sounded so certain, even if his words were laced with a tinge of fear.
That was all I needed.
This has to end, one way or another. I wouldn’t have Mason terrified while living in his own house.
“Stay with him,” I told the guard as I headed for the door. “I’ll be back.”
“Kip!” Mason called after me, but I was already halfway to my truck.
Donnelly had attacked Mase, then left him bloody and near death. There was no way I would allow that fucker to get anywhere near Mase ever again.
Even doing eighty, the trip took about twenty minutes. That was more than enough time for me to work up a full head of steam. My thoughts were bloody and I had no intention of reining them in. As soon as I screeched to a stop, six men approached the truck.
I got out and faced them.
“I’m here to see Donnelly,” I growled.
“He’s unavailable.” One of the men stood tall, thick arms crossed over his barrel chest.
I smiled. “I wasn’t asking. He’s going to see me, whether he wants to or not.”
I continued forward. When the first man threw himself at me, I smashed him in the face with my fist. He went down like a ton of bricks.
As soon as his head bounced off the pavement, the rest came at me.
They managed to tag me a few times, but I kept dodging, evading any real damage, while still being able to hit them.
When I finished, they were laid out before me, leaving nothing between me and Donnelly.
I strode up to the door, growing angrier with every step I took.
Kip almost died, thanks to him. And this bastard continues living in the lap of luxury.
I reached the top of the stairs, puffing like a bull, and smashed my foot into the door, breaking it open. People inside scattered as I entered, their cries bouncing off the ornate walls. I didn’t give a shit about them.
I was only there for one person.
“Donnelly!” My shout echoed in the cavernous space.
He stepped out of a door near the end of the hallway. “Why are you here? And what the hell are you doing, smashing up my house?”
“You know why, you fucker!” I screamed, rushing down the hall toward him.
Like a true Alpha, he changed forms almost instantly, and suddenly I was faced with an eight-foot-tall werewolf with jet black hair and razor-sharp claws.
We collided in the middle of the corridor.
I slammed my hands into his chest, knocking him back, ass over teakettle.
When he came to a stop, he growled, and it sent a shiver skittering up my spine, but I wouldn’t be deterred.
He got up, his eyes narrowed, and rushed forward again.
His claws grazed my chest, and I could feel the warmth oozing out, staining my shirt.
All that did was fuel my anger.
We came to blows once more, and this time I made sure it was him who got knocked back, sprawled on the floor. I wasn’t about to give him the chance to get up. I leaped on him and smashed my fist into his face over and over.
“You lousy fucker! You nearly killed Mason! Why? What did he ever do to you?”
“Kip! Don’t do this!” Mason’s voice rocketed through me, and for a second, I faltered. I looked over my shoulder. Mason stood there, Donald beside him, his arms around Mase as if he was keeping him from moving to me.
“Stay back, Mase.”
Terror filled me when I thought about how close I’d come to losing Mason.
And I couldn’t protect him.
The least I could do was dispatch the man who’d done this to him.
“Kip, please stop,” Mason pleaded. “I need you to think and not run on emotions.”
I looked at the bloodied wolf beneath me, his eyes swelling, a pool of red forming under him. Half of me wanted to finish the job, to rip him apart with my bare hands, while the other half urged me to listen to Mason.
Which meant there was only one real option.
I got up and glared down at Donnelly. “If you ever come near Mason again, I will kill you. Do you understand me?”
Donnelly’s body shuddered as he regained his human form. “Never touched Mason,” he croaked.
All that did was reignite my fury. I kicked him in the ribs, and I heard a crack.
“How can you fucking lie?” I screamed, repeatedly stomping on him. “We found your shirt there, with Mason’s blood on it.”
Donnelly’s head rolled toward me, his eyes glazed and bloodshot.
“Kip, I swear to you as the Alpha of my pack…” He coughed up blood, then raised himself onto one elbow.
“I would never harm another wolf. If you remember, I was all for the two of you getting together. Why would I try to hurt him? Please, think hard.”
His cracked, dry voice broke through the haze of my anger.
He gave us his permission, his blessing.
He was the one who got me and Mase together.
Why would he rescind them? What reason could he possibly have?
Mase wrapped his arms around me. “Kip, listen to me. Something about this doesn’t make sense.
” He paused. “Alpha Donnelly is right. He gave his blessing. We’ve heard nothing from him since then.
Why would he attack me? And another thing.
The pack scoured our yard, remember? So how come his shirt mysteriously shows up?
A shirt reeking of my blood and his scent.
” He tightened his grip on me. “Think, Kip. I told you I couldn’t smell anyone or anything in the yard.
It only started when they brought the shirt to me, so no way could it have been him. ”
Fuck.
I’d just beaten on a man who could be innocent.
I wasn’t thinking, was I? I didn’t care for the truth, I just wanted revenge for the pain and fear Mase had endured.
I stared at Alpha Donnelly, and the sight made me wince. I’d beaten the man savagely. Blood crusted his lips, and the left side of his face was severely swollen, his eyes already blackening.
I did that.
I felt no pride in protecting Mason, only overwhelming shame.
“Alpha, I—”
“Don’t apologize.” Donnelly levered himself off the floor. He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “You’re pretty goddamn strong. I can’t recall the last time I had my ass handed to me like that.”
“Please, forgive me,” I pleaded. “Beat the shit out of me or whatever, but don’t blame Mason. He’s innocent. I was—am—the idiot who came after you without thinking. Your men outside tried to stop me, and I went through them too.”
Donnelly blinked. “You beat six wolves?”
I nodded, too ashamed to speak.
“Damn strong,” he muttered again.
“I will gladly take a beating if it makes things right,” I said. “All I ask is that you allow Mase’s father to take him home so he doesn’t see it.”
“No.” Mason’s voice was like iron. “I’m not going anywhere, and you will not beat Kip. He was wrong, but it wasn’t his fault. Someone did this deliberately. I’m not sure who, but I know they set you two against each other.”
Donnelly stepped forward, his gait wobbly. He clutched his ribs and his pallor concerned me.
“You should sit down.” Mason guided him to a long, ornate bench with curved ends. I felt like crap when instead of sitting, the Alpha flopped.
Alpha Donnelly speared me with a stare. “It’s been a few decades since anyone has kicked my ass. I forgot how much it hurt, especially in werewolf form.”
My heart sank. “Again, I am so sorry, Alpha. What can I do to make things right between us?”
He touched the seat. “Sit here.”
I joined him, nausea rising inside me at the thought of what I’d done.
“You were protecting an Omega…. No, you were protecting your Omega, even if it was against someone who hadn’t done anything.
” Alpha Donnelly patted my shoulder. “Nothing could make me prouder than knowing I helped bring the two of you together. Your actions only highlight the bond the two of you have shared for many years.”
I tensed. “Wait, you knew—”
“Alpha John told me. I was surprised I didn’t see it in advance. Fortunately, he did. There was no way I could take Mason away from someone who so obviously loved him like you did.”
Knowing others saw this humbled me. And it had taken me getting my head out of my ass for me to see it too.
“I love Mason.” My voice sounded uncharacteristically soft to my own ears. “He’s my entire world, condensed into a tiny little package.”
“Hey!” Mason protested. “I’m not that small.”
Alpha Donnelly glanced at him, his lips twitching. “You are, but that’s okay. Omegas are supposed to be.”
Mason scowled, and it was adorable. Then he sobered. “So where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He sighed. “You attacked an Alpha. He could have you put to death.”
I swallowed hard, because I hadn’t given any thought beyond kicking the snot out of him. My idiocy had gotten us to this point, my absolute refusal to listen, to think rationally. I’d done some stupid things in my life, but this?
It was the worst thing I’d ever done.
Alpha Donnelly let out a sigh. “Relax. Someone orchestrated this, and I don’t blame Kip at all.
Someone hurt a pack member. Worse, they nearly killed an Omega, one of the most egregious sins there is.
They even managed to manipulate Mason into believing it was me.
In his shoes, I would probably have done the same. ”
He humbled me. I wouldn’t have been as forgiving. “Thank you, Alpha. I—”
“Oh, knock it off,” he groused. “You’re forgiven. Exonerated. Pardoned. Whatever word you wanna use, that’s what you are. Besides, hurting you would also impact Mason, and I won’t be the one to bring pain to an Omega. But….”
“But?” I asked.
“There’s a price for my good will.” He smiled at me, the swelling in his face already subsiding.
Wow, Alphas heal fast. It was nothing short of miraculous.
“Which is?”
“I need you to promise me you’ll always be there for Mason, in good times and bad. He has to have someone who will always protect him and guide him in a world that wasn’t made for him.”
“What do you mean?” My anger started to ratchet up again.
“Kip, calm down.” Mase slid his hand over my arm, and I did my best to suppress my rage. Why was it that perceived attacks on Mase pissed me off so badly?
Because he’s yours, idiot. You’ve always watched out for him, but once the two of you kissed? Yeah, then everything became about protecting him, keeping him safe.
That made perfect sense. My annoyance at others who had denigrated him, who tried to get him to do their work, who treated him as though he wasn’t good enough for them, had always bugged me. Mase was better than all of them, and he should never have been looked down on, Omega or not.
“He’s mine,” I declared. “I will never allow anyone to hurt him as long as I can stop it.”
Alpha Donnelly smiled. “That’s all I could ever ask for. Mason is a treasure, and deserves to be treated as such. John is a lucky son of a bitch to have someone like Mason in his pack.” He gave me a warm smile. “And someone like you.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” I said with all the sincerity I could muster.
“Think nothing of it. Anyone who can hand me my ass like you just did? I want to stay on your good side.” He winked. “You’re strong, kid, and one thing wolves appreciate is strength.”
Maybe that was my in to discuss my secret with Mase.
I hoped.
Mason
After apologizing again to Alpha Donnelly, Kip said he’d take me home. We thanked my father for bringing me to head off more violence.
“Always,” he said, then hugged us both. He locked gazes with Kip. “Thank you for standing up for him.”
Kip smiled. “To quote you, Always.” Then we got into the truck and headed home.
Kip was mostly silent all the way there, giving monosyllabic answers if I asked him something. He was embarrassed, that was easy to see. The tips of his ears were still scarlet.
“I fucked up,” he finally said as we turned onto our street.
“You did,” I agreed, “but it wasn’t without a reason.”
“I’m sorry.”
I turned in my seat and put a hand on his arm. “Hey, don’t. He’s forgiven you, and I was never angry. Worried, yes. Angry? No, not at all.”
Kip blinked. “How could you not be?”
“Because I had faith in you. I knew you might get into a fight with him, but I also knew you wouldn’t kill him.”
He sighed. “I wanted to. You don’t know how badly.” He met my gaze. “When I heard your panicked voice over the phone? I remembered you in the hospital, not knowing if you were going to live or die. I remembered the vow I made to keep you safe, and all I could see was my failure to do that.”
“You haven’t failed,” I insisted. “You can’t guard me twenty-four hours a day.”
He smirked. “I’d like to. Then I can get laid whenever I want.”
He was playing it off, but I could hear the tension in his voice. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked knowing he was worried for me. Not for the first time, it felt good to know that after all the years I spent being ‘The Omega’, I was important to someone because he loved me.
“You can get laid anytime,” I said, trying to sound flirty. “Just ask me to bend over, yank my pants down, and slide on inside of me.”
He groaned. “Dude, you’re killing me here.” He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “When we get home, do you think… I mean, would you….?”
“Blow you? Let you fuck me? The answer is yes to all of those, and you know that.”
“I need a reminder that we’re both safe and still alive.”
“And if pushing your big dick into my ass helps with that, I’m all for it.” I snickered. “I’m all for it anyway.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I love you. I hope you realize that.”
Something in his voice tripped my internal alarms. “What’s going on?”
“This is the second time someone has attacked you in our home. I don’t think it’s safe for us to be there anymore.”
He had a point. Plus, I wasn’t keen on smelling the blood when I walked into the house.
“How about if we go to the motel for the night? We’ll fuck and get some sleep, then get up and fuck again.”
“That sounds perfect.” He turned down Main Street to head for The Dew Drop Inn, our local motel.
I admit, I was as nervous as he was. Someone wanted me gone, but who? And why?