Chapter 11 #2
I didn’t wait for anyone to get in with me before firing my vehicle up.
I did a quick U-turn. The headlights in my rearview mirror reassured me that Kellen was close behind.
Our XVs had twin V10 engines, but my heart was still in my throat.
If anything happened to Breezy before I could get to her, I didn’t think I could live. Correction, I didn’t want to live.
“Breezy, where are you?” When no immediate answer met my question, my wolf howled, fingers clenched on the steering wheel.
“Xan, I’m fine. Well, running, but I’m somewhat safe. My mother was at the club. I heard her. I’ll never forget the sound of her enraged growls. It was her.” The true fear in my mate’s words made me wish I were there to hold her. I never should have left her.
“Where exactly are you, Bella?” The compound where the rogues had taken up residence was almost sixty miles away, but I figured I could make it back to the club within forty minutes or less.
Fuck the police if they thought I was going to obey their speed limits.
At this hour of the night, or morning if you were being technical, there weren’t many cars on the road.
“I took off running from the club. I know I should have stayed within, but I thought if I left, then they’d leave everyone else alone. I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked.
When I got my hands on her fine ass, I’d paddle her good.
First, I needed to get to her. “Which direction did you take?” Gods, I hoped she hadn’t run in the opposite direction.
That would give the enemy even more leeway to track her, and me even less chance of finding her first. I ground my teeth. At this rate, I’d have no back molars.
“I’m running toward the moon. I felt like that was the direction you were in.” Exhaustion dragged at her tone.
“Good girl. Last question, but I need you to keep our connection open. How long have you been running?” Her answer would give me a better idea of how far she’d gotten.
“Fifteen minutes or so. I’d say I’ve covered at least that many miles. My wolf isn’t happy with me.”
Yeah, I just bet they were both beyond exhausted.
However, that meant I was less than fifteen to twenty miles away from her.
If my foot could pound the pedal through the floor, then it would.
“Head toward the highway, staying hidden in the woods until I get to you. Zigzag your route as much as possible. I know I don’t have to tell you to keep alert for both humans and wolves, but my instincts are screaming at me.
I love you to the moon and back, Breezy.
Without you on this earth, my life would be worthless.
Stay safe for me, or there would be no reason for me to go on. ”
“Damn you, Xan Carmichael. You’re gonna make me cry in my wolf form. Next time you say something so romantic, make sure we are together and human.”
“It’s a deal, only I’m going to make sure we are naked, and I’m buried balls deep inside you,” I growled.
“I’m holding you to that one.”
After relaying the conversation to Kellen, I kept my mind open with Breezy.
When I judged the spot we would be close to, I noticed a van parked alongside the road.
The same type of vehicle that had been at the club and at the compound we’d just overtook.
Without pausing to think, I turned the wheel, aiming straight for the side.
“Kellen, I hope you got my back, bro. I’m pretty sure I’m about to ram a van full of either equipment from our enemies or possible enemies.
My rig is gonna take it out, then I’m going hunting.
” I didn’t wait for Kellen to give me permission, knowing the XV would plow through the van like a wrecking ball.
The sound of my engine would be heard through their interior, but they’d not have enough time to do more than piss themselves. The thought brought a grin to my lips.
My vehicle jumped the curb, crashing into it, sending the lighter vehicle tumbling onto its side.
My rig didn’t sustain any significant damage, except maybe a little paint scraping.
I heard the groans of the injured from the wrecked vehicle, and was aware Kellen’s vehicle, filled with his pack, had already pulled up behind me.
As I opened my door, I’d already begun shifting, tearing at my clothes.
I swung my head at the open door to see a man stumble out, blood dripping down his temple. The stench of human wafted off him. “Where is your alpha?” I looked the young man up and down, noticing his odd military outfit and close-cropped hair.
“You’re too late, mutt.” The man wobbled and fell to his knees.
I leaped the distance between us. “What do you mean?” I gripped the young man by the throat.
The man swallowed audibly. “She went after the one we were sent to track. She took Blake with her. If the alpha doesn’t kill her, Blake will.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I snapped my teeth, letting the human know I wasn’t making idle threats.
“She was planning to kill us all.” He waved his hand at the vehicle.
Kellen stepped out with another human by the throat. “Seems they found a bomb in the interior set to blow them up. Damn, mercenary bitch was going to kill these human men.”
I dropped the man I was holding. “I’m going after my mate.”
“Wait. They’re tracking her with this.” Kellen’s prisoner held a small device, a red blinking dot moving rapidly. “The red one is your wolf, and the blue ones are the alpha and Blake.”
I grabbed the device, studied the locations, and wanted to roar in fury. I didn’t understand how they knew where Breezy was. My wolf growled with the need to be let off its tether.
“Go, I’ll secure them in my rig and follow you. Go, now.” Kellen glared at the men cowering on the ground.
In a blink, I became the large blond wolf, racing toward my mate. Breezy’s mama may think she’s an alpha, but she’d never met me, nor had she fucked with my mate before. I wanted to howl, let them know I was coming, then decided stealth was the wiser option.
“Breezy, they are tracking you. Are you safe?”
My life flashed before my eyes while I waited, but only seconds passed before she answered.
“I’m fine. I may have only been a child when my mother left, but I learned early how to avoid her.
She was not as stealthy as she liked to believe.
Yes, she beat me to ribbons, but only because I was a kid.
I didn’t hide from her. I’m not a seven-year-old now.
At twenty-seven, I’ve learned a few things as well,” she snarled.
I wanted to applaud her bravery, but she didn’t know what her mother had become.
None of us truly knew. Plus, Sandy Mattice wasn’t alone.
The man named Blake was clearly not just a wolf.
He was someone the alpha bitch entrusted with doing her dirty work.
“Your mother isn’t alone. She has a wolf who, more than likely, has no problem doing whatever is asked of him.
Do you understand what I’m saying, Bella? ”
Through our connection, I could feel her anxiety. I hated to scare her, but that could keep her alive. “Yeah. Meaning, she brought someone who she will take great pleasure in watching hurt me, or worse.”
It was what the worst could mean that we both knew would be something Breezy would want to die before.
No woman wanted to be raped, beaten, and repeated.
Sandy Mattice would rejoice at the prospect of doing just that to her daughter.
The person a mother should love above all others, but Sandy wasn’t like most. She hated her Breezy more than any other and always had.
“I am close, love. I feel it. Are you near the ravine?” I kept my tone soothing.
“Yes. I can hear the water. Up ahead, I see the small cabin that had been used long ago by hunters. The one Kellen said he was going to make his Smoosh House.” Humor laced her words.
Doing a quick scan and breathing deeply, I pushed my wolf faster. Only minutes separated us. “Go to the cabin. I’m right behind you.”
I felt her love surrounding me through our link. Gods, but I loved her. I wanted to spend the rest of our lives showing her just how much, in every imaginable way possible. Of course, I’d have to paddle her ass for scaring the shit out of me.
My wolf came to an abrupt halt, the large wolf staring at me through black eyes snarled. The fact that I hadn’t smelled him before he was almost upon me gave me pause.
I bared my fangs. We’d figure out how the others had masked their natural smells later. Now, I’d get to killing.
The other wolf dug his hind legs into the dirt below him, a telltale sign, one I would never make in battle.
Dark blond fur jumped, black claws and fangs aimed right for my throat.
At the last moment, I rolled away, coming up on all fours, and counterattacked.
The other wolf wasn’t as quick to land in the loose leaves and dirt, making it easy for my own claws to rake across the exposed underbelly.
I heard the satisfying cry of the wolf, turning to make another swipe or bite at any available part of him. I was shocked to find it bearing down on me. I twisted, barely missing the large fangs, aiming for my throat.
The need to have the other man’s blood coating my throat consumed me. My world narrowed to ripping Blake limb from limb, before I’d ever allow him to touch what was mine.
The other wolf’s lips seemed to quirk into a sneer. His haunches bunched, preparing to attack again. Powerful jaws chomped down on my side, and I howled in pain, but I shrugged him off, striking out with a vicious twist and the need to get to my mate.
I broke away from the wolf, clamped down on the exposed neck, and with one bite, ended the battle.
Dark blood, thick like a river, poured out of the wound.
I kept hold until the last bit of life reflected back at me, seeing the hate that had been bred in the other being go out like a lightbulb.
As I released him, I wanted to wash my mouth out.
I’d never relished the taste of killing another wolf. However, I wouldn’t regret this one.
“I’m coming, Breezy.”
The silence that met my announcement ate at me.
The minutes I’d spent fighting seemed like an eternity, and I wondered if Breezy’s mother had caught up with her.
Our link was still there. I knew in my heart she was alive.
Now, I needed to reach her before the woman who birthed her changed that fact.