Chapter 28
In wolf form, Koe ran the perimeter of his territory, hoping and praying that Bragga and his Biters chose now to make an appearance.
Under the guise of searching for enemies, he’d run to the furthest reaches of his territory in order to be as far from the pack compound as possible.
He’d needed an outlet for the emotions plaguing him, but now he was panicking.
Hiro and Cyrus had come to the compound to give him an update on their shifts, and Koe had given them an assignment, opting to take their next patrol.
Now, away from the main house, all he could think about was Jury.
Guilt was riding him hard, even though he knew neither Cyrus nor Hiro would hurt her, but still, had he gone too far?
No. It had to be done. For the good of his pack.
He had to know for certain before he went all in on her.
Slowing to a walk, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the manor.
He wondered how it was going. He wondered if Cyrus and Hiro had fully understood his directive.
“Get intel but do no harm. We need answers, no matter the cost.” Now, he was worried about adding that last part.
Why had he added it? It was contradictory to his ‘do no harm’ dictate.
It would be confusing to his Enforcers because, when he replayed it to himself, it made no sense.
Why had he even said ‘do no harm’. He should have said, ‘don’t fucking touch her’.
Why hadn’t he told them to keep their fucking hands off her?
Worry gnawing at his gut, he turned and started jogging back to the manor. His jog turned into a run, images of Jury racing through his mind. Then he was in a full-on sprint, deciding along the way that he’d fucked up.
You fucking idiot! What have I done? What have I done?!
Cresting a rise, the manor came into view. The second he saw it, his heart started hammering harder, his gut clenching with the awareness that something was wrong. Something was wrong with Jury.
Ffffuck! If they hurt her…
But he couldn’t blame Cyrus or Hiro. He’d given the order. The blame lay with him.
As he reached the manor, he shifted back to human form. Throwing the door open, he raced inside and didn’t have to go in search of Jury. He felt her the second he stepped inside.
In a blink, he was at the door that led to the lower-level cells he’d initially put Jury in.
The second he yanked the soundproof door opened, the sound of Jury screaming, and the scent of her tears slammed into him like a Mack truck.
Rushing down the stairs, his insides twisted with fear, regret, and rage.
The rage took fore as fur rippled over his skin, his claws and incisors extending as his wolf lunged for the surface.
Koe held him back, barely. Feet pounding down the stairs, he raced toward the cell.
Hiro turned to face him from the doorway of the cell, hands held up as he said, “Koe, she’s alright. We didn’t…”
That was as far as he got before Koe fisted his shirt with both hands and threw him aside so hard, he hit the far wall and dented the drywall.
Inside the cell, Cyrus was standing over Jury where she sat on the cot.
Closer now, it wasn’t just her tears Koe smelled but her agony as well.
She was hurt, and that sent him over the edge.
Cyrus’s head whipped up just as Koe reached him.
He only managed to rush out, “Koe, she’s okay.
” before Koe had him ripped backward and shoved up against a wall, his hand wrapped around Cyrus’s throat and choking him.
“Koe! Stop!” Jury cried.
But Koe didn’t hear her for the rage pounding in his ears. His hand tightened on Cyrus’s throat as the Enforcer struggled to be released.
Hiro staggered into the doorway and roared, “Alpha, stop! We didn’t hurt her!”
Then Jury was on him, her hands wrapping around his shoulder and yanking on him as she pleaded, “Koe! Please! They didn’t hurt me, it’s not what you think!”
Koe released Cyrus, who staggered forward, gasping for air. Turning to Jury, Koe gripped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length, eyes roving her body, searching for injury.
Tear-soaked face, angled up, Jury quaked, “They didn’t hurt me. Not intentionally. It just… It hurt when they touched me. I don’t know why. They weren’t rough.”
Jury’s words had Koe’s scowl slipping as her words registered.
It hurt to be touched? That was typical of she-wolves who’d claimed a mate but hadn’t been marked or fully mated.
If possible, Koe’s heart started beating harder with the warring of both hope and fear.
Had her wolf attached itself to Koe, or was there someone else?
Had he fucked up by trying to keep his distance from her?
And if she had chosen someone else, then who?
Head snapping toward Hiro, Koe growled low and threateningly.
Cyrus’s touch had hurt Jury, so it couldn’t be him. Was she attached to Hiro?
Hiro held up his hands and shook his head. “I didn’t touch her, Alpha.”
Jury reached up and cupped his jaw, forcing his face back to her.
Releasing his jaw, she reached down and grabbed one of his wrists and pulled his hand from her shoulder.
Grabbing his hand, she lifted it to her face and pressed her cheek into his palm before breathing, “Can you touch me? I feel like it’ll make the pain stop. ”
Holy shit! Heart seizing, Koe was certain that Jury didn’t know what she’d just confessed. And desperate as he was to know, he was terrified about it not working. Still, he lifted his other hand to cradle Jury’s face, his thumbs smoothing over her cheeks.
Instantly, Jury’s eyes fluttered closed, a relieved sigh leaving her as her tense shoulders slumped.
Her wolf had chosen him. She was his!
Bending, he pressed his lips to her forehead. Jury shuddered and pleaded, “More.”
Angling his head to the side, Koe snarled, “Out!”
Hiro and Cyrus hurried from the cell as Koe pulled back to rip his shirt over his head. He was shocked when Jury did the same. Shedding her turtleneck, she stood before him in just her ribbed, black t-shirt. Koe pulled her to him, her warm skin pressing into his as he rubbed her back and arms.
Jury sighed contentedly, melting against him. “I knew this would make me feel better.” Pulling back, she pointed to a spot on her wrist. “I tripped, and he caught me here, and it felt like I was being electrocuted.”
Koe frowned at the spot and then grabbed her hand and massaged her wrist.
“That feels so good,” she sighed. “As soon as you touched me, the pain lessened, but you rubbing over the spot has made the pain disappear.” She looked up at him in confusion. “It’s just gone.” Brows shooting up, she rushed out, “I didn’t make it up, I swear.”
Koe kept rubbing her wrist and shook his head. “I know you didn’t.”
Glancing around the cell Jury said, “I still don’t even know why they asked me to come down here. They didn’t even get a chance to explain.”
Desperately, he wanted to tell her that Hiro and Cyrus had acted on their own, that he had no part in what had just happened to her. But he was a good Alpha, and good Alphas didn’t hide behind their pack, especially not when the decision had been his.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Jury,” he pulled her into him, crushing her against his body as he rocked her back and forth.
Jury rested against his chest, holding onto him with a grip that said she was afraid to let go.
“It was me, Jury,” he admitted shamefully.
Jury tensed.
“For the sake of my pack, I had to know if…” He swallowed hard around the lump of regret in his throat.
Jury’s body was rigid only a moment longer before she went lax against him. Pressing her forehead against his chest, she whispered, “I get it. I don’t blame you. I would have hurt me too.”
Her words had him tilting his face upward as he pinched his eyes closed. He swallowed hard against the guilt that threatened to choke him. What the fuck had he done?
Jury gently palmed the side of Koe’s face and pulled his head down.
Opening his eyes and looking at her, he hated himself so fucking much.
“It’s okay.” She offered him a shaky smile that didn’t quite pan out. “I’m okay. I…it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
It didn’t matter, though. In his estimation, the damage had already been done. How could she ever trust him after this? She wouldn’t.
“Koe,” she sobered and pulled back slightly. “Stop!” she demanded, brows spearing down as her chin trembled. “I can scent your turmoil, and I don’t want to be the source of it. You have every right to safeguard your pack.”
And fuck, watching her trying to be strong to assuage his guilt was so many damn things.
It was gracious in a way he’d never experienced; it was strong in a way he’d never known a woman could be, and most importantly, it was Alpha female.
It was the mark of a good leader, a sign of someone who could not only stand at his side, but who could battle this big, bad world with him while putting her comfort aside for the good of their pack.
Shaking his head sadly, he squeezed her hip and pleaded, “Please, let me make this up to you. I can fix this, Jury.”
He knew he was begging, and he didn’t care. He was done thinking ill of her. If his touch soothed her when another male touched her, then her wolf had chosen him. A Biter plant wouldn’t have done that.
“There’s nothing to fix, Koe.” Jury pulled her hand from where it rested against his jaw, the sudden loss of her warmth bothering him in ways he couldn’t explain.
“You had to make sure,” she soothed, looking down. “You had to keep your pack safe. You did what had to be done. I’m just an outsider. Any good Alpha would have done the same.”
Her words were a punch to the gut and not just because she was trying to pacify him after what he’d just had done to her, but because she understood his thinking and accepted it.