Page 27

Chapter Fifteen

Sutton

“Something you want to tell me?” Magnolia asked, looking over her shoulder as we rushed into the warehouse and were instantly hit by the sounds of a bloodthirsty crowd.

Jagger had trailed the ambulance on his bike all night. He hadn’t approached, but he’d been there, watching from a distance.

“Nope,” I said and pushed my way through a group of shifters. “If he wants to behave like a big stalker, that’s up to him.”

Mags huffed a laugh. “Seems to be the hounds’ MO.”

“What? Follow a female around until they finally give in?”

“Yep,” she said, shoving, then scowling up at a male who’d stepped on her foot. “You close to giving in yet?” she asked, grinning.

“I’ll never give in.”

“Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Oh shit,” she said, her eyes widening when we finally made it to the cage.

A call had come in a short time ago for someone who’d been badly hurt, and we finally got a look at our patient.

A young wolf shifter lay in the cage. He’d tried to shift, to help his healing, but he was too badly injured to make the shift.

He lay there screaming, a horrifying mix of skin and fur, of animal and human limbs.

And standing off to the side was Poe, a nasty smirk on his face and hands covered in blood.

He’d done this. Fucking bastard. His gaze slid to me, and his eyes were bright with glee as he bounced on the balls of his feet, energized by the damage he’d caused.

He winked.

I quickly looked away, and Mags and I got to work.

“You’re going to be okay,” I said and pulled out one of my new healing elixirs. I held the back of his head. “You need to drink this. It’ll numb the pain long enough to finish your shift, okay?”

He groaned but nodded.

“What the fuck are you giving him, demon?” one of the wolves snarled at me from the sidelines. “Don’t touch him with your dirty fucking demon hands.” He was one of the wolves who’d thrown me in that van that night.

Magnolia shot to her feet. “What did you just say?”

He immediately realized who she was and flinched.

Magnolia was not only his alpha’s sister-in-law, she was also mated to a crow, one of the deadliest beings you could encounter.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she bit out.

“Now sit down, asshole, and shut the fuck up so we can save your pack mate’s life. ”

His jaw was tight, but he dipped his head and quickly looked down.

“That’s it,” I said to the young wolf. “Drink it all.”

He finished, and a second later, he literally sighed in relief a moment before he finished his shift. His wolf lay on his side panting, and I held my hand above him, running it over his trembling body while I spelled, forcing my magic inside him to start his healing.

“Nice work,” Mags said. “Your elixir, that’s some good stuff. You want to trade recipes? I have a kickass balm.”

I smiled up at her. “Thanks, and yeah, that’d be cool.”

She waved the wolves in, and they lifted the drowsy wolf.

“Take him home, he needs lots of rest, but bring him into the clinic if you’re worried.”

The wolf jerked up his chin and they left.

“No worries, asshole, you’re totally welcome,” she muttered behind his back.

I gathered my supplies, and we got out of the cage so they could hose away the blood.

“Idiots,” Mags said.

“Complete morons. So, I take it Bram doesn’t fight? I’ve seen crows here before.”

“That’ll be his brothers. They like to come here and freak everyone out and assert their dominance now and again. Bram knows better than to pull that shit.”

I laughed. “He’s already won you, he doesn’t need to impress anyone else?”

She grinned. “Exactly.”

Poe was watching me closely. It was only a matter of time before he came over. “Shall we split up? See if anyone else needs treatment, then meet back here?”

Mags hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. “Sounds good. See you back here in a few.”

As I expected, Poe intercepted me before I could get far, grabbing my arm. “Stick around, I made the final round. I’m back in the cage next.”

“I’m a bit busy, actually,” I said and tried to pull away.

We were right beside the cage door, and he dragged me along after him, stopping just before going in.

“We clear?” he asked Lars for some reason.

Lars nodded. “Good, now make sure she stays put,” he said, and the demon moved in behind me, blocking my way as Poe hooked me around the back of the head. “Need my good-luck kiss, Sutton.”

I automatically jerked my head back.

Poe snarled, his claws sliding out against the back of my head, slicing skin. He jerked me forward, leaning in to force his kiss on me?—

A thud shook the ground directly behind me.

Poe looked up right before a hand appeared out of nowhere and slammed into the demon’s forehead, snapping his head back sharply, stopping his lips from meeting mine.

Fuck.

Poe snarled and charged forward. Jagger rounded me, and slammed his fist into Poe’s stomach, sending him flying back and landing hard on the cage floor.

I stared in shock as Jagger grabbed Lars by the throat. “Touch her and die,” he growled, then he strode into the cage with Poe, kicking it shut behind him.

Poe jumped to his feet, fury in his eyes as he bounced around and jerked his head from side to side, ducking and weaving. Jagger barely moved, just turned slowly, waiting.

Poe threw a punch, and Jagger grabbed his fist and twisted the whole arm with one subtle move, dislocating bones. Poe screamed and Jagger closed in, slammed him against the cage by the throat and snarled in his face. “You touch her again, I will tear you apart. Understand?”

Oh no.

Fuck.

Jagger then proceeded to beat the fuck out of him, tossing him around the cage like a chew toy. Poe was battered, bleeding, with more broken bones than I could count.

Jagger smashed his sledgehammer-sized fist into Poe’s face one last time, and the demon went down, hard.

“Holy shit,” Magnolia said beside me.

I hadn’t even realized she was back.

Holy shit was right. Jagger had just made my life even worse than it already was. Poe knew I had friends among the hounds, and he’d think I was behind this. He’d blame me for it. If they didn’t take it out on me, Luke would be the one to pay, and they’d make sure I knew.

Jagger stood over him, breathing hard, nostrils flared, teeth bared as the announcer named him the winner. He shoved the cage door open and started toward me.

“We need to get in there,” I said to Mags.

She ran in, and rushing in after her, I shoved Jagger’s bloody hand away from me when he grabbed my arm. Heat flashed through my body, my pulse spiking wildly. This display, this…this freaking pathetic pissing contest…could have just cost Luke his life.

“Poe? Can you hear me?” I said as I ran my hand over him, using my powers to see inside his body, cataloging all his injuries.

He wheezed, a rattling sound coming from his chest.

“Broken ribs,” Mags said.

“Yeah, and he’s shredded a few internal organs.” I continued to hover my hand over him, whispering my spell and wincing when I snapped each bone back into place.

Poe screamed, arching against the mat. He’d see this as a display of weakness, and there were witnesses. Lots of them. Males like him didn’t like being seen as weak. If he didn’t want to kill me over this, then me making him scream in front of this crowd would do it.

But I had no choice. The bones wouldn’t knit back together correctly if I left them alone. Poe was a fairly powerful demon, his healing would have already started. If I didn’t do this now, they’d have to be rebroken so they could be put back in the right alignment.

Lars crouched beside me. “You’re fucked,” he said, for my ears only.

Jagger

Sutton worked her magic, healing the fucker who’d just tried to kiss her. What the fuck was going on?

Why was she helping that male?

She’d pushed my hand away when I’d tried to stop her from going in the cage, and she wouldn’t even look at me now.

Another demon helped Poe up, bearing his weight and leading him away. I straightened as Sutton and Magnolia walked out.

“Sutton—”

She walked right past me, as if I didn’t exist. I followed after her. I’d shown her how strong I was, that I could protect her. Why was she angry? She hadn’t wanted that demon to touch her, no way. Impossible.

“Sutton,” I said again, calling after her.

My fingers barely grazed her arm, and she jerked it away like I’d electrocuted her. “Back the hell off,” she snapped.

“Maybe give her some space,” Mags said, her gaze sliding between us.

Space? There had been more than enough space between us. I didn’t want fucking space.

What had I done wrong? I showed her I was a worthy male, that I was strong. I was the alpha’s lieutenant. I could give her what she wanted. I was ready now.

I grabbed her arm again, not letting her pull away. “I don’t understand. Why are you angry with me?”

She stared up, her eyes big and round and hurt.

I shook my head, the pain in her eyes like a dagger in my chest. “I was protecting you.” Fuck, it was an apology, for the stupid things I’d said and done.

“I don’t want your protection, Jagger,” she said, finally speaking to me. “That’s not your job.”

Anger shot through me. “Then whose is it? That fucking demon?”

She rubbed her temples, her eyes flashing red. “Mine! I protect myself.” She shook her head. “I don’t need your kind of protection, it only makes everything worse…” She slammed her mouth closed and shook her head.

“What do you mean?” I said, taking a step closer.

“Just leave me alone.” She strode away, Mags hot on her heels.

Leaving her alone wasn’t an option. I strode out into the parking lot as they got in the ambulance and I started after her.

My phone rang, and I yanked it out of my pocket. “Yeah,” I said distractedly, watching as Sutton drove away.

“Need you back at the clubhouse. Brick’s gone missing,” War said.

“What do you mean, missing?” If we needed to find him, we could, by his scent alone.