Page 10 of Bandit’s Bounty (Iron Howlers MC #3)
Chapter Nine
Sloane
A s we move down the hallway, we run into Karsyn who looks directly at Raine and says, "I'm so sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I'm Karsyn. These two sweethearts are mine and Corbin's children. This little guy here," she states as she nods to the baby, "is Asher." Then she jerks her head down to the little girl. "And this is Sage."
"Nice to meet you," Raine mutters, briefly taking Karsyn’s hand in hers. "Sorry to be short. I just want to get home and go to sleep."
Karsyn nods and smiles softly at Raine before she replies, "As you should. But please know that everything you go through in life, it happens for a reason. It makes you stronger. More resilient. Just remember to never shield yourself from the love and hope that you deserve." She leans in and whispers something that most probably wouldn’t hear but I’ve now got shifter hearing so have to hold in my gasp when I hear her tell Raine, "Don't let what he did to you blind you from the life you have ahead of you.” Raine does, however, and she gasps out loud then pulls away slightly as Karsyn adds, “I won't speak a word. It'll be our little secret until you're ready to share."
I manage to steer Raine away, my mind racing at what Karsyn could’ve possibly meant. I spot one of Bandit’s brothers already at one of the vehicles holding open a door while Dane looks on abrasively. I don’t fully understand all that’s happened between the two of them today, but I realize rather quickly that if Dane is in fact Raine’s mate, I’m going to have to wholly make peace with what he did to me.
Raine climbs into the backseat and settles in, sighing. Once I’m sure she’s good, I lean in and promise her, "It's all going to be okay."
As we leave, she asks, "What did you mean by what you said to Dane earlier?"
"He came up to me recently, at the last barbecue, and asked to speak with me. He wanted to apologize, though I'm not sure if he actually meant it, regardless, he followed through and said he was sorry. I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt," I reply, shrugging. "Anyway, I told him that if he ever found the one for him that I hoped he never treated her the way he did me. With you being his mate, I wholeheartedly hope he's not going to go back on his word."
"Well, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to him and me being anything,” she spits out. “I'm not going there, no matter what he seems to think we are," Raine retorts.
I glance at her and convey, “If it’s because he and I dated, you know that’s in the past, right? I’m mated to your brother and I’m perfectly happy. Besides, if Dane’s your fated mate, you won’t be able to resist, even if you’re human, Raine. Trust me on this.”
A secret grin plays around my lips when I think about how direct Bandit was with me. He could’ve paid for Dane’s mistakes, but thankfully, my therapy enabled me to heal that standoffish part of me.
She says something that I can’t hear despite my newly enhanced hearing then shuts down, leaving me to my own thoughts.
Despite Bandit’s protests, I took Raine back to her parents’ house and have been puttering while Bandit postures and grumbles. A lot. His expression is one of murderous rage and has been like that ever since leaving the Spiked Raiders’ clubhouse.
"You okay?" Bandit asks his sister.
"I'll be fine," she replies while climbing into her bed being cautious of her injuries. "You can go home now. I'm just going to lay here and go to sleep."
"I'm not leaving you here alone," Bandit grumbles, his face twisted in confusion of why she’d begin to contemplate him leaving her side. "Mom and Dad are on the way back, they’ll meet us here instead of at the clubhouse, but they won't be here until morning."
"Bandit, I'm fine. I don't want to talk. I just want to sleep." Raine turns so her back is now facing both of us and I see my mate clench his hands into fists, frustration now evident on his face. He shifts away from the door and sits on the edge of Raine’s bed, his hand patting her hip.
"Look, Raine, I know you don't want to talk about it, but you're gonna have to. I need to know who did this to you. I can't let them get away with this shit. I'll give you the night. You need rest. Tomorrow we'll talk. We also gotta talk about Dane . . ." Bandit starts, his face looking like he’s been sucking on a lemon when he mentions her mate’s name.
Raine’s response is immediate and snappish as she interrupts him before he can finish making a checklist of things he feels they need to discuss. "We're not talking about him."
I know that despite his apology to me that Bandit does not like him. The fact that Dane publicly announced to everyone that was close enough to hear that Raine was his mate doesn’t exactly thrill or set well with me either, but Bandit is almost nuclear about it at this point. He probably knows even more than I do about Dane’s reputation with women, and I can’t blame him for not wanting his sister to be involved with such a manwhore. Or would it be a wolf whore? Hell, it doesn’t really matter. He’s a player, through and through, and Bandit’s a good brother who won’t want his sister to be hurt either mentally or emotionally by such a womanizer.
"We've got to talk about it, Raine. You know we do," Bandit states, his statement holding no room for argument.
"There's nothing to talk about, Bandit," Raine reiterates.
"Babe, he's your mate and he's a member of the Spiked Raiders MC," Bandit replies.
"Yeah, and he's also the one who saved me from being beaten more than I already was," she snaps, pain and exhaustion making her more spirited with her tone than normal.
"Think I didn't want to save you, Raine? For fuck’s sake, you're my little sister, I never want to see you hurt, and tonight, you weren't just hurt, you were badly hurt, and I can't take that pain away from you," Bandit retorts.
"Look, can we just leave it for tonight?" Raine asks before pleading, "Please?"
Bandit jerks his head in agreement before he stands up and reaches for my hand. "Fine, as long as you know, we will be talking about this. All of it," he growls out.
Raine huffs out, “Fine,” before she lays back down and curls into her side with her back facing us. We close the door behind us as we leave to give her the privacy she’s so obviously craving right now.
“He’s not good enough for her, Sloane,” Bandit rumbles his complaint as we enter our den.
“Whether he is or not isn’t up to either one of us to decide, Bandit,” I reply as I gather my nightclothes in preparation for my shower. “He’s a jerk, that’s true, but outside of how he tends to treat women, is he a good brother to his club?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he gruffly admits, pulling his shirt off in the way only men can do that temporarily turns a female mute and leaves us slobbering. When he catches me staring, he smirks then tosses me a wink before lowering his jeans, which sends a pulse of need through me that only grows stronger when he turns, and I watch his delectable ass walk to the shower and turn the water on, so it starts heating up.
“So, is your issue his previous behavior with other women or the fact that he’s claiming he’s Raine’s mate?” I question. “Because if it’s the first thing, you told me yourself that when a wolf finds his or her fated mate, all others pretty much cease to exist for them. Is that true?”
“Why do you have to use logic on me, mate?” he teases, quickly undressing me and pulling me into the shower stall with him.
“Because it makes sense to me,” I murmur against his lips.
I know he’s trying to distract me right now, and while my body’s on board with that plan of action, I need him to understand where his angst is originating from. “Focus, Bandit,” I chide.
“I’d rather focus on fucking my mate in the shower,” he rumbles, his voice deep with desire.
“Didn’t say we wouldn’t get to that,” I retort, snickering, “but you need to settle how you feel about Dane being your sister’s mate first. Ultimately, it’s not your decision. If you’re worried about me? I’m okay since I won’t argue against Fate’s decree. I’m sure it’ll be uncomfortable for a little while, then it won’t be. The issue is whether or not Raine will choose him since she knows what happened to me and has now connected that the wolf who saved her is the man who once upon a time destroyed me. You know how loyal she is, Bandit. I won’t have her rejecting her mate because of some misguided loyalty to me and my feelings.”
He sighs, pulling me close. “I’ll try to keep my shit together, Sloane. For both of y’all’s sakes. I suspect he’s going to have to really prove himself to my sister. Plus, there’s the issue of who fucking thought they could beat on her.”
“She’s definitely hiding something there and I think it’s one of the reasons she decided to come home, Bandit,” I admit as he starts washing my body.
There’s a level of intimacy in what he’s doing that I am secretly reveling in right now. It’s beyond sex and it makes me feel like I’m cherished and adored. While there are touches that are sensual as well, to me, it feels like we’re communicating on a different level even though we’re both naked and are physically affected by that fact.
“Then we need to figure out what it is because the fuckers who attacked her are gonna pay,” Bandit promises. He pulls the handheld showerhead down and thoroughly rinses me and then himself before shutting off the water.
“I just don’t want y’all to get into trouble,” I reply, wrapping the towel around me.
He chuckles before scooping me up and carrying me over to the bed where he tosses me so hard, I bounce while giggling. As he lands next to me and pulls me close, he whispers, “Trust me, sweetheart, we don’t get caught.”
The shiver that runs through me this time isn’t one of desire, but of fear. I know they’re not good guys per se, based on some of the things that the other old ladies have shared with me, but at the same time, having Bandit basically tell me that they’ll take care of any threats in such a way that the law won’t find out is a bit… terrifying to me.
Still, the moment his lips find mine, those thoughts cease to exist and are tossed to the wayside as I lose myself in my mate once again. Raine’s issues are for future Sloane to worry about because right-now Sloane is chasing her orgasm.