Page 9 of Bandit’s Bounty (Iron Howlers MC #3)

Chapter Eight

Bandit

I t seems that ever since Cyrus and Corbin made peace with one another, we’re always partying at one clubhouse or another. This time, it’s at the Spiked Raiders and I’m kicked back, enjoying a cold one while I wait for Sloane to get here from work. Screams from the distance have all of us on high alert and I toss my beer to the side and follow the rest of the brothers from both clubs as we track down the thunderous noises we heard.

Breaking through the divide in the trees, I see Dane carrying someone and instinctively know it’s my sister.

"Move the fuck out my way," I shout, shoving my way through the brothers, my voice vibrating with anger and fear. "Raine." I look at my sister and snarl. "Fuck. Raine." I step toward Dane with my arms out and growl, "Give me my fuckin' sister. The hell did you do to her?"

Dane steps back and snarls, "Get the fuck back."

"Give me my sister, asshole," I roar. My wolf is so close to the surface, I’m about to shift and fight him.

"Bandit," Cyrus calls out. "Let's calm down and find out what the hell happened here."

"Fuck calm right now, Prez, no offense, but my sister is beaten, and I can smell the blood." I take another step toward Dane, my lethal intentions evident in my eyes. "What the fuck did you do to Raine?"

"Bandit," Corbin calls, snarling, moving in close to Dane. "Cyrus told you to calm the hell down. If you'd think for a god damned minute, you'd see that he didn't do a damn thing to her. You'd also smell what the rest of us can. The scent of humans."

"Heard her screams while running. Came up on the road to see about five men surrounding her. Beating her. Some were kicking at her, others holding her down," Dane tells us, holding my sister close to him. His gaze locks on me. "She's human. Not shifter. She's not your sister."

"She's fuckin' adopted, asshat. Raine's my little sister, now give her to me," I sneer.

Dane shakes his head and looks down at my sister before he murmurs the next six words with enough force that each of us takes a step back from him. "I will not. She's my mate."

He looks positively rabid right now, like he won’t allow anyone to remove Raine from his grasp. "Give me my sister," I plead.

"No," Dane snarls, holding her even closer.

"How about we just get her back to the clubhouse, and I take a look at her?" Zavier suggests.

"That sounds like a good plan," Daniel states. "Come on son, let's get her checked out,” he says, coming closer.

Dane nods. "They were there to teach her a lesson," he states, talking more to himself than the rest of us.

My question is who the fuck was teaching my sister ‘a lesson’ and what kind of asshole beats on a woman to begin with?

"I don't know what the hell is taking so long for her to wake up," I rumble as we all sit sentry over her and watch Raine lying there unconscious.

“Calm down, Bandit. She doesn't need you getting all worked up like this," Sloane says, her voice calm and pacifying. "Your parents will be here anytime now, and you don't want to stress them out further than they already will be."

“I hate that we had to call them back from their trip early. They haven’t shifted since Raine moved back home,” I murmur.

“Do you really think you could’ve not told them and lived to tell the tale?” Sloane asks, her hands on her hips. “I know you know your mother would’ve kicked your ass.”

I chuckle because she’s not wrong. My mother can be as much of a hardass as me and my father. Sometimes she’s worse because of the fact she’s got that maternal gene buried deep inside of her and if one of her kids is hurt or injured, she’s in full-on momma mode.

"How about you all leave the room and let me be alone with my mate?" Dane asks.

Raine groans, her eyelids flutter, then she opens her eyes before gazing around the room, taking in her surroundings. "What is everyone doing surrounding me like this?" she asks before glaring directly at me and adding, "you know I hate when you hover."

"Raine," I growl warningly, peering down at her. "Don't you start."

"Then stop with the hovering," she mutters, giving me her typical sass. Right now, I’m not at all in the mood to entertain her brattiness whatsoever. I want to find out who the fuck is harassing and beating on her then go and show them exactly what it means to mess with my family.

"You'd think with the bullshit of you being beaten on, you would lose the sarcasm and bristly attitude," I retort.

"Not a chance," she snarks back at me. "I need you to back off some."

"No offense, but I'm not backing off. Not until you tell me what the hell that was all about. Who attacked you? What the fuck did they want?" I ask, peppering her with back-to-back questions.

She glances down, one of her tells that lets me know she’s trying to stall for time and avoid answering me. But I’m a persistent fucker, and I will wear her down. Eventually. She’s a bit stubborn, after all.

"It was nothing," she states, acting nonchalant, causing not only me to growl but also every shifter in the room with us.

"Don't lie," Dane orders. My brows raise at the tone of voice he’s using when talking to my sister and I’m about to suggest he shut his fucking mouth when Raine speaks up instead.

"Don't you tell me what to do," she sneers before getting out of the bed. "I don't need you or anyone else telling me what to do. You can back off with all the growling." She glances around the room then pins me with a glare and says, " All of you."

"Raine." This time it’s Sloane who speaks up. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Raine snaps. “Can we just go home please?"

"You're not going anywhere," Dane snarls, his upper lip curling before he masks it so nobody else notices. The only reason I saw it was because I’m paying close attention to his actions and words where it comes to my baby sister.

"My sister wants to go home, then I'll take her home," I declare, my wolf rising to the surface daring anyone to argue with me. This fucker is already on my bad side for what he put my old lady through; there’s no fucking way he’s going to dictate what my sister can and can’t do.

Dane moves, getting between my sister and me. "You aren't taking my mate anywhere."

"Your mate," I snarl. "You keep saying that, but just this afternoon, didn't I hear two of your club’s doxies," I spit out, my tone now menacing, "talking about the fuckin' you'd given them just this morning?"

"That's enough," Sloane states, touching my arm. Normally, a simple touch from her calms me, but not this time since I’m too keyed up. There’s no fucking way I want Raine to experience anything like what Sloane did, especially not from a male who spreads himself around so frequently. She looks at Dane. "Remember what I said earlier when you apologized. Don't hurt your mate before you actually get to know her. She wants to go home, so you need to let her."

I step back from Dane even though the urge to pound his face in until it’s unrecognizable is still riding me hard. Sloane looks at Raine before she starts talking again.

"Let's get you home where you want to be right now. Later, when you're feeling better you can talk about what happened," Sloane says, her arms going around Raine’s waist. "Come on. Bandit rode his bike, but I'm sure one of these Neanderthals can lend us a car to get you home."

"My car . . ." Raine starts to say before she’s interrupted.

"Don't worry about it right now," Sloane remarks and guides my sister from the room.