Page 16

Chapter

Fifteen

As they returned to Thorn Hollow, Jade couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t anywhere near close to being done with problems, not with Foley and his H.

A. S. fanatics and not with Dane Malrick, who saw her as property to be handed over and not a person.

While she was listening to Brick, Adam, and a few of the high ranked males discuss the ambush in Adam’s office, her phone buzzed and she saw a text from Alli.

Leaving the room to check in with her friend, she walked into the kitchen and looked at the screen.

Police are here and picking up the buttheads. Did you make it back to town?

That’s good news and yeah. The guys are discussing next steps. I’m afraid that alpha is going to come back again.

He won’t get to you, babe. Your mate is badass and will throw down with anyone trying to hurt you.

Jade smiled. Brick was definitely a badass. I know, I can’t help but worry, you know?

I do, trust me, but it’s okay to lean on your mate and the pack. They’re your family now and they’re going to take care of you. Plus, you have me! Police want to chat with yours truly. I’ll holler at you when we’re finished.

Good luck!

She lifted her head as something caught her eye outside. She stared into the woods surrounding the house, wondering if she was simply seeing things or paranoid because of all that had happened.

Then she saw it again. Something dark behind one of the trees.

She stared, feeling like she was going crazy because it looked like a shadow, but it also looked out of place. Dark against the trunk where it shouldn’t be. The longer she stared, the more she was certain it didn’t belong.

And then she had a thought: If the protective wards set in place by the Wiccans were compromised, then someone could be spying and that’s how Foley and the H. A. S. people knew where they’d be.

“Brick?”

She didn’t hear his reply, but she didn’t want to leave her spot, afraid she’d lose sight of whoever, or whatever, she was looking at.

“Brick! I need you!”

Footsteps sounded and her mate came into the kitchen. “Yeah, baby?”

“Someone’s out there. See that tree?”

She scooted aside and pointed, and he stared out the window, his brows drawn.

“What’s going on?” Adam asked as he came into the kitchen along with Solan and a few other high ranked males.

“I don’t,” Brick said, and then he paused. The dark shadow moved and she was very certain it was an arm. “Shit! We’re being watched!”

He pushed the sliding back door open and raced off the porch with Adam and a few others on his heels. The shadow moved suddenly and she saw a flash of long, red hair before the person—a female, she was sure—ran away.

Carver, one of the high ranked males, stood next to her. “Good job catching sight of whoever the hell that was.”

“Thanks,” Jade said. “It was just a fluke I came out here. I wonder who it is?”

“I don’t know, but Brick’s fast, I don’t think they’ll get far.” He smiled at her. “Stay in the house, okay? I don’t need Brick kicking my ass because you wandered off and got abducted.”

She chuckled. “I promise. I don’t want to get abducted either.”

It didn’t take long for the pack members to return, with Brick escorting a red-headed female back to the house. He pushed her roughly to a chair on the porch and called for Jade.

As the pack surrounded the female, Jade hurried to Brick and hugged him.

He kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for noticing her.”

“Thanks for catching her. So what’s the deal? Why was she watching?” she asked.

“She doesn’t want to talk, but we’re going to do something about that,” Brick said.

Adam disappeared into the house and returned with Cinder. He brought her to stand in front of the female, who looked up at them with a mixture of arrogance and fear.

Cinder rubbed her hands together and a purplish-golden glow appeared. Her voice took on an ethereal quality as she spoke, “You will tell us what you’re doing here or you’ll suffer. I’m lygisa of this pack, guardian and protector, and you have made the mistake of pissing me off.”

The hair on Jade’s arms stood up as the air became electrified. The purple-gold glow rose slowly up Cinder’s arms and seemed to expand outward. The female’s whole body was highlighted by the magical glow.

The redhead pressed her lips together in defiance.

Cinder took a step forward and Adam let out a deep, low growl that made Jade want to hit the porch on her knees and tilt her head in deference to his authority.

“Okay. Okay! I’m sorry!” the female said, her eyes going bright with tears. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do!”

As Jade listened, the female—a Wiccan coven member named Maris—wove a tale of being blackmailed by Brent Foley to reveal the weaknesses of the protective wards.

“He threatened my sister. He had pictures of her and her schedule as if he could get to her! I thought just getting him information on how to get through the protective wards would be enough, but then he demanded I spy on you myself! I didn’t want to, I tried to resist, but he ran my sister off the road when she was coming home from school and nearly killed her in a crash!

I had no choice. I had no choice!” Maris sobbed, her voice cracking.

“Son of a bitch,” Adam said. He put his hand on Cinder’s shoulder and the purple-gold glow ceased.

She let out a deep sigh and leaned on him.

“Keep an eye on this female, I’m going to call Lorene.

Brick, send word to pack members that our territory is not safe and everyone needs to shelter in place until we can get this fixed.

Double security, run the perimeters tightly. ”

Jade grabbed Cinder’s hand. “Are you okay? I thought you couldn’t use magic.”

“It was showy magic, not anything nearly as powerful as when I shift. I thought it might scare her.”

“It sure did the trick.”

“Thanks for seeing her. You saved us, I’m sure,” Cinder said.

“Just a girl answering texts at inappropriate times,” Jade quipped.

Cinder laughed as she followed Adam into the house.

Brick dispatched the high ranked males to join the current security team members to keep the territory safe, then sent out a text to the pack to stay in place. Then he used rope to bind Maris’s wrist to the arm of the chair so she couldn’t leave.

As Jade thought things might even out for a little while, she felt a strange tension fill the air, and then someone bellowed her name.

Malrick!

Brick could not fucking believe that bastard Malrick had not only come for Jade but had the audacity to forgo all wolf pack protocols and come directly to the alphas’ house.

“What fresh hell is this?” Adam demanded as Brick and Jade moved through the house toward the front door.

“That son of a bitch came here,” Brick said.

“How did he get through the protection wards?” Jade asked.

“From what Cinder said, the protection wards are strongest here at the house and that witch messed with them to get close to us to spy. So they’re essentially useless right now, which is how he got through.”

“Damn it,” Jade said.

“Unbelievable,” Adam said. He let out a growling sigh. “Lorene is coming with the other Corners to redo the wards. They will take Maris with them and punish her according to coven rules, which is fine with me. Who’s watching her?”

“Carver and Dove,” he said.

“Good.”

“Send me Jade or suffer!” Malrick’s voice came from the front yard.

Jade shivered next to Brick and he snarled. What a fucking day it turned out to be.

“Stay back until I call for you,” Brick said. He and Adam walked out onto the porch. Malrick was in the center of several males that Brick recognized from their encounter at the drive-in. He opened his mouth to tell him just what he thought about his actions when Adam cut in.

“You have a lot of nerve coming into my territory uninvited,” Adam said.

“I’ve come for the female promised to me. I will not be leaving without her.”

“She’s my mate,” Brick said. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

“I have every right to take her with me. Holloway is her alpha and he arranged for her to be mated to me. I don’t recognize your authority, Beaumont, or this male who claims her as his mate. She is mine and I’ll take her, or my people will rain down hell on you all.”

Brick motioned for Jade and she walked out, her eyes wide and her hands cold with fear as she gripped his arm. “Just reiterate what you said at the drive-in.”

Inhaling shakily, she straightened her shoulders and said with a loud voice, “I have left the Ironwood Pack and Alpha Holloway no longer has authority over me. I chose exile before he arranged a mating, and I’ve chosen sanctuary with the Thorn Hollow Pack and my mate, Brick.

You can shove your arranged mating crap where the sun doesn’t shine. ”

Adam growled and took a step forward, his claws springing from his fingertips and his fangs showing in his mouth. “You will leave my territory, one way or another, without Jade. She is under my protection and I will defend her right to choose her future to the death.”

Brick pushed her gently behind him and stepped up next to his alpha.

“You’re interfering in the politics and laws of two other packs,” Malrick shouted. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

He took a menacing step forward and Brick reached his boiling point. There was no way he was going to let this male think he could just waltz into the pack’s territory and threaten his mate. They had bigger things to deal with, namely Foley and H. A. S.

Letting out a growl from deep in his soul, he leaped from the porch. As he hit the ground, he raced forward, aware that his friends and fellow pack members had his back and had joined him.

Malrick’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t step back as Brick invaded his space, getting close enough to pick up the scent of his wolf. Brick stood firm, his muscles taut and ready for anything, his wolf brimming under the surface.

Malrick snarled, his eyes flashing amber, but it was clear it was a show of bravado because he hadn’t expected so many people to have Brick’s back. Pack members formed a loose semi-circle behind Brick, their postures tense and ready for anything.

Adam remained on the porch because this was really Brick’s fight, but he was the alpha. “You have a choice to make here, Malrick. Leave under your own power or in the trunk of one of those vehicles you drove into my town.”

Malrick’s lip curled, and he leveled a defiant look at Brick. “You can’t hide behind your pack forever.”

Brick growled low in his throat and took a step closer. “She’s not yours, and she never will be. Get out of our territory. Now.”

The male seemed to hesitate, but Brick could see that the males with him were uneasy with the show of force from the pack.

“This isn’t over,” Malrick said. He backed away with his chin tilted up, then turned and strode to the vehicles they’d parked on the street. As the engines roared to life, they left in a trail of dust and flying debris.

Brick watched until they were out of sight, and then he turned and looked at Jade. She was standing next to Adam, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes filled with worry.

He jogged to her and leaped up the stairs, bringing her close in a hug. She shuddered in his arms.

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

“Brick,” she said thickly. “I just…want to not have to look over our shoulders forever.”

“We won’t,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

Somehow, he was going to prove that to be true. First, they’d get the Wiccans to secure the territory again, then they’d deal with Foley, and then if that asshole Malrick was still hanging around, he’d make sure he left Ohio with his tail between his legs.

“I’m sorry about all of this,” she said.

Adam grunted. “You can’t help that your old alpha was an asshole who traded you to another asshole.

You’re not responsible for anyone else’s behavior.

” He looked at Brick and said, “But that being said, even though the timing is terrible, and I know you guys wanted to wait, I think we need to move forward with the mating ceremony so that Jade will officially be part of our pack. She’s got sanctuary protection, but it’s not the same as being under my authority and also fully mated. ”

“When?”

“Tonight when the sun sets. We’ll do something small, just high ranked and elders so we can keep an eye on each other. Once the Wiccans fix the wards, we should be able to run in our shifts without worrying about anything. At least for tonight.”

“We’ll be ready.”

Adam put his hand on Brick’s shoulder for a moment. “Take the rest of the day and spend time with each other. I’ll get Solan to help me get everything set up. And Leo, whenever he gets back from the drive-in.”

“I’ll tell Alli,” Jade said. “She can’t be part of things because she’s not a wolf, but she’d want to know.”

“You can reach out to her,” Brick said.

When they were alone on the front porch, he said, “I’m sorry about all this.”

“Sorry for what?” she tilted her head and looked at him.

“I’m sorry that we can’t wait. I know you wanted to.”

“Well, I wanted to get to know you better, and I feel like I do. Even though I know we’ll get to learn more about each other with every day that passes.” Her eyes darkened slightly and he caught the subtle hint of her arousal. Immediately his body responded and he growled softly.

“Brick, I’m falling for you,” she whispered. “You’re the sexiest, most protective, sweetest guy I’ve ever met. I can’t think of anything better than mating you and joining the pack.”

“I’m falling for you too,” he said, cupping her face. “You’re gorgeous and so strong and fierce. You’re everything I ever hoped I’d find in my truemate and so much more.” He took her hand and turned away from the house, leading her down the steps.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to get some privacy. If we’re going to mate and mark each other, I don’t want a house full of people listening in.”

He knew just the place to go for privacy. As they turned at the end of the yard and walked down the street, he sent a quick text to Solan to let him know where he was headed, and then he put his phone on do-not-disturb and tucked it into his pocket.

His focus now was on his beautiful mate and making her his in truth.