Page 17

Chapter

Sixteen

Jade was flustered, a combination of worried about the Wiccan who’d been spying on them for the H. A. S. jerks, that pretentious asshat Malrick, and also turned on because Brick was sexy as hell and taking her somewhere for privacy.

It was highly strange to be worried about being safe and also thinking about having sex and marking her mate.

She couldn’t believe how quickly she’d gone from keeping up walls around her heart out of fear to wanting Brick to sink his fangs into her neck.

But she shouldn’t be surprised by that either. He was her truemate, the one guy on the planet meant to be hers. Of course he would be able to get through the protections she’d set up around her heart.

And not just because he was phenomenal in bed.

He was also sweet and kind and so careful with her.

She knew he’d do anything to keep her safe and that she was his priority.

He might be high ranked, but she came first for him.

And that’s how it was supposed to be. She’d never been first in anyone’s life, not even her dad’s.

He’d put the pack first, and look where that had gotten him?

When he died, the alpha replaced his position in the pack and moved on the same day as if he wasn’t even worth grieving.

The street was lined with trees, and there were only a few small homes here and there. It was quiet as they walked side by side, the soft crunch of gravel underfoot the only sound. She glanced up at him, finding his steady, protective presence a balm to her wildly spinning mind.

“This place we’re going to,” she asked, breaking the silence, “it’s safe, right?”

“Completely, I promise.”

Jade relaxed slightly, letting herself hope that the promise of privacy might ease the tension knotting her shoulders.

Or some sexy, fun times, for sure. There wasn’t anything that seemed to banish the darker demons of doubt in her mind than tumbling between the sheets with her sexy male.

Then, the rumble of vehicle engines revving shattered the quiet of the street.

Brick spun and tucked her at his back. She peeked around him and saw two vehicles moving toward them at a quick pace. Jade’s heart pounded.

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

Brick snarled as the vehicles screeched to a halt, and six males spilled out, their movements predatory and dangerous.

Malrick was at the center, grinning smugly.

Brick pushed her backward. “Go through the woods and get to Adam’s.”

She turned to move when Malrick’s voice made her freeze in place.

“You didn’t think you could hide, did you?”

Brick gave her another nudge. “You were told to leave, Malrick. Do so or suffer.”

The male chuckled, his arms spreading wide. “I’m not leaving without her. She belongs to me by pack law.”

Jade’s wolf surged to the surface, her anger sharp and unrelenting.

This guy had some serious balls. Or delusions.

She stepped out from behind Brick, not wanting to abandon him to be so hopelessly outnumbered.

She imagined her old alpha handing her over to this maniac so coldly, so callously.

She wasn’t a thing to be bartered and traded, she was a person of value.

And damn it, she had a mate now and she was tired of this male trying to separate them.

“I don’t belong to you by pack law or any other law.”

Malrick’s smirk twisted into a snarl. “You don’t have a choice in this.”

Brick growled, his body vibrating with barely restrained fury. “She said no three times now. I’ve had more than enough of this bullshit.”

“Then I’ll take her by force,” Malrick said. He jerked his shirt off and Jade inhaled sharply. He was going to shift.

“Run, baby,” Brick said as he undid his jeans and shoved them down his legs.

She stumbled backward and turned toward the woods. One of Malrick’s males appeared in front of her, cutting off her escape.

She looked over her shoulder to see her mate shift quickly, as did Malrick. The two lunged at each other, meeting head on as the males with Malrick stayed in their human forms.

But they weren’t watching the two wolves battle, their focus was on her.

Shit.

She backed up as the male closest to her extended his claws and bared his fangs, stalking toward her.

The others skirted around the two battling wolves, making their way to her.

She knew she didn’t have enough time to shift herself and if she didn’t strip before she shifted she could get tangled up in her clothes.

There was a house a bit down the road from them and she was pretty damn fast.

But maybe she could try something else.

Opening herself to her wolf, she lifted her head and let out a piercingly loud howl, the sort of howl that wolves would know meant there was a wolf in trouble.

She turned to run toward the house and immediately crashed into the chest of one of the males, who grabbed her by her throat and lifted her off her feet, cutting off her second attempt at howling for help.

Her claws came out as her oxygen was cut off, and she raked them down his arms, digging deeply into his skin. He snarled and punched her in the face with his free hand, making her eyes water and her vision blur.

No matter how she kicked or struggled, he didn’t ease up on his hold.

Her ears rang and her world narrowed down to a pinprick.

And then she hit the ground, gasping in a ragged breath as she struggled to see what was going on. She slumped to the ground as darkness fully encompassed her. The last thing on her mind was that Brick was outnumbered and she’d failed to get help.

The fight was chaos. Brick and Malrick were well-matched in size and skill, but Brick had an edge over the male. Malrick might be fighting to take Jade because he felt like he owned her due to some arranged mating, but Brick was fighting for Jade’s right to choose who she wanted to mate.

And she wanted to mate Brick.

He was damn well certain to make sure that happened.

Malrick dodged out of the downward swing of Brick’s claws just as a feminine howl echoed around them. He checked to see his sweetheart howling for help and then promptly getting caught by the throat and lifted off her feet.

Hell no!

He ducked away from Malrick and raced to her aide but was caught by the back leg and yanked backward. His claws dug into the road for purchase as Malrick pulled him away from helping his mate, but Brick wasn’t about to leave her on her own.

He rolled to the side, pulling out of Malrick’s jaws.

His sharp teeth shredded Brick’s leg, but he didn’t let that stop him from twisting sharply and sinking his front claws into the male’s side.

Hot blood poured over his paws and Malrick yipped and jerked away.

Brick leaped to his paws and raced toward his struggling mate, taking the male out at the knees and knocking her from his grip.

He heard the pounding of feet and knew his pack had answered her howl for help.

Letting out a deep and furious growl, Brick stalked back to the injured Malrick, who was limping away, blood dripping from the deep gashes in his side.

Brick slammed into him, his jaws closing around his throat. Malrick writhed beneath him, his claws scraping on the pavement, but Brick didn’t let go.

He’d seen it in the male’s eyes when he came for Jade. He was never going to stop, so Brick needed to stop him.

With a violent shake, Brick ended it, Malrick’s body falling limp.

Brick released his grip on Malrick’s throat and lifted his head in a victorious howl.

Then he spun and looked for his mate and the other males, who’d retreated, bolting toward the vehicles.

Brick rushed to her side and nudged her with his nose.

She let out a whimper and opened her eyes, rolling to her side.

Her gaze was unfocused for a moment and then she shook her head and blinked rapidly a few times.

“Oh, Brick!” she whispered roughly.

Solan stopped next to them. “Holy shit! Are you both okay?”

She tried to speak but grimaced and he was sure her throat hurt from being manhandled. He wanted to kill the male who’d put his hands on her.

Brick settled back on his haunches and nodded. Jade nodded and sat up, leaning on Brick for help.

“Malrick’s dead?” Solan asked.

Brick nodded.

“The others fled in their vehicles. I’ve got our people following them to make sure they actually leave town this time. I’ll handle getting the wolf to the clearing to burn the body. You guys want to come or do you want to go to your parents’ place?”

Jade pressed her hand lightly to her reddened throat and whispered, “I want to go to the clearing.”

“Yeah, sure.”

She leaned on Brick again, her arm around his neck, and watched as Solan and another security team member picked up the dead wolf and carried him into the woods.

“You’re okay?” she whispered.

He nodded. His wounds would heal either in his shift or as he returned to human. The important thing was that they were both alive.

After a few minutes, she rose unsteadily to her feet, and then they walked into the woods to the clearing. Already a fire had been started in the pit.

Cinder rushed to them, checking on Jade and then asking if Brick needed her to help heal his wounds, which he didn’t but appreciated her asking.

The high ranked males and elders stood around the bonfire as more wood was added, and then the body of the male who’d tried to take Jade away was laid on top and covered with more wood.

“This is an old tradition,” Adam said, “to burn the bodies of our enemies and banish them from the world. This male could have walked away at any time, but for whatever reason, he chose to push himself and his agenda on Jade and Brick, and as a result, he lost his life. Let the smoke and ash carry away the memory of this male’s attack on our people, and let it be a grim warning to any who would come against the Thorn Hollow Pack.

Our people are united in strength and loyalty.

Come against one of us, and you come against us all.

One pack, unbroken.” He lifted his head and let out a deep howl.

Brick joined in, as did the others, lending their voices to the declaration made by their alphas.

“I’ll bring you something for your throat, Jade,” Cinder whispered when the last howl’s echo had ceased. “Unless you want to shift?”

Jade shook her head. She settled on the ground next to Brick and he leaned against her.

Adam walked over as Cinder disappeared to the house to make tea. “I’m glad you’re both safe. We can put a hold on the mating ceremony. With that male dead, the threat is gone to Jade’s safety.”

Brick nodded and Jade rested her head on Brick’s shoulder and sighed.

He wished he could talk in his shift. He’d tell her how scared he was that she’d be taken or hurt while he was fighting Malrick, or worse, that he might die trying to keep her safe and she’d be left unprotected.

But mainly what he wanted to say was that he wasn’t just falling for her, as he’d said before everything went to shit.

He’d full-blown fallen.

It was fast, but that was the way things were with truemates.

He was in love with his mate, and he was so damn thankful that he’d get to tell her the three most precious words in the world once he could shift again.

They sat in silence with Adam and several others, watching the flames as they destroyed the male who’d tried to take everything from him. He was glad that Jade was safe and he’d never have to worry about that male again.

The anti-shifter people? Yeah, they were still a concern. But right now, his mate was safe and that’s all that mattered.