Page 11 of Denying Her Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #3)

Chapter 11

Sawyer

I nstinctively, I shield Roux with my body. I know she won’t like me doing it, but I can’t control my reaction to the imminent threat of danger. I expect her to shy away, to shove me back, but I’m surprised when she burrows against my chest for a brief moment, before trying to push around me.

The desire for her to protect her coven, her sisters, is understandable, but I’m not letting her run into that room without figuring out what is going on first.

“Wait,” I hiss, urgency in my tone. I wrap my fingers around her wrist like a steel band, refusing to let go.

“Trust me.”

They’re just two words, but they feel like a litany. The weight of it presses on my shoulders, crushing my chest. I hate that I’ve made her doubt me enough to ask me to trust her judgment. Roux already thinks I believe she’s the weakest link in this chain and I don’t want to perpetuate that any further.

“I do,” I say.

“Then let me go. They need me.”

Our joined bodies seem more connected than ever, and it feels like I’m tearing my grasp from her as I peel my fingers off her arm. I don’t want to let her go, but I have to. Before I completely release her, I let my thumb rub over her skin. “I can’t stop trying to protect you,” I say softly.

Roux’s fingers trail over my cheek in the same way I touched her only minutes ago, making me suck in a breath between my teeth. I want to press her against the wall and slide deep into her heat, but the smile she gives me is followed by her slipping around me and I lose her.

I’m always watching her back as she walks away from me, and that has to stop. There’s a dark yearning inside me that beats for her, one that I can’t silence. The desire to let my wolf claim her is just as strong, and Roux is starting to give in to those desires too. I can see it in the softening of her body language and the lack of animosity toward me.

Though there is wariness there, as if she doesn’t truly believe I can forgive her actions, but she has no idea how smitten I am. I would forgive her of anything.

When there is time, and we are not hurtling from one drama to another, we will need to talk more about what happened with her and her former mate.

In this moment, my focus is not on the past, but on my little mate making her way into the living room. I follow her, prepared to throw myself into danger to keep her safe, but the blue-haired tau is already subdued. She is lying face down on the floor, her hands behind her back, bound with swirling, luminous ropes.

Halle is standing over her, a grim look on her face, my brother Cade and our pack mate, Jackson, are behind her.

“Who invited Little Miss Feral?” Apryle demands. She’s leaning against the wall, her arms folded over her chest, amusement dancing in her eyes.

That woman puts me on edge. There is an almost giddy delight in her every time things turn to shit, as if she enjoys watching the carnage.

“We found her while looking for Tessa’s tau,” Roux says, and I don’t miss the way her eyes slip toward me for a second before refocusing on the girl on the floor.

Another win.

Another chance to make her mine.

I am more determined than ever for that to happen. I’m done playing these games, holding back and giving her space. I can still taste her on my lips, on my tongue. I can feel her inside me in a way I never have with anyone. Our mating bond is stronger than it was this morning and I wonder if that is because she’s accepting this—accepting us .

The blue-haired woman gets to her knees and blasts magic in the direction of her nearest target, Roux.

Terror clutches my throat, making it impossible to breathe. I move, but I’m slow and sluggish compared to my mate. Her hand raises in a movement so quick I don’t register it until her attacker is forced down onto her front by some unseen force.

I can scent the tinge of magic in the air, like a candle after it has burned out.

Roux did that, and I hate myself for doubting her abilities. My mate isn’t the weakest link. She’s brilliant and capable. I watch, transfixed as she steps closer to the tau wolf, her hand raised out as if warding her off, pride blazing through me.

The other women step closer, ready to fight as the blue-haired tau thrashes on the floor. “You’re all going to die screaming! I’m going to gut you all!”

The anger radiating from her would be concerning, if she wasn’t trussed up like a prized turkey.

Halle steps toward her and I watch my brother flinch as she does. He wants to protect her, the same way I do with Roux. It eases some of the uncertainty I’ve been feeling. I’m not the only overbearing mate.

There’s collective intake of breath around the room before Halle asks, “What’s your name?”

The woman glares at her, her mouth pulled into a snarl. “Fuck you!”

Halle sighs. “Having your name isn’t going to change anything, is it?”

The cogs turning in her mind, seeking any downside to divulging this information, are evident on her face. She isn’t good at hiding her feelings.

“I don’t have a name.”

“Everyone has a name.”

“Not in that place,” she spits. “They strip away everything you are.”

Hester steps closer. “Have they erased who you are, or are you strong enough to remember?”

The woman shakes her head, as if there is so much fog in her brain that she can’t see through it. “I… I don’t…” The confused mask drops and is replaced with feral anger as she screams to the ceiling.

Hester reaches out with her fingers, as if she intends to put her out, but Jackson moves, throwing himself between the girl and Hester.

I’ve lived with this male for years, watched him hunt and track, but I’ve never seen him move that fast before. My back straightens as the mood in the room shifts. I will defend my pack mate if that witch tries anything.

“Get out of the way,” Hester orders, frustration lacing her tone.

Jackson shakes his head. “No.”

I glance at my brother, wondering what our esteemed alpha is making of this. His expression is indifferent, but I know my brother better than most. He has no love for Hester, and Jackson is family.

“She needs to be subdued for her own safety,” Hester growls at him.

I don’t disagree, but I find irony in her words. Hester wants to protect these women, to show them that she created this safe sanctuary, but keeping her bound and gagged, just like the Order undoubtedly have, doesn’t seem like the way to convince her of this.

“She’s just scared,” Jackson snaps at her. “You’re not helping.”

“Jacks,” Cade says his name softly. “She’s dangerous.”

She is. This woman is damaged in ways we don’t understand and can’t even begin to. I can see it in the wild look in her eyes, the way they dart around the space frantically from beneath that curtain of lank, blue hair. There’s a darkness there, a haunted look that tells the world she’s been through things she shouldn’t have, and they’ve marked her permanently.

Hester moves closer and Jackson growls at her, baring his teeth. I’ve never seen him like this, but the protectiveness he’s displaying makes me wonder if there is more at play here. Is she his?

“If I meant to harm her, I wouldn’t have brought her here, would I?”

Jackson’s expression suggests he doesn’t care why Hester brought her here. Interesting. I don’t sense any kind of mating bond between them, but the intensity of his protection suggests otherwise. “Just back off and give her some room.” He turns to the girl and slowly crouches in front of her, barely flinching when she snaps her teeth in his direction. “Hey.”

She raises her sullen eyes to his, narrowing them at him. “If you think defending me is going to save you when I tear through you all, you’re wrong.”

The hissed words make my brows raise up my forehead. She’s a spicy one.

Jackson crouches down in front of her and I brace myself in case she decides to attack him. She doesn’t. She shies back from him instead, as if terrified he’s going to touch her, but he makes no attempt to reach for her. “I know you’re scared, but everyone here wants to keep you safe.”

I glance at Hester, wondering how true that is. I’m still not sure what her motives are and what her plans are for these women, two of which include my mate and my brother’s.

“I don’t believe you. This is… a test, isn’t it?” A flash of terror appears in her eyes before she locks it down quickly. “I didn’t try to run. Those assholes took me!”

“It’s not a test. You’re free of the Order now.”

Confusion masks her face. “Free?” The way she speaks the word, as if she’s testing it, makes me swallow back my anger.

The Order takes these women, keeps them, and does fuck knows what to them. That enrages me. It could have been Roux being used by those assholes. It could have been Halle too. It nearly had been.

“Yeah, you’re safe here. No one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to.” Jackson turns and fixes Hester with a dark glare. “Right?”

Her smile is thin as she nods. “Of course not. Apryle, show our guest to the lavender room. You should clean up. When you’re done, I’ll make you something to eat.”

It’s a kind offer, but my skin prickles even so. Hester has collected yet another tau wolf for… whatever the fuck she’s building. Cade thinks it’s an army, and it does sound plausible. I understand why she would want to. The Order has fuck knows how many tau in its hands. They hadn’t managed to successfully attack us last time, but the more they collect, the more powerful they become, and that puts the tau here at risk—which includes my mate.

I want to grab Roux and get her out of here, but right now this is the safest place she can be. Here, she has the combined strength of her coven, she has the protection of Hester and her wards, and she has my pack. On the road there is no guarantee we would be safe and if the Order sent hunters in numbers, I would not be able to keep Roux safe.

So as much as I hate it, I know the Sanctuary is where we need to be. Cade has also come to that conclusion, and it is the only reason we are still here, despite our mistrust of the tau leader. Out there we had been vulnerable. Halle had been hunted endlessly and a life looking over our shoulders is no life.

Jackson stands and offers his hand to the blue-haired woman. The way she looks at it, as if it is poisoned, makes my chest ache. So much trust lost because of what those fuckers did to her.

After a moment, she places her palms on the floor and pushes up to her feet without his help. Jackson says nothing, nor does he react. He keeps his hands in his pockets as she brushes her dress down before wrapping her arms around herself.

“Follow me,” Apryle says, walking toward the door. She pauses before stepping through it. “You try to attack me when my back is turned, and I won’t play nice.”

The girl’s brows come together, but she nods as Apryle leads her out of the room. Before she leaves, she turns back to look at Jackson and the look that passes between them is unreadable. Then she disappears after Apryle.

Jackson’s jaw tightens as he slides his gaze toward Hester. “She stays safe.” He jabs his finger in her direction as he speaks the words, an unspoken threat in them, before he turns and leaves through the kitchen. The back door slamming shut makes the walls vibrate.

I glance at Cade who shrugs his shoulders at me. My brother doesn’t understand this either, but Jackson clearly is feeling protective of the girl for some reason.

My attention scatters as Roux walks over to talk to Halle and Tessa. I watch my mate, unable to tear my gaze from her. She’s perfect and my pulse thuds as my cock feels heavy inside my jeans.

As if she’s aware I’m watching, her gaze lifts and meets mine. The connection is instantaneous, my wolf baying and calling to hers. My skin feels heated and my need to take her grows with every passing second. I don’t want to wait. I want her now.

She excuses herself and comes to me, the first time she has ever sought me out. I brace myself, not sure what to expect, and fist my fingers into balls at my side so I don’t touch her without permission.

“Walk me back to my cabin?”

Her request surprises me, but also elates me. I want to be with her every moment of every day, so I nod. “Of course.”

My brother and Halle watch as Roux leads me out of the room. The hopeful look on her face makes me smirk. Halle has tried everything to get Roux and I together, including threats, though I was not around to hear those.

As I step out of the kitchen and onto the back porch, the cold air surrounds me, making my breath mist in front of my face. Roux moves to the railing and leans her forearms on it, peering out over the landscape.

The mountains rise on the horizon, the snow-capped tops blending into the pale gray sky behind it. The blanket of white surrounding the cabins makes everything seem brighter and cleaner. If it wasn’t for Hester’s agenda, whatever the fuck it is, I could like it here. There is a peaceful edge to the Sanctuary, a sense of easement that could exist if I wasn’t worried the woman in charge was trying to manipulate us all.

“I think you’re right,” Roux says.

I blink. Right about what? “I usually am.”

She twists to roll her eyes at me. “You’re so modest.”

I risk moving to her side and lean against the rail next to her, facing the house, rather than the view. “As much as I like the ego stroke, do you want to tell me what I’m right about?”

Roux blows out a breath and the tension inside her makes my spine feel like steel. “Hester…” she winces, not meeting my gaze and instead staring out over the Sanctuary. “I think… I think she is up to something.”

While I’m glad she’s come around to my way of thinking, I’m not sure what prompted this change of heart. “What makes you think that?”

I keep my voice low, quiet. I don’t think we can be heard through the walls, but I don’t want to test that theory either. Hester knows my brother and I doubt her, but not her coven. Not Roux.

“I don’t know. I just feel like she hasn’t been truthful with us. There’s something about her… something I can’t put my finger on.”

I feel that too. I turn and lean next to my mate, soaking in her scent, resisting the urge to take her. My body trembles with need, with desire, and it takes all my strength to keep my urges at bay. I don’t want to undo the progress we have made, the acceptance she is starting to feel toward me.

“I don’t know what it is about her either, but she’s hiding something. This place, she didn’t make it out of the goodness of her heart, Roux. I’m not saying her intentions are bad, just that she has a motive here and we need to be aware and careful of that.”

My mate nods as she straightens from the railing. “I know.”

She starts toward the steps and I follow her, determined not to let this moment pass. It’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore the demand of my wolf, of my body, to take her. The mating bond has been getting stronger since we kissed.

“This tau is different from the others,” she says.

I nod, but I don’t care about the other woman. My focus is on Roux.

“We need to find out from her what they’re doing to the others.”

She stops suddenly and turns. I nearly knock her down and have to grab her biceps to steady her. Touching her inflames my desire, my need and I can’t hold it back.

“Sawyer…”

Fuck. The way she says my name makes me lose it. This time, I don’t know that I’m going to be able to stop myself from claiming her fully. I press my mouth to hers and I take what I want.