Page 20

Chapter 20

Daff

King stopped our golf cart before the access point into the Wild Zone.

It was separated from the rest of the base by a three-story electric fence topped with razor wire and intermittent voltage warning signs.

There was a single booth next to the gate, manned by a wolf hybrid.

King stepped out ahead of us.

“Tracker.”

The wolf lifted his chin, his eyes sliding over Prowl and landing on me.

“She has permission,” King said, before he could ask.

He scented the air.

From the bits and pieces I’d heard about the other hybrids, their differences reached deeper than just their looks.

Prowl said the wolves’ ability to scent was enhanced to where it was rumoured one of them could detect the minute changes in a person’s scent, enough to tell if they lied.

Which meant my brain had swung straight to how often people’s BO must bother them, then how the heck they could filter out all the other scents bombarding them to detect that one singular change.

It was crazy to think about.

And an ability I could see a lot of powerful people wanting access to.

“Rage?” The Wolf asked.

King nodded.

“Do I need to remind you that most of them haven’t met a female without bars between them?”

I leaned into Prowl’s warmth.

“We’ve got her.”

He handed King a huge ass Taser, then slid a key into the dash, turning it.

The gate hummed and rolled open.

“Does he really need that?” I asked, jerking my head towards the Taser King was clipping to his belt.

“Protocol,” King said, glancing back at me.

We entered a small enclosure, the gate behind us closing before the one before us opened.

“You okay, Angel?”

I licked my dry lips.

“Yeah.”

A soft purr rolled from his chest.

“How long will it take to reach him?”

“Walking? Twenty minutes,” King said.

“He doesn’t leave his territory, so I know where to find him.”

We followed King, stepping beneath a fairly solid canopy of trees, teaming with life.

Bird calls. Humming insects.

Branches flexing. Leaves whispering.

We were a few minutes in when I glimpsed a decent-sized building, hidden among the trees.

“What’s that?”

“That’s the lodge. Most of the wolves split their time between the two sides of the island. That’s where they stay when they’re here.”

“They don’t have cabins like Rage?”

“Cabins are for permanent residents. There’s only so many they can fit on this side, while maintaining a sense of separation from each other, so those that come and go either sleep outside or at the lodge.”

King’s back went rigid, and Prowl tensed.

My legs tried to lock, but Prowl tugged me forward, maintaining our pace.

“Prowl—”

“We’re fine,” he said, his eyes scoping and occasionally snagging on the surrounding trees.

“Just a few males being curious.”

“A few?”

“They’re keeping their distance.”

For now.

But what if they approached?

A shudder ran down my spine, my hand turning clammy in Prowl’s.

He’d promised time and again he’d keep me safe.

But here in the Wild Zone, with no barriers and males who either couldn’t or refused to live on the populated half of the base…

How many would be too many before he and King fell, protecting me?

I focused on my breathing, trying to ignore the tension in my shoulders and tightening bands around my chest as I watched my sneakers crunch over fallen leaves.

King slowed to a stop with Prowl beside him, and me sandwiched in the middle.

Ahead, the not quite there path continued to a small building, not much bigger than my side of Prowl’s containment area.

“Rage!” King yelled.

Something rustled to the left of us, making me flinch.

The two lions looked at each other, Prowl giving a small nod.

“We’re coming to you!” King called.

They started forward, Prowl gently tugging me into motion.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come.

Or stayed on the other side of the fence with Tracker.

Every day was a huge leap forward for Prowl.

He absolutely could have managed this without me, especially with King by his side.

What if Rage took one look at me and hated my guts?

It would devastate Prowl.

Maybe enough to sever the strands between us, tying us together.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat, forcing my feet, trapped inside invisible cement blocks, to keep moving.

King knocked on Rage’s door, but they both had their heads tilted to the left, listening.

Prowl released my hand, trading my fingers for my lower back.

“He’s coming.”

Rage stepped from the shadows beside his cabin.

He was bigger than King, his hands and feet more like elongated paws than palms, his skin more fur than the fuzz coating Prowl and King.

He was dark to their light, yellow to their gold, feral to their hard-earned tame.

It radiated from him, sending a shiver rippling down my spine.

Prowl cleared the emotion from his throat.

“It’s good to see you, Rage.”

Rage grunted, his body braced like he couldn’t decide if he was about to bowl us over or run the other way.

“Daff, this is my brother, Rage. Rage, this is Daff. She’s mine.”

Prowls hand moved to my hip, Rage’s eyes following the movement.

“Are you well?”

Another grunt.

“Should we go inside?” King asked, knowing it would help Prowl and I feel safer.

King headed to the door when Rage didn’t answer, taking his silence as a yes.

The door swung open on silent hinges, and King disappeared.

Prowl gave my hip a squeeze and let go.

Right. In we go.

I filled my lungs, licked my dry lips, and nodded.

I could do this. I absolutely could.

It’d be a defendable space with no hybrids watching from the shadows.

How many lived on this half of the base that weren’t wolves coming and going?

Prowl was talking to a still-silent Rage when I reached his door.

I paused at the last moment, resting my hand on the doorframe.

King was inside, and Prowl would be right behind me.

Feeling this nervous was beyond ridiculous.

I had no reason to?—

My hip and shoulder slammed into the hard ground, the air forced from my lungs, crushed beneath a massive weight.

My ears rang from multiple roars, black spots blinking in and out of existence.

Another Roar, louder and fiercer, pushed a whimper from my lips, barely uttered before the weight disappeared.

Air rushed into my lungs, and I rolled to my side, spikes of pain stabbing me with each hacking cough.

I flinched at the hand on my shoulder.

“Daff, you okay?”

It was King touching me.

That meant…

“Prowl…”

His fingers tensed, and I blinked past the damp, fuzzing my sight.

Flesh hit flesh; wet, loud smacks followed by another furious roar.

“Prowl! Take Daff and go. She needs you!”

My vision cleared enough to tell them apart.

Prowl had Rage on the ground, a hand tangled in his hair, yanking his head back, the other at his throat, blood dripping from a gash down his side.

“Give, Rage! Don’t make me kill you!”

Fuck.

King rose to his feet.

“Do it, Rage!”

Prowl shifted his weight, digging his knee harder into his lower back.

“Don’t! Please don’t.” He’d never forgive himself for killing Rage.

Not once it was done, and the heat of the moment gone.

Rage’s head wrenched back further, forcing a pained grunt from him.

Still, he struggled, the claws of one hand buried in the soil, the other on Prowl’s wrist.

“I will kill you, brother. Don’t make me do it.” His voice barely sounded human.

“Rage!”

Anger rumbled from him, but his hand released Prowl’s wrist.

Prowl shoved his face into the ground, leaning down with all his weight.

“If you ever touch her again, I will put you down.” Prowl leapt off him and swung me into his arms, cradled me to his sweaty chest and fell into a sprint.

I hoped it was his sweat.

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked, the only sign he’d heard me.

“Will he be okay?”

“King will see to him.”

I pressed my forehead against him, closing my eyes as I breathed him in, willing the ache in my chest away as I rocked in his arms.

He’d fought his brother for me.

Pinned him down.

Threatened his life.

If I hadn’t been there, it would never have happened.

This rift between them.

The choice Prowl had been forced to make between keeping me safe and harming his brother.

“Tracker! Open the gates!”

Prowl squeezed through the first one before it finished opening.

“Faster, Tracker!”

“What happened?” The wolf asked.

“Rage happened. Call medical. Daff needs a doctor. I’m bringing her to them.”

“And Rage?”

“King has him covered.”

The gate behind us locked.

“He still alive?”

“Yes,” Prowl answered, his voice void of emotion.

The fence separating us from Tracker started moving.

“Take the cart. I’ll get another for King,”

“Call medical,” Prowl repeated, ignoring the cart and sprinting past.

I looked up when he slowed.

Two people stood in the glass doorway of the hospital, waiting for us.

One set of eyes were on me, the other on Prowl.

“This way.” The Doctor said, forcing Prowl to follow her at a slower pace.

“What happened?”

“Rage charged her. Had her pinned beneath him.”

“I’m okay.”

He placed me on the edge of a hospital bed.

“Left side impact. Possible concussion,” He said, not acknowledging me.

“Prowl, please. I’m okay.” I hurt, but I wasn’t bleeding.

“And you?” The Doctor asked him.

“Don’t worry about me. Take care of Daff.”

“Ben will check her over while I see to your injuries.”

A growl ripped through him, making the male nurse wince and me realise how silent he’d been since he’d picked me up.

He hadn’t purred for me.

“You check her.”

“Because he’s male?”

“Because you’re the doctor,” he snarled back.

She pursed her lips but nodded.

“But you’re bleeding!” I cried, reaching for him.

His eyes, glowing gold and so utterly feline, shot to me.

“You first.”

I closed my eyes but nodded.

It was clear there’d be no persuading him.

The Doctor moved to my side.

“Where are you hurt?”

“Left side, like Prowl said. My ribs hurt, and I hit the back of my head, but I don’t think I have a concussion.”

She flicked on a miniature torchlight.

“Look straight ahead for me.”

I blinked past the blinding light, searing my eyeballs.

“Pupils look good. Let me feel the back of your head.”

Gloved fingers probed my scalp, making me wince.

“You have a small lump and no bleeding. No concussion, but you’ll most likely have a decent headache. If you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, you’ll need to come back.”

“She will.”

She moved to my ribs.

“Take a few deep breaths for me, and tell me where it hurts and what the pain feels like.”

“It hurts everywhere as soon as I breathe in too deep.”

She nodded, her gloved fingers pressing into them.

“Nowhere specific?”

“No.”

Another nod.

“You might show some bruising, but nothing’s broken. Lift your arm for me. Good. To the side. Above your head. Okay. Roll your shoulder for me. And forwards.” She lifted my arm by my elbow, looking it over.

“You’ll have a few bruises, but it looks fine. Can I see your hip?” I lifted my shirt and lowered my leggings, exposing it.

She gave it a once over, then turned to Prowl.

“No major damage. She just needs painkillers and rest. Watch out for increased dizziness or nausea. Patch through to me if anything else pops up, but she should be fine.”

He nodded as I slipped off the bed.

“Up,” she said, directing him to it.

“Will you lay down?”

“No.”

She nodded like she’d expected his answer.

“Then sit on the end of it so I can get close enough to patch you up.”

Prowl grimaced, but did it, his eyes on me as she changed her gloves.

Then, she looked him over, without touching him.

“I need to clean a few grazes, and the cut down on your side needs stitches.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“It’s non-negotiable.”

He grunted but didn’t make another sound as she made her way around him, putting antiseptic wherever she saw blood.

She stepped back. “Daff, do me a favour and stand between his legs.”

“Um…”

Did he even want me that close to him right now?

Things felt… broken between us.

The feeling could have absolutely been all in my head until the realisation he hadn’t purred for me.

How could that not be a bad sign?

Every other situation we’d been in, he’d started at the slightest hint of me feeling upset.

She raised an eyebrow.

“It will make this easier for him.”

Shit.

Of course, it would.

I stepped between his thighs, guilt strangling me.

How much of his life had been spent in rooms similar to this?

Stark white, medically sterile, the sounds and smells universal, whether the procedure was needed or forced on you.

Like all of his would have been.

I gripped his thighs, meeting his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Prowl. For all of it.”

His hand found the back of my neck and pulled me forward, close enough to tuck me under his chin.

“Only a few stitches, since I know you heal fast and prefer not to have them.”

Prowl nodded above me.

“Do you know what state you left Rage in?”

“King’s seeing to him.”

She hummed in response.

“We can send in supplies if he needs them.”

He grunted.

“I’ll tell King.”

“All done,” she said, removing her gloves with a snap that echoed around us.

“Since you’re keen to be out and about, I want you both to pop back in the morning for another once-over. It’ll save Paula the trip in to see you.”

“Any particular time?” I asked.

“Whenever you’re up and ready.”

“Thanks.”

Henry was waiting outside with a golf cart.

“Are you here for us?” I asked, looking around.

“Jean sent me. He’s caught up in meetings but wanted a visual check on you.”

“Of course he did,” I muttered.

“Alright then. Let’s go home.”

Prowl helped me up, then followed me on with a smoothness that belied his injured side.

Two minutes and we were home, the two steel doors locking us back inside our bubble.

“Prowl—”

“I need you,” he rasped, his hands finding my jaw and pulling me in for a searing kiss.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

The kisses kept coming, peppering my cheeks, lips and jaw.

His teeth grazed my neck, and his frenzy stilled.

“I need to mark you as mine.”

“Do it.”

I didn’t care how he did it or if it would hurt.

I needed to be his, with a desperation that obliterated everything else.

“Make me yours, Prowl. I need to be yours.”

He kissed me hard, lips and teeth clashing as we tore off our clothes, his hands roving my body, sliding and squeezing until every inch of me blazed with need.

“I need you inside me.”

He lifted me with a growl, his teeth grazing my nipple as he followed me onto our bed, his thighs pushing mine apart.

My head tipped back, my body arching beneath the rough lap of his tongue, paying homage to my clit, then plunging inside me.

The pressure was already building, but I pushed at his head, needing him to hear me.

“Your cock, Prowl, I need your cock. Please!”

The please got his attention.

“You’re sure?”

“I need all of you.”

My words made him shudder as he rose above me.

His thick head dragged between my folds before pausing at my entrance, drawing a whimper from me.

“Angel…”

I wrapped my legs around him, nudging him closer, increasing the stretch.

“Fuck,” he whispered, his body trembling above me.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered, my fingers finding my clit to help ease the way.

He knocked my fingers aside, replacing them with his thumb.

The spark of pleasure had him sliding in a few more inches.

His hips started moving, the feel of his spines, the fullness of having him inside me, making my eyes roll.

“Eyes on me, Angel,” he said right before he slid all the way home.

We both groaned at the sensation, acknowledging the moment.

Another groan, and he began to move.

Our bodies slicked, our tongues clashed, and my orgasm began to build.

“I’m gonna come.”

His hips drove faster, his mouth falling to the place where my neck met my shoulder.

My body locked, my orgasm peaking as fire pierced my skin, his bite driving me even higher.

Prowl shuddered above me, his hips jerking as he came.

It took him a moment for his teeth to release me, but I barely felt it.

I was still too high on my post-sex bliss.

His tongue brushed over the area, followed by a gentle kiss.

He rolled onto his back, tugging me with him.

“Did I hurt you?”

“It was perfect.”

His fingers brushed my hair aside so he could see me.

His eyes fell to my neck.

To his mark. “You’re mine.”

I pressed a kiss to his chest, just above his heart. “I always was.”