Page 12 of Ruthlessly Mated (Shared Mates #2)

This creature is cruel and cold. I used to think I wanted the kind of authority he has, but now that I am exposed to it, I am starting to see that it is not strength or power.

In many ways it is the complete absence of both.

He is dark and he is empty. There is no empathy behind his eyes.

His cruelty is calculated and deliberate.

“You could force me into my wolf form, and I could run my paws bloody in her wake, and you would still not catch her.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she is smarter than both of us combined,” I say. “She’s using us both now to make good her escape. Every second you spend fucking with me is another second she gets further away.”

I am wrong about that, as it turns out.

As wrong as I could possibly be.

There’s so much noise in a burning port.

The sound of explosions as barrels of gunpowder and liquor go up has made my ears ring so much I can barely hear the vampire’s threats, not to mention the head trauma from the beating.

I can hear horror upon horror, and in the middle of it all, something chugging and roaring, and accelerating ?

Alexander hears it too. He stands up and looks in the direction of the oncoming sound.

Bam!

Even the most ancient of vampires cannot withstand being hit full force with a truck. I am sure he will reconstitute over time, but right now the great immortal Alexander is a smear in the radiator, and that is going to inconvenience him.

Kita throws the door open.

“Get in. Shut up. Don’t act grateful.”

I don’t know whether I want to kiss her or whip her ass. Both.

I grab Tailor and pull him in. Some quick seat changes and Damon shoves the truck into reverse and hauls out of the burning port like someone who knows how to drive very, very well. I have underestimated this girl. I have been doing that from the beginning.

“Is he alive?” She asks the question while jerking her thumb toward the rear of the cab. “There’s a bed back behind the seats, and a med kit.”

“He’s alive. Just. The vampire took it out on him the most.”

“That’s so weird, given you were right there.”

She hates me. She’d kill for me, but she still hates me. Not typical mate energy, but what is typical with wolves? I have never had a mate before. I don’t know how to handle this wild creature who gets off on misbehaving and acting out and being a completely outrageous little beast.

Damon is driving, and he gets us out of the burning port and heads back inland.

Damon never left her side, of course; he nods at me as I meet his gaze.

He had her protected no matter what. There are questions as to how all this happened, how she got out, how he got out, who knew about Alexander, of how some of the torture could have been avoided, but those are awkward questions and I don’t think they should be asked right now when I’m trying to just enjoy my escape.

While we drive, I get to think. Tailor is going to be okay.

The vampire didn’t do anything permanent to him.

He’s going to recover over time and he’s going to have missed most of the horrors that were done to me, which is a good thing.

I like the fact that I’m the only one who is aware of what Alexander has done.

I treated Kita the same way I would treat anybody. That was my mistake. I tried to ignore the delicacy of the mate bond. I tried to dominate her. Own her. I tried to make her obedient. All I did was piss her off and push her away—but she still came back for us.

I want to thank her, but the words feel hollow even before I say them, so I don’t. I keep my mouth shut and I try to think of what I can say when the time is right. Talking has never been my strong suit. I’m not charming like Tailor, and Damon already has the monopoly on silence.

“You’re covered in blood,” Kita says, turning to me when she is satisfied that Tailor is okay. There’s something in her tone that almost implies she finds that rather selfish and annoying of me.

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to clean you up. Try not to fuck my ass while I do it,” she says, referencing the last threat I made to her before all this unfolded.

“Kita…”

“Don’t talk,” she says, sliding over to me and dabbing at my skin with alcohol wipes that sting only slightly less than the vampire’s torture did. “I don’t think talking is going to be good because every time I hear your voice, I kind of want to punch you in the face.”

She’s working very hard to be unlikeable, and she’s succeeding.

She sits back and taps Damon on the shoulder. “Swap with me,” she says, climbing over practically into his lap. “I’ll drive. You patch up your boy.”

Damon does as she asks, comes into the back and watches as I patch myself up. I don’t need help. I definitely don’t need attitude. I am somewhat stuck with both. At least Damon doesn’t talk when he tries to help.

Kita keeps driving for hours. The night turns to day, then turns back to night again. She refuses to stop. She refuses to switch out. She refuses to talk to me. Tailor wakes up, in pain, is given pain relief, and passes out. Opiates hit him hard.

I try to talk to her. She ignores me.

“Kita, we need to speak.”

“No. We don’t. Sit in the back and shut up.”

I do not like being spoken to like that.

Makes me want to beat her little ass, but we are speeding along at what feels like peak velocity for this vehicle, and I don’t want to cause an accident.

I also want her to tell me what the hell is going on, and I can’t do that if I make her angry. Well, angrier than she already is.

There’s also the fact that we were somewhat left to die, but it feels like an emasculating detail to bring up. She did try to warn us, I think, but there was no listening happening. I thought I had her under control. I couldn’t have begun to imagine how out of control she is.

She is starting to visibly nod off when I intervene.

“You’ve been driving for hours,” I say. “Let me or Damon drive.”

“Damon, take the wheel,” she says, sliding over the top of him as he reaches for the wheel and takes her place. She curls up on the passenger seat, not looking at me. She’s exhausted, and needs her rest. I know that. It’s not the time to talk to her.

As soon as I’m sure she’s out, I ask Damon to pull over. We need to stop for a bit. We need to regroup.