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Sliding an arm under her boney knees, I gently lift her higher up my chest, mindful of the million scrapes and cuts littering her body, and stand. Axel adjusts the blanket around her body, ensuring she is completely covered and offering a sense of modesty. We walk out of the alley towards the back parking lot to Axel’s waiting SUV. I sit in the passenger’s seat with Riley still in my lap, clinging to me as though her life depends on it, even in her sleep. I look down at her face, so angelic, like a pixie in my arms.
What the hell am I doing? I am not the safety line type, the white knight, or even the one to give a damn about another human being. I’m the tattooed bad boy your mama warned you to stay away from.
She was right to run when she felt me approaching the bar. My wolf hated the distance she put between us, so when Switch got up to check on her, it was his insistence that compelled me to volunteer to go instead. What I found outside that back door; I wasn’t at all prepared for.
I didn’t have time to think or even rein in my wolf before all hell broke loose and my wolf lost control.
No. For her, we kill. For her, we protect. Protect mine. Protect mate, my wolf chimes in, extremely content with his actions.
I wouldn’t have fucking let him rape her, but we didn’t have to kill him, I chide, fucking pissed as hell.
Mine. Mate, he growls.
Damnit, my head is so confused. I don’t know this girl, but my wolf has claimed her as his. I can’t lie, something about having her here in my arms feels … right. Like my arms were made to hold and protect her. But my hands are that of a fighter—a killer—not a lover. Not anymore.
How could she ever want someone like me? I’m tainted … ruined.
Sitting across the table from Wilder earlier, we eyed Cree, Reed, and Axel, wondering how they could be so smitten with this girl they hardly know. Sure Cree is her boss, but how well does he even really know her? Their eyes hardly leave her, cataloguing every move while they recounted the incident from the previous week. How she overdosed on pills and drank herself to the point of blacking out. How all of their animals feel the mate bond, but how she’s not showing any sign of feeling it.
But as I watched her, I could see the attraction she feels towards them clear as day. In the flush of her cheeks every time she caught them looking at her. In the sway of her hips as she glided from table to table. In the heat shining in her eyes as she stood beside Cree, looking down at him. Sure, there was irritation, and rightfully so, but there was lust there as well.
When she walked away, headed back to the bar, and I felt that tug in the center of my chest and heard the growl of my wolf, I knew I was fucked. This girl is going to be trouble. And that is one thing I do not need right now. I’ve got enough trouble in my life.
So, it’s settled, I will fight this pull, I will deny the mate bond I know is trying to develop and walk away. Besides, she has enough going on in her life, and at least three mates vying for her attention. She doesn’t need my brand of trouble, too.
Mine, my wolf growls. Clawing at my center, he lets me know he disagrees with the decision I’ve just made.
Chapter 10
AXEL
My gaze flicks to a sleeping Riley and up to Enzo. His face is turned down, his eyes locked on her serene face. I’ve never seen Enzo become as protective and possessive over a woman before. Not that I know the man all that well.
When we came out of the club, he was wrapped around her so tight I thought he might break her. As Cree got close, Enzo’s wolf shined through—a honey gold—shooting deadly daggers that had even Cree backing off. I couldn’t fault him, seeing as the body of the man who attacked Riley was torn to bits and pieces, completely unrecognizable as a human. His insides were thrown across the alley, each limb detached at the joints. The only part we truly recognized was his dick, hanging from his mouth, mangled, pulled from his body while still alive. He wanted that man to suffer.
As a healer, I don’t particularly enjoy violence. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll fight for my pack, for my family, and my mate, in self-defense and justice. But what took place in that alley wasn’t about justice. That was revenge for his mate.
“You okay over there?” I ask, needing to break the silence.
“Yeah. I think we’re okay.” He hooks a wayward strand of Riley’s hair behind her ear. His touch so gentle she doesn’t stir, not even a whimper. As if she’s burned him, he pulls his hand away with a jerk and stares at it.
“Why are you fighting it?” I know I shouldn’t ask, it’s not my business. But as an empath, it’s hard for me to not want to understand someone’s feelings. And right now, Enzo’s are conflicted.
I keep my eyes locked on the road when his head snaps in my direction. From the corner of my eye, I can see the confused expression written on his face. His brows pinched low before slowly softening.
“I’m not good for her. There’s blood on my hands, and I don’t want that getting on her.”
“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”
He shrugs a shoulder, and I put the SUV into park out front of Reed’s apartment.
“Where are we?” he asks, looking out his window.
“Reed’s place. The others are already here. I suggested that I drive you and Riley, in case she needed any immediate medical attention and that the others go on ahead, so we didn’t overwhelm her in such a small space.”
“I’m sure that went over well.”
“About as well as you’d expect with three alphas being told to leave their unclaimed mate,” I say with a chuckle and push open my door. I run around to the passenger’s side, opening the door, and help cover Riley when Enzo steps out. He carries her to the elevator as I follow behind with my medical kit.
