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I open the door. “Wait for me. Don’t come in. That will make things worse. I’ll be out with Lauren in ten minutes or less.”
“You want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Lincoln demands.
I’m already out of the car. “Nope.” I slam the door shut and run inside.
The sheriff’s office is small. I ignore Betty Branson at the front desk and follow my shifter hearing to an interrogation room in the back.
“Hold up!” I hear her get up from behind the desk. “You can’t go back there, Abe.”
I ignore her and try the door. It’s locked. I don’t wait or knock, I tear at the knob with one foot braced against the concrete wall. The metal door bows, then gives way, and I rip it right off its hinges.
Betty shrieks.
I throw the door behind me. Inside, Lauren’s slumped over a table like she’s been beaten, her hands handcuffed behind her back.
“Get away from her!” I shove the sheriff’s deputy into a wall.
Huge mistake. Lauren’s head jerks up at the sound of my voice. The undead asshole standing in front of her leans down to look in her eyes.
“No!” I shout as I slam his head down into the table, busting his nose. And then everything happens at once.
My dad and the sheriff pull me back. The vampire moves lightning fast. One second he’s face down on the table, the next he’s right in my face, fangs descended, eyes darkened with blood lust.
“Easy, easy, easy. Take a breath.” The sheriff uses a soothing voice as he and my dad pull me backward, away from the vampire.
He’s not the same one I brought Lauren to before–it’s some leech I haven’t seen before.
My vision is twitching, my head about to explode from pressure and pain. “Let go of my mate, or I will destroy everyone in this room.” My voice isn’t my own. There’s a wolf-growl to it, like I’ve already half-shifted.
“Mate.” Surprise tinges my dad’s voice.
“Let her go now.” I’m done warning them. I headbutt my dad at the same time I kick the sheriff in the gut, twisting out of both of their grasps.
Lauren’s on her feet, staring at me in shock. I snatch her against my chest, reaching around to grasp the metal cuffs behind her. With one snap, I break them apart.
“Hold up, Abe.” The sheriff still has that calming tone like I’m a feral beast they’re trying to contain.
Which I guess I am.
“Take a breath. We won’t hurt your mate. She’s safe.”
I wrap my arms tightly around Lauren and kiss the top of her head. Her scent soothes me. She’s trembling, but to my relief, her arms come around me, and she hugs me back.
“Get that leech away from her,” I growl, refusing to look in the direction of the vampire.
He hisses like an angry cat.
“It’s all right. We’re not going to mind-wipe her. We didn’t know she was your mate, son,” the sheriff says.
I fight to swallow over the tight band constricting my throat. “She is,” I choke. “And I don’t care about what that means for your precious gene pool,” I say to my dad.
“That’s why you’ve been having episodes.” Always the scientist. He doesn’t weigh in about matters of the heart. Or fate. Just the logic behind my condition.
“She’s my mate,” I repeat. “I’ll burn this town to the ground if anyone tries to stand between us.”
Lauren’s heart thuds against my chest. She slowly pulls back from me to look up. I cradle her beautiful face. “I’m sorry I hurt you today,” I murmur, even though everyone in the room has supernatural hearing.
“Clyde, apologies for the assault. I think you understand a wolf will do anything to defend his fated mate if he believes she’s in danger.” Sheriff Gleason attempts to soothe the vampire now, leading him out of the interrogation room. “We didn’t know she was his mate, or we wouldn’t have tried to wipe her mind. We will still pay your fee, of course.” The men file out, leaving me alone with Lauren.
