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She’d bet Alex had noticed it, too. She’d bet he was counting on the asshole to relax a little more. If she could just find some way to make him do so …
“Well, you should have known better than to think I’d ever dance to anyone’s tune but my own,” she said.
“Maybe so. Did you talk him out of running outside after I fired those shots? I’ll bet you did. Alex’s instinct would have been to rush out and run me down.”
“Why come back to the pride?” asked Alex, and she had the feeling he didn’t like it that Paxton’s attention was on her.
“So I could be near my little cat, of course. We’re tied, she and I. Even without the bond, our destinies are still intertwined. The pull to be close to each other is always there. You never should have touched her, Alex. Never. You knew it, but you did it anyway.”
A vein in Alex’s temple twitched. “What’s it to you? You don’t want her.”
Paxton sighed. “Shifters. Always so caught up in the concept of mating. None of you ever see it for the weakness that it truly is. It’s true that I don’t want to claim her. But if I’m going to allow anyone else to do so, it will be someone who’s good for her. You won’t be.”
“You wouldn’t like anyone claiming her. To you, she’s like a toy that you don’t want anyone else to play with.”
“And what is she to you?”
“Everything.”
Bree’s heart clenched. Damn if she didn’t love the bossy, impossibly rude bastard.
“No, Freya was everything to you,” countered Paxton. “And you didn’t even know it until it was too late. Just like you didn’t know I was here until it was too late. Seems like you’re not very good at protecting your mates, are you?”
Alex’s deep, rumbly growl sounded like a damn boat motor.
Paxton laughed, clearly enjoying himself. Yeah, his stance had lost all stiffness at this point. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re all going to back away—yes, I’m quite aware there are many of you. You’re all going to get into your vehicles, and you’re going to leave. Oh, I’m sure at least one of you will circle back. But by then, I’ll have my cat on the front seat beside me. If I even so much as hear anyone approaching, I will shoot her.”
Bree swallowed. “Don’t give him what he wants, Alex. He’ll either kill me or keep me as a captive somewhere—neither of those scenarios sound all that appealing to me.”
Her mate didn’t even look at her. He just kept on glaring at Paxton, his neck corded, his muscles straining against the skin of his neck and arms.
“So, what will it be, Alex?” asked Paxton. “Will she and I be leaving here together, or will we be dying together? Personally, I think—”
The van flipped onto its side wicked fast like a fucking crazy-ass wind whipped it up and tossed it. She crashed into the side wall as it suddenly became the floor, whacking her head, hip, and shoulder hard, causing pain to burst through her. A heavy weight landed on top of her, making the breath gush out of her lungs.
She felt bare skin beneath her palms. His skin.
Without hesitation, she shoved positive energy into Paxton, hoping to God he wouldn’t have the chance to pull the trigger of the gun. She heard him suck in a breath and—
People leapt into the van. Just as the heavy weight was yanked away from her, someone dragged her along the floor and threw her out of the vehicle.
Vinnie caught her with a grunt. “I got you, sweetheart.” He tried slicing the ropes binding her, frowning when they didn’t even fray. “What the—”
A body came zooming out of the van, as if it had been tossed out like litter, and landed hard on the ground. There was a nauseating crack. Groaning, Paxton palmed the back of his head.
A spinetingling, guttural roar split the air, making the back of her nape prickle. A wolverine sprang out of the vehicle, his tail up, his hackles standing on end. Alex.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Fucker,” Paxton spat at the wolverine, rising to his feet. He didn’t shift, which was no surprise to Bree—for him, this was between him and Alex. He wouldn’t want to bring his cat into it. He’d want to deliver every single wound himself.
The wolverine glared at him through those small, beady eyes. And then it lunged, easily shoving the other male back to the ground. His powerful jaws clamped around Paxton’s leg, heaved him up, and slung him at the barbed wire fence.
Vinnie flinched. “Now that had to hurt.”
Coughing, Paxton tried to push himself up. The wolverine slammed his paw on the male’s head, leaving ugly rake marks along his scalp and face. But he hadn’t hit the cat hard enough to crush his skull and kill him—something the wolverine could have easily done.
