“Quiet, Hayden.” Drake casually leans back against a tree. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
“You need to get out more,” Hayden says dryly.
“This isn’t a game,” I say to Angel, a growl riding my words. A growl that should be for the asshole shifter who thinks she belongs to him. Fuck, my growl comes out aimed at her instead. “Ignore my wolf, but don’t ignore what this male has done to you.”
“You don’t understand,” she says, her focus solely on me.
“Hekidnappedyou, Angel. Why do I have to keep repeating that fact?” I cup her face, tilting it gently to see the scrapes there, the ones that match her shoulder. “Look at what he did to you. That’s not something a male does to his female.”
“I didn’t touch her. She jumped out of a moving car on the highway.”
“What? Angel, tell me that’s not true. You could have been killed.”
“You told me to do whatever it takes to survive.”
“Did he threaten you?”
She shakes her head. “He planned on keeping me from ever seeing you again.”
I swallow, not sure what to say to that.
Just picturing her jumping out of a moving car has me reeling. I never should have encouraged her to work in supplies, where she’d have to leave the safety of the pack.
Not seeing Angel, not touching her…. Fuck, nothing short of a bullet to my brain would destroy me more than losing her. My wolf retreats deeper inside me. He’s finally accepting what I’ve known for some time. I can’t put her under glass on a shelf, hidden from the world, where she’d be safe. My Angel needs shifters around her. A pack.
It’s the fear I’ve had since I rescued her… being with me would isolate her. Keeping her close would ensure her safety but destroy her spirit. It’s a no-win situation.
“I think we need to continue your training. Risk and threat assessment. Hownotto give in to impulse and fear.”
She winces. Ass that I am, I’m scolding her, and not in private either.
I run a finger down her cheek, carefully avoiding the scrapes. “I’m sorry. Just don’t… don’t do that again. I will always find you, my Angel, no matter how long it takes. But risking your life… there’s no coming back from death.”
“The dog has a point,” Ronin says.
“Don’t call him that,” Angel snaps.
“I saidretriever, Idahoan mutt,” Drake cuts in. “Are you shifters up north hard of hearing? That would explain how your pack fell so easily.”
“You know nothing of my pack,” Ronin shouts at Drake.
“I know they’re hurting for brains and strength if they sent you and one other to retrieve a single female and you couldn’t even manage that.” Drake glances at Hayden. “Ask my brother about weakness. He should have been alpha here and now he’s second for a lesser pack.”
Hayden doesn’t say anything, merely wears that frown that hasn’t left his face since we crossed into Novak territory. Earlier even. I never realized how hard it would be for him to return here. And he did it for Angel… for me. I have a flicker of sympathy for Ronin, trying to keep what’s left of his pack together, trying to reclaim the female he thinks is his.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” I address Ronin. “You fucking kidnapped her, put her in that position of risking her life.”
“She wouldn’t come with us on her own.”
“You should have respected her wishes. No, of course you wouldn’t. You don’t care about her, not as anything more than being a female to claim.”
“You know nothing about me or our pack, which is where she belongs.”
“That’s up to her.” I look at Angel. “You don’t have to decide today. This is your life, your choice.”
Ronin’s glare lands fully on Garrett. “Wrong as can be, dog.”
My wolf holds me back from marching forward and grabbing the obnoxious prick by his throat. Angel’s shaking. She’s the priority here.
