Each man fought the need to submit a little longer than I’d expected, then a grimace pulled at both their lips, before they dropped their eyes and then to their knees.
“I don’t know what’s crawled up your ass, boys, but get it out by the time I get back, or we can take it up in the cage.” I left without another word. The last thing I wanted was to beat the fuck out of my in-laws. My mate would probably be pissed at me. However, I couldn’t allow them to talk back or down to me, as was the case. Especially when it came to her safety.
“What was that about?” Kellen asked as I entered the new war room.
We needed to get this shit taken care of and reclaim our office. I’d yet to fuck Breezy on every available surface. I could picture laying her out on one of the leather sofas, then thought better of it. Too many other women had been there, and I wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it.
I should’ve known my show of power wouldn’t go unnoticed. “The Mattice boys needed a lesson, so I taught them. School is out for the moment, now we can focus on the important shit.Like tracking the fucks who attempted to take my mate, and then if it’s still a problem when I get back...” I didn’t need to finish.
Kellen nodded. “I’ll be sure and let Wyck know. I think you should let them both take you on. More money to be had.”
“You’re a greedy bastard. Who are you betting on?”
“Depends.” Kellen led the way out the door.
“On what?” I asked, watching Rowan and his team file out behind him.
The alpha glanced over his shoulder. “How badly did you get hurt after the mission?”
I raised my fist, giving Kellen the middle finger. “Why are you always flipping me off? I don’t swing that way.”
Sully shook his head. “I thought we were a weird bunch.”
Kayan gripped my shoulder. “We are a weird lot, don’t let him fool you.”
“Never doubted it for a minute,” I assured him. “I’m driving my rig. Who’s riding with me?”
“I’ll ride with you, along with Coyle and Oz. Let’s take as few vehicles as possible. If something happens and you can’t drive back, let me know how to operate your precious.” Kayan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
My first instinct was a hell no, but I recognized the need for a backup plan. “Fine. But understand you put one mark on her that wasn’t there before, and I will gut you.”
“You wolves are a brutal lot,” Tay remarked, tossing a bowie knife in the air, catching it blade side without a care for cutting himself.
I wondered who was the craziest of us. Looking over at Kellen, the gleam in his electric blue eyes, and I was pretty sure it was our leader, hands down.
“Let’s roll. I’m not getting any younger, and I can guarantee, y’all will be wanting to check in with your mates. Speaking of,how did you get away from yours without a fight, Rowan?” Kayan asked.
Rowan growled, a dark look crossed over his face. “None of your business. Let’s go.”
Kellen laughed. “That means he’s in trouble. Pussy whipped is what we call that.”
I shook my head. Kellen had no clue how it felt to have a woman mean so much to you that you’d gladly lay your life on the line for them. When the big alpha fell, he’d fall so damn hard, I was sure the building was gonna rock.
Chapter Eleven
Iwoke. My heart hammered in my chest. The unease of knowing something wasn’t right had me scrambling out of bed. My link to Xan was open, but fear for where he was, and if he was in a precarious position that my interruption could cost him his life, or someone else’s, had me pulling back. I stretched out a tendril in our connection, enough to let me know he was safe and alive.
Dressing quickly in a pair of shorts and a tank after a quick shower, I headed toward the door. I inhaled the different scents through the walls, waiting to open until I made sure there was no danger. “See, I listened.” I smiled as Xan’s face popped into my mind. He was so damn bossy, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.
The hallway was well-lit, clean, and relatively empty. I wondered where all the guards had gone. My eyes drifted around, through the window that served as the office, and found the new manager seated behind a computer. I waved an acknowledgment, continuing on to the bar, my stomach growling.
Noise filtering in from the closed steel door made me feel a little better. I hadn’t let the panic from the empty apartments get the best of me. Only a dozen feet from reaching the safety of others, my wolf reared her head. I stopped, put my back against the concrete wall, and scanned the area behind me. I allowed my claws to lengthen, my eyes to shift, and more of the wolf to come out, knowing the heightened senses would help.
The first thing I heard was a skittering above me in the ductwork. At that moment, I realized it wasn’t a mouse. Something much larger, or several things, were above me, and there was no way I’d make it to the bar before whatever was above me dropped down on me. “Xan, they are here at the club.” I tried not to sound too frightened in case he was in a position that would get him killed. I wanted to kick myself for not realizing there should have been people outside my room or in the hallway. But I wouldn’t cry over spilled milk.
If I yelled for help, the others in the club would come running, but would they all get killed? I didn’t know how many were above, or what kind of weapons they’d brought. In the end, I decided to call out to Kellen, let him make the choice. If they wanted me, I wasn’t going to be an easy target. After yelling through my link to the alpha, I began using the speed of my wolf and ran back the way I came, heading toward the tunnels they’d recently begun digging. Whoever had betrayed them couldn’t be a true insider. I thought of the bitch, and her connection, hoping I was correct. If they were locked onto me, I prayed they would follow and leave the pack alone.
The movement above sounded desperate. Loud
