“It’s a deal, only I’m going to make sure we are naked, and I’m buried balls deep inside you,” I growled.
“I’m holding you to that one.”
After relaying the conversation to Kellen, I kept my mind open with Breezy. When I judged the spot we would be close to, I noticed a van parked alongside the road. The same type of vehicle that had been at the club and at the compound we’d justovertook. Without pausing to think, I turned the wheel, aiming straight for the side.
“Kellen, I hope you got my back, bro. I’m pretty sure I’m about to ram a van full of either equipment from our enemies or possible enemies. My rig is gonna take it out, then I’m going hunting.” I didn’t wait for Kellen to give me permission, knowing the XV would plow through the van like a wrecking ball. The sound of my engine would be heard through their interior, but they’d not have enough time to do more than piss themselves. The thought brought a grin to my lips.
My vehicle jumped the curb, crashing into it, sending the lighter vehicle tumbling onto its side. My rig didn’t sustain any significant damage, except maybe a little paint scraping. I heard the groans of the injured from the wrecked vehicle, and was aware Kellen’s vehicle, filled with his pack, had already pulled up behind me. As I opened my door, I’d already begun shifting, tearing at my clothes.
I swung my head at the open door to see a man stumble out, blood dripping down his temple. The stench of human wafted off him. “Where is your alpha?” I looked the young man up and down, noticing his odd military outfit and close-cropped hair.
“You’re too late, mutt.” The man wobbled and fell to his knees.
I leaped the distance between us. “What do you mean?” I gripped the young man by the throat.
The man swallowed audibly. “She went after the one we were sent to track. She took Blake with her. If the alpha doesn’t kill her, Blake will.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I snapped my teeth, letting the human know I wasn’t making idle threats.
“She was planning to kill us all.” He waved his hand at the vehicle.
Kellen stepped out with another human by the throat. “Seems they found a bomb in the interior set to blow them up. Damn, mercenary bitch was going to kill these human men.”
I dropped the man I was holding. “I’m going after my mate.”
“Wait. They’re tracking her with this.” Kellen’s prisoner held a small device, a red blinking dot moving rapidly. “The red one is your wolf, and the blue ones are the alpha and Blake.”
I grabbed the device, studied the locations, and wanted to roar in fury. I didn’t understand how they knew where Breezy was. My wolf growled with the need to be let off its tether.
“Go, I’ll secure them in my rig and follow you. Go, now.” Kellen glared at the men cowering on the ground.
In a blink, I became the large blond wolf, racing toward my mate. Breezy’s mama may think she’s an alpha, but she’d never met me, nor had she fucked with my mate before. I wanted to howl, let them know I was coming, then decided stealth was the wiser option.
“Breezy, they are tracking you. Are you safe?”
My life flashed before my eyes while I waited, but only seconds passed before she answered. “I’m fine. I may have only been a child when my mother left, but I learned early how to avoid her. She was not as stealthy as she liked to believe. Yes, she beat me to ribbons, but only because I was a kid. I didn’t hide from her. I’m not a seven-year-old now. At twenty-seven, I’ve learned a few things as well,” she snarled.
I wanted to applaud her bravery, but she didn’t know what her mother had become. None of us truly knew. Plus, Sandy Mattice wasn’t alone. The man named Blake was clearly not just a wolf. He was someone the alpha bitch entrusted with doing her dirty work. “Your mother isn’t alone. She has a wolf who, more than likely, has no problem doing whatever is asked of him. Do you understand what I’m saying, Bella?”
Through our connection, I could feel her anxiety. I hated to scare her, but that could keep her alive. “Yeah. Meaning, she brought someone who she will take great pleasure in watching hurt me, or worse.”
It was what the worst could mean that we both knew would be something Breezy would want to die before. No woman wanted to be raped, beaten, and repeated. Sandy Mattice would rejoice at the prospect of doing just that to her daughter. The person a mother should love above all others, but Sandy wasn’t like most. She hated her Breezy more than any other and always had.
“I am close, love. I feel it. Are you near the ravine?” I kept my tone soothing.
“Yes. I can hear the water. Up ahead, I see the small cabin that had been used long ago by hunters. The one Kellen said he was going to make his Smoosh House.” Humor laced her words.
Doing a quick scan and breathing deeply, I pushed my wolf faster. Only minutes separated us. “Go to the cabin. I’m right behind you.”
I felt her love surrounding me through our link. Gods, but I loved her. I wanted to spend the rest of our lives showing her just how much, in every imaginable way possible. Of course, I’d have to paddle her ass for scaring the shit out of me.
My wolf came to an abrupt halt, the large wolf staring at me through black eyes snarled. The fact that I hadn’t smelled him before he was almost upon me gave me pause.
I bared my fangs. We’d figure out how the others had masked their natural smells later. Now, I’d get to killing.
The other wolf dug his hind legs into the dirt below him, a telltale sign, one I would never make in battle. Dark blond fur jumped, black claws and fangs aimed right for my throat. At the last moment, I rolled away, coming up on all fours, and counterattacked. The other wolf wasn’t as quick to land in theloose leaves and dirt, making it easy for my own claws to rake across the exposed underbelly.
I heard the satisfying cry of the wolf, turning to make another swipe or bite at any available part of him. I was shocked to find it bearing down on me. I twisted, barely missing the large fangs, aiming for my throat.
