Page 90 of Freed

“You don’t get to speak to her like that,” Gage seethes, his arms tightening around me as Bain and Chase move between us in wolf form, shielding me. “In fact, you don’t get to speak to her at all.”

“You can’t keep me from my mate!” Blaze yells as he pushes to his feet. But instead of anger, I feel amusement and satisfaction coming from Gage as he slowly moves me behind him, blocking me from Blaze’s sight. I wrap my arms around his waist from behind, wanting to keep him close.

“She’s not your mate,” Maddox says. I peek out, seeing him standing at Blaze’s side in his human form as he cracks his knuckles.

“She is!” he yells with his frustrated, overgrown toddler temper.

Bain shifts next, taking a moment to tilt his head to the side and crack his neck.

“Are you sure about that?” Gage asks, as Blaze’s expression changes to confusion.

“Y-yes!”

“If you were her mate, you’d be able to sense her.”

Blaze looks confused, then panicked as he yells at me, “What did you do?! I can’t feel you anymore! You broke our bond!”

“You never had a bond with her,” Maddox tells him calmly, though I can tell there is nothing calm inside him right now. He’s like a brewing storm.

“I did!”

“No man would ever try to harm his mate. He would do everything in his power to protect her,” Gage explains, with the same restrained energy as Maddox.

“You know nothing of our bond!” he yells at Gage.

“They know better than anyone,” I shout back, making his eyes connect with mine. “They’re my fated mates. Not you.”

His brows pinch as he glances around. “What? All five of them?”

“Yes. I love them, because they treat me with respect and look after me.”

“I can⁠—”

I interrupt him before he can finish that sentence. “You don’t even know my name.”

His mouth opens, but nothing comes out as my mates stare at him in shock.

Then Blaze’s eyes narrow on me, anger filling all of his features as he seethes. “You fucking slut! You ruined everything!”

I’m not sure what he expected as he takes a step toward me, but that’s all he gets, one step.

Maddox quickly moves to his side, punching him in the gut. Blaze lets out a pained groan, bending forward only to be met with Bain’s fist from a ruthless uppercut that sends him flying to his back.

Chase growls, moving closer in his wolf form. Even though he’s badly burned, he clearly wants to be a part of this. And as his head looks down at Blaze’s body, I realize he’s taking his time, deciding where to bite him.

When he aims his growling mouth at the juncture of Blaze’s thighs, Gage suddenly spins, pulling me against him and blocking my view, just as Blaze’s scream tears through the forest.

“Don’t try to look,” Gage says, pulling me closer. I hear another scream, making me jerk in his arms as he strokes my back.

I hear footsteps, and a moment later, I’m passed over into another warm embrace. Hunter.

I tilt my head up to look at his face and notice some blood on his chin. “Did you hurt him?” I ask, pointing at his chin. He wipes it with the back of his arm then looks at me for a few seconds before he finally nods. “Good,” I say, pressing my cheek into his chest and letting him hold me tightly.

“It’ll all be over soon,” he tells me quietly as Blaze’s screams echo in the background. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispers against my head.

“Thank you for coming,” I say, making him huff in amusement.

“You never have to thank us for coming for you, baby girl.”