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“Yeah, sweetheart. Took me twenty-six years but I did kill all those fuckers on my way out.”
That had me stilling, dumbfounded at what he’d said. “They had you for twenty-six years?”
“Yeah, whatever you’re imagining, it was worse. I wasn’t the only shifter they got their hands on, but I was the only one that got out alive. And that’s why my wolf reacts like he does to cages of any sort.”
I nodded, still shocked. “Makes sense. So how old are you now?”
He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at me. “Worried I’m too old for you now, babe? Age differences don’t mean a fucking thing between mates.”
I rolled my eyes, the tension of his earlier revelation broken with his joking. “I’m well aware we’re bonded now. I just wanted to know how old you were out of curiosity.”
“I’m thirty-six. So, been free of that hell hole for eight years now. How about you, my curious little kitty, how old are you?”
I had no clue how he was going to react to my age. He might have joked that I was going to have an issue with the age gap, but I honestly didn’t care. However, he might when he found out how young I was.
“Well, remember my age in years is far different to how old I am, if you get my meaning.”
He gave me another of his side-eye glances. “Just fucking tell me already.”
“I’m nineteen.”
The car swerved as Cujo jolted. “Motherfucking-son-of-a-bitch!”
I gripped the handle above the door and winced as his inventive cursing continued while he regained control of the SUV. Yep, as I’d guessed… he was not happy about my age. Was it possible to break a mate bond once it was sealed? I wasn’t sure. Tears filled my eyes as the bikes ahead of us pulled into a truck stop off the highway and Cujo followed, pulling up behind them.
Chapter Seven
Cujo
Skiddingthecartoa stop behind the bikes, I rocketed out the door, slamming it. Still cursing a blue streak, I started to pace the parking lot to the side of the truck stop. No one came near me, which was fucking great. Mood I was in, I’d kill someone.
I wanted to kill her piece of shit father. Nineteen years old. A fucking baby and she’d been a hooker for how long? Hell wasn’t hot enough for that asshole. I stormed back over to the car, ripping her door open. She cringed away from me and it was like a blade through my heart. I’d never fucking lay a hand on her, but I couldn’t get the words out to reassure her. My wolf wanted out, he wanted to go hunt.
“How long has he been pimping you out?”
She blinked up at me and the tears running down her cheeks were another blade through me, but I couldn’t comfort her yet. I had energy and rage that needed to be burned off first, and I needed to know this information. If I didn’t find out now, I’d just flip my lid again later when she told me. Better to get it all out now.
“Fourteen years.”
She whispered the words so quietly, if I hadn’t been a shifter, I wouldn’t have heard her. But I did. And as I did the math, rage like I’d never felt poured like lava through me.
“Five? That motherfucking piece of shit started selling you out at five fucking years old?”
Turning away, I stormed over to the edge of the lot facing out over the landscape. I wanted to howl. My wolf wanted out, wanted to go hunting right fucking now and tear that piece of shit apart. Gravel crunching had me swinging my attention to the side to where Joaquin was approaching me with measured steps. I knew he could move silently so the fact I’d heard him meant he wanted to alert me of his presence. As he got closer, I turned my body to face him fully. “She’s still a fucking baby, Joaquin. Nineteen years old and that motherfucking asshole has been pimping her out for fourteen fucking years. Who the fuck sends out his five-year-old daughter to fuck men?”
He shook his head, his expression grim. “A monster, that’s who. We’ll make him pay. We will find a way to take him down. But not here, not now. Your mate needs your comfort right now. Not your rage.”
His eyes flashed to his Alpha blue as he reached out and gripped my shoulder. Instantly my wolf was soothed, which freaked me out enough I pulled away.
“What the fuck did you just do?”
Confusion clouded his eyes a moment before they cleared. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head. “Know what? I’ve never had an Alpha. You looked into my past. You know I wasn’t raised in a pack.”
He cleared his throat. “As your Alpha, I can help you by drawing away things like strong emotions or pain. I was taking some of your rage so you could calm the fuck down before you did something stupid. It’s not safe to shift here. We’ll grab some lunch, then get back on the road. We got another few hours of riding before we’ll reach the motel I’m aiming for. Once we get settled, you’ll be able to go for a run. We all can. But right now, that ain’t happening. Get your wolf under control.” He pointed over to my car, where the other Iron Hammers were surrounding it, keeping my woman protected. “She had to live with that fucker. She’s had fourteen years of abuse and torture at his hands. You, of all people, know what that’s like. You’ve had years to adjust to being free, but today is her first taste of being rid of him. Don’t cut her down before she has a chance to learn to fly, brother. Take a deep breath, shove that rage down for now and go be the mate she needs you to be.”
I hadn’t lied to Joaquin. My parents had been rogue wolves, not part of a pack. So even before I was taken as a cub, I hadn’t ever had a pack and Alpha. Of course, I’d heard stories over the years, but this was the first time I’d experienced it firsthand. It was rather disconcerting to not be the one in control of my feelings. In the past, if I got mad, I shifted and ran it off. Or found someone who needed hunting down to vent my rage on. Maybe being part of a pack and having an Alpha would do more than just provide extra protection for my mate and any offspring we might have. Maybe I didn’t need to live with my wolf’s baser instincts dictating how I responded to things.
