AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Murphy Dockery was a cat shifter who’d been missing since the pride had come against Blane in Illinois. At the time, no one had realized Murphy had been taken. It was killing them not to be able to find him. Especially his brother, Finn. Fletch understood. He felt that way about Rocco. Knowing his friend was out there, somewhere, was driving him insane. He’d always assumed Rocco had gone back home, and it killed him to admit, he’d been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to check in as he should have. God, the attacks had done more damage than any of them realized. They’d left scars on all of them, the prisoners as well as the survivors. None of them would ever be the same.
“Helen’s awake,” Brock called as he walked out of the tree line toward them.
Fletch frowned. “How do you know that?”
Brock laughed. “She came into the kitchen with Muriel while I was dealing with Jemma.”
Holt laughed. “How’d that go?”
Brock growled, and Fletch found his lips twitching. He wondered when Brock would realize why Jemma got to him so much.
“What’s she up to now?” Fletch asked.
“Wants to go into the field with the rescue teams.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Fletch asked, knowing he’d assured Helen that she could go once she was up to it.
“She has no business in the field,” Brock snapped. “She’s a child with no sense of safety. She’s reckless. Impulsive. She’ll get someone killed. Probably herself.”
“She’s not a child,” Holt countered.
“So she’d like everyone to believe,” Brock muttered.
“She never had a chance to be a child,” Holt countered. “None of us know what she endured during the time she was kept hidden. She doesn’t talk about it.”
“It’s our job to keep our females safe. We failed once. We won’t make that mistake again.”
“Be careful, Brock. Jemma’s more fragile than you realize,” Fletch warned but wasn’t surprised when Brock shook it off.
“She stays here. She stays safe. End of story. Now, did you get any other locations out of our guest?”
Holt shook his head. “Not yet. Either he doesn’t know or he’s succumbing to his wounds. Jensen noted he’s got a fever setting in.”
“And?” Fletch growled.
“And we want every grain of info we can get out of him. He’s the best source we have right now.”
“The last location he gave us was deserted,” Brock reminded them.
Except for the bodies that had been left to rot. The ones on top had all been shot in the head as if the hunters had rushed to rid themselves of the prisoners they’d kept and tortured. As if they’d been in a hurry to leave and had needed to travel light. Fletch prayed his mate’s sister hadn’t been among them. It killed them all to realize they were still too late for a lot of the women.
He lifted his head, catching his mate’s scent in the air and turned to head toward her.
“Before you leave, I came here to tell you that Jensen wants to see you and Helen,” Holt called as Fletch followed his nose toward his mate.
“Later,” he called, giving an absent nod.
“Who do you have?” Helen demanded as soon as she caught sight of him.
He ignored her question at first, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her close. Holding her. Nothing had ever felt so right as she did in his arms.
“Fletch.”
He ducked his head and caught her lips with his, meaning to give her a soft peck, but with the first touch of their lips, he lost control, sinking his tongue into her mouth and taking the kiss deep. Lust hit him between the thighs, but the love that filled his heart gave his brain the ability to control his baser urges and keep his touch gentle instead of turning into the possessive bear who wanted to remind them both of the bond growing between them.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
She clung to him, her gaze soft as she glanced up at him. He dropped another kiss on her lips and forced himself to keep it light this time.
