Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

S hattered slivers spray everywhere. My hand moves back to my hair stick. I let it fly before I can think.

Suddenly a massive body covers mine and we crash to the floor in the span of a heartbeat.

Glass rains down bounding off the top of my head as my heart pounds and blood rushes through my ears.

"Is she okay?" Fell asks.

Cadoc moves back and runs his hands over my body.

"She's good."

I gulp down air, struggling to process. Head spinning, I close my eyes to reorient myself and slow my breathing. I clear my throat. "What happened?"

"Someone signed their death warrant." Bo snarls.

Cadoc helps me sit up and I cling to him. I peer around his broad frame. A short, emaciated man with pale skin caked with dirt is pinned to the wall as Bo chokes him.

His dingy clothes hang off his emaciated friends. His skeletal face is turning a deep purple. He kicks out weakly.

I wave wildly. If he doesn't stop, I'm going to be witness to a murder. My throat tightens. "Don't kill him," I squeak.

Bo glances over his shoulder. "Are you insane?"

"We need information," I appeal to his logical side.

Bo scowls, and slams the man's head against the wall. Grunting, he goes limp and slides to the floor in a heap.

"Who the fuck is that?" Fell gestures with a hand.

"I have no idea, but he reeks of the woods, earth, and unwashed body." Cadoc studies the man with squinted eyes. He helps me to my feet.

People rush into the room. Bo backs away from the man as my clan closes in around me.

"What is going on in here?"

I peer around Cadoc. A well-dressed man stands behind him.

"You tell us. This man tried to attack our mate." Cadoc's voice echoes through the restaurant.

"How did he even make it inside?" Bo's voice is ice cold.

"I. I don't know. I-I've never seen him," the man sputters.

"You couldn't have missed his stench," Fell adds.

I look down and balk at the dart on the ground. That was meant for me. The chemical scent coming from the tip of the dart sends my stomach rolling. I clutch the back of Cadoc's sweater.

Enforcers step through the doorway. I shrink down. Royal Roast is a popular restaurant, but their presence makes me uneasy. I don't trust Alpha anymore. Too many coincidences have me paranoid.

"What's going on here?" A tall lanky man with a square jaw asks.

The man I think is the manager explains. "This vagrant tried to harm their mate."

"Show us," The burly older man with a graying beard and thick brown hair commands tersely.

The men hustle me into the far corner.

The enforcer crouches down and sniffs the dart. "I'm not sure he was trying to kill her. From the smell of it, he wanted to paralyze. I think he was trying to take her."

"That's worse," Fell roars.

He growls in the back of his throat. The room grows thick with the musky scent of men ready to defend me.

Kirk walks up. "I leave to use the bathroom and come back to?—?"

"We're still figuring that out," Bo answers.

"Close the place down." The lanky light-brown-haired enforcer calls out.

"Looks like one of those wild ones from the woods. Must've gotten desperate for a mate," the older man mumbles.

"Be convenient if that was it, wouldn't it?" Fell asks.

The man flashes him an angry look. I can sense Fell's rage bubbling up to the surface.

I pinch Fell's side and he jumps.

"Let me check her over." Kirk steps forward.

"Thought you were done botching healing jobs," the older man's voice is full of accusation.

"Mind your business, Jones, this is my mate," Kirk's voice is pure ice.

"It shouldn't be." Jones menacing tone concerns me.

"Take that up with Alpha if you have a problem," Cadoc's voice is sharp-edged. He steps between us.

"Does anything hurt?" Kirk looks me over.

"No." I draw strength from his gaze.

His calm demeanor settles me.

"Follow my finger."

I do as he requests and he grunts.

"I don't think you have a concussion, but I'll keep a close eye on you." He touches his forehead to mine, his soothing scent fills my senses, sending warmth through my veins.

"Where did he come from though? How did none of us see him coming?" The manager asks.

"It was crowded today. Probably slipped in and waited for an opportunity," Jones suggests.

"Looks like you have it all figured out," Fell drags out his l's.

"Watch it, Pedersen." The lanky many steps forward.

"Or what?" Fell's chest inflates as he steps forward, teeth elongating. His wolf swims to the surface and tempers flare.

"Do you think any of them could save you?" the lanky asshole continues to push his buttons.

"Branson. Enough." Jones snaps.

Branson closes his mouth shut. The undercurrent of tension makes me squirm.

The wild man comes back to life, throwing off the large enforcer. A collective gasp floods the room.

Letting off a stream of words in a language I don't understand, he darts past the enforcer and out the private room. Jumping onto a table, he leaps from one linen-covered table top to another like they're lily pads.

Walking over to the I pick up my hair stick. The minute my hand brushes the object I hear the man screaming words in English.

"They'll see her dead."

Jones tackles him around the knees and wraps his hand around his

mouth, cutting off the outburst.

"Let's go." Cadoc takes point, leading us out of the restaurant. I rub my arms.

We pass the wild man, and his gaze latches on to me. I see intelligence in his crazed stare.

There's more to this would-be kidnapper than meets the eye. Doubt floods me. Is he the enemy?

Fell shifts, interrupting his line of vision. They usher me outside. People are gathered in small clusters, trying to peer inside the main windows. I duck my head. Questions are thrown our way.

Vultures, they're eager to pick at us. I'm relieved when we make it to the car, and I slip inside beside Fell. Kirk buckles me in and wraps an arm around my shoulders. He massages my scalp.

I clutch the hair stick. "When we were leaving, I understood the man. He said they'd see her dead. I think he was talking about me."

"I know you're a college grad, Princess. But none of us understood that old language."

"I did." I hold up the stick. "When I touched this."

"Is that possible?" Fell asks.

"Why not? It was a gift from a powerful demigod." Cadoc replies.

Kirk leans forward. "There was something about items of power in the book. It wasn't clear what they were, but the gist was they work as a channel allowing Fenrir's power to flow through you."

Fell's brow wrinkles. "So, maybe she did understand him"

"This is all getting a little too mystical for me." Bo shakes his head.

"We turn into wolves, and this is unbelievable?" I blink a few times in disbelief.

He stares at me. "Yes. The wolf is part of who we are. I prefer to see, touch, hear, and feel the things I'm basing my life on. There's a reason we moved away from all the symbolism?—"

"This is why we're dying." I hadn't meant to respond, but the words resonate strongly. "We've become untethered from our origins."

"Says the woman who ran as far as fast as she could from the pack." Bo arches an eyebrow. "You've never been one of us."

"Hey!" Cadoc barks resonates like a sonic boom.

I invade Bo's personal space. "And I'm grateful for that because you make a mockery of what pack means. When someone doesn't adhere to what we think is the norm, they're discarded. The people with power distort truths and push narratives that benefit them most while claiming they're all about the greater good."

"I never said it was a bad thing to be different. Or do you have a problem with wealth, Princess?" Bo turns meeting my gaze. "We work our asses off to earn money for everyone else. Why shouldn't we enjoy the fruits of our labor."

There's no real conviction as he recites the words, I'm sure he's been fed his entire life. The emptiness in his gaze tells me he doesn't buy it.

"Are you so spoiled you're blinded to everyone else's struggle?" I push, wanting to see the real man he hides.

"Maybe I don't care. You bleeding heart types are so busy worrying about others, that you neglect yourselves and then cry foul when you wind up stuck in a rut."

"Fuck you?—"

"Oh, you will, Princess. You'll beg me for it."

I laugh. "In your dreams."

"Yes. I like to think of you on your knees pleading and helpless."

"Sick fuck," I enunciate the words.

He flinches slightly before recovering.

"Yes, and you belong to me so you should get used to it." Bo reaches for me. I shift, pressing back into the seat, avoiding him.

"Keep complimenting me and I might get turned on." He reaches back toward me again.

Whipping my head to the side I shift his hand and bite his fingers. A pleased rumbling resounds through the car.

"So eager to claim me as yours," Bo croons.

Furious, I release him and he grins.

"As much as you protest, I can smell that cunt dripping for me."'

"I'm glad making my body respond pleases you because it's all you'll have from me."

He growls.

This wolf has sharp nails she's never been afraid to use.

"We'll see." He settles himself in the passenger seat.

I bury my face into Kirk's neck, inhaling his cinnamon, clove, and bitter orange scent, which calms my racing heart.

"What did your contact say?" Cadoc asks.

"Things are strange among the ranks. People are divided. Whispered conversations are going on behind Alpha's back, and he's behaving strangely." Kirk's deep voice sends shivers down my spine.

"In what way?" Fell places a hand on my back. I allow it, and he rubs my back in a slow circle. I like being surrounded by the touch of my mates, but I haven't forgotten secrets exist between us.

Despite my reluctance, connections are beginning to form, and our bond is growing. I think back to the silver chord from my visions. Maybe we're all slaves to fate.

"He's holding private meetings. People no one's seen before are coming in and staying for hours at a time. Alpha's become obsessed with our every move. He doesn't trust us." Kirk shakes his head.

"As well he shouldn't." Bo drawls. "Not even we know what this union will do for us. It's normal to gain power when you bond, but she's not your average she-wolf is she?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." I snap.

"We're not, Brat. Watch your tone."

Cadoc looks at me in the rearview.

I roll my eyes and he grunts. "Keep pushing me." I swallow a moan and shift my weight.

I can't get the crazed look in the man's eyes or his words out of my head. Does he know something we don't? "We need to talk to the prisoner."

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Princess? I should've put that asshole six feet under." Bo's words explode.

"We need to understand where he came from, and why he did it."

"I don't fucking care why," Bo growls.

"We should." I counter.

"She has a point," Kirk says softly.

"Fuck you, Healer. I plan on keeping my ward alive."

"Low blow." I kick the back of Bo's seat.

Kirk bows his head. "Assuming you know all there is to know is an arrogance with a high price. You miss out on the big picture because you have tunnel vision. I'm not going to let that happen here. I don't care if you like me or my methods. We will use every tool available to keep our mate safe."

His quiet strength and matter-of-fact tone have me ready to climb into his lap and burrow against him.

He rubs a thumb over the tense muscles in my neck. "Do you understand?"

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" I ask.

"I'm telling you not to get in my way when I do what needs to be done."

"He's going to be taken to the dungeon. I don't know how we'd get close enough to speak with him," Cadoc reasons, breaking the tension. Like boxers, the two men return to their corner instead of turning the car into a battle field.

"I can call in a few favors. But I'll only agree as long as she's not left alone with him," Bo forces the words through his clenched teeth.

"I agree to that."

For now.