23. Mike

TWENTY-THREE

Mike was floored by the sight of his beloved, Beatriz, as she launched into the scene to protect Barbara. Watching the two women, the one practiced and seasoned with the other youthful and fresh, dominate Wallis was quite something. He barely had time to react before Beatriz had Wallis pinned to the ground, the three of them panting with quiet surprise.

Mike did as his matriarch asked, retrieving rope from an emergency kit in the kitchen, shifting into his human form, and then tying up Wallis, who remained as her wolf. She tried to wriggle out of the bindings, still rabid and angry. He supposed the drugs were in her system.

He carried Wallis into a secluded room of the estate and retrieved some robes for Barbara and Beatriz. As Beatriz shifted back, Mike swathed her in the robe, their eyes connecting like magnets.

"Hi," she whispered.

Mike savagely assessed her from head to toe, noticing a few bruises blooming deep purple just under her jawline. As he tipped her chin, he felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"Mike, I …"

Their reunion was interrupted by the arrival of Tristan, who'd received an alert on his phone once the back window had been smashed. Nate and Aric were with him, storming into the backyard like a brigade.

"What happened?" Tristan implored.

He came at them, eyes wandering the yard until they fell upon his mate. Mike saw relief wash over him like a warm blanket.

That was how he felt about his mate also.

Barbara, in her signature blunt way, tried to wave off his embraces and assure him that she was fine. But Tristan was adamant.

"You don't look okay," he hissed, touching the wound that streaked along his wife's collarbone. "You are going to tell me exactly what happened, and then you are going to let me take care of you. That is the end of this conversation."

Barbara grinned, her resolve falling away. She gazed at Mike with a twinkle in her eye.

"We were attacked. But thank God for these two. They were ready."

Beatriz pressed her head against Mike's chest. The feeling was warm and began to calm Mike's racing heart.

"We"ve got Wallis tied up in the spare room," Barbara continued. "She's on the drugs. This one wasn't so lucky."

Franky's body had morphed back into his human form. He lay prostrate and naked, a permanent death stare etched upon his expression.

"We got this. You guys clean yourselves up. There's a bathroom in the guest room, as I'm sure you know. We will figure this all out," Tristan spoke, taking charge in the only way he knew how.

For once, Mike didn't feel left out. He was drained not only from the sudden fight but from the prospect of losing his mate. Thinking of her disappearing from his life cracked his heart like porcelain, but then seeing her again in a flash of violence summoned a whole new bucket of worries plaguing his tired mind.

His mate could have been killed right there in front of him. It made him sick.

"Come on."

As if being privy to his thoughts, Beatriz slipped her hand into Mike's and led him back inside. They stepped over the glass carefully, leaving the chaotic scene in the past where it belonged.

They went into the private guest room and its adjacent guest bath. It was large and luxurious with gold-plated accents. Mike didn't care about any of that at that moment. All he wanted was his mate, and his wolf was begging for a taste.

Beatriz turned on the water, fluttering her fingers under the faucet to check the temperature. The two were quiet at first, fatigued by the sudden turn of events. Then, when Beatriz let the robe slip off her strong, slender frame, Mike could no longer take it.

He let his towel, snatched while obtaining Barbara and Beatriz a robe, drop to the floor, then approached his mate with quiet determination. He held out his hand to her, and she took it, smiling sweetly.

Mike helped to step into the shower, watching as the tiny water droplets formed rivets along her smooth skin like gemstones. She submerged herself under the steady stream, and he watched, like observing a gorgeous creature in her natural habitat.

Beatriz closed her eyes as the water washed over her. She moaned and groaned with relief as the heat massaged her sore muscles, and Mike grew more and more enchanted. What on earth had he been thinking, trying to separate himself from the exquisite specimen before him?

She was sublime in every sense of the word, and she was carved out by the universe just for him, and he was for her. It was remarkably stupid to deny such a truth.

"God, I missed you," he muttered into steam.

Beatriz opened her eyes with her arms raised over her head, her fingers enmeshed in the long silk of her dark hair. She sighed with a look of deep satisfaction. She then returned to lathering up her skin as Mike watched.

"I think what we tried to do was extraordinarily stupid, don't you think?" she whispered.

"Agreed. Otherworldly. Remarkably. Insanity."

Beatriz giggled, then held out her hands to him. He took them, and she pulled him under the hot water.

It was a harsh yank, sending him crashing into her naked body. She moved backward against the tile, staring up at him with a smile that was etched permanently on the enforcer's soul.

Scalding water struck Mike's back as he ran his hands through Beatriz's hair. She closed her eyes under his touch as he trailed down to her neck and cliffs of her shoulders.

"I am so fucking proud of you," Mike grunted. "The fact that you managed to fight off Wallis while she was on those fucking drugs. And saving Barbara. God, you are a damn force."

Beatriz smiled, still with her eyes closed, and bit her bottom lip.

"Say that again. But closer and slower."

Mike granted her wish, leaning his mouth so close that his lips brushed the shell of her ear. He watched as goosebumps rose from her creamy skin as he dragged the words out languidly.

"You are … incredible. So strong. I'm so damn proud and so fucking lucky."

Beatriz arched her back against the tile and let out a little whimper, the kind that meant her arousal was beginning to stir. But when she pulled his head back from her neck, her sweet eyes looked glassy.

Mike grimaced.

"I don't …" she hesitated, then asserted herself. "I don't want to take you from your calling. You are such a good protector and enforcer. It would break my heart to watch you miss out on life."

Mike bristled, further pressing himself against his mate so their pelvises were aligned. He lifted one of her legs and hooked it around his waist, watching the way her eyes lit up like a lighthouse.

He spoke directly and with conviction, the words rising from the most authentic well of his soul.

"Beatriz, I was a fool to think I couldn"t have both. I have spoken with Barbara, and she encouraged me to realize that we are shifters meant to have mates. None of that will take away from anything else I want to do in life. I want you to be there with me, alongside me, for all of it."

"You really mean that don't you?" she murmured, puffing up her chest so her nipples were flat against his pecs. "You really want to do everything in the world with me?"

Mike growled. Beatriz did the same.

"I have never been so sure about anything in my life," Mike assured her.

"Then fucking kiss me already," she ordered.

Their mouths met with a cataclysmic kiss. All their fears and hesitations fell away, replaced by an eruption of passion that was undeniably supernatural. The two began to explore each other's tongues, their moans echoing throughout the bathroom chambers, when an abrupt knock on the door stole them from their fever.

It was more like a pounding on the door.

"You two in there?" Barbara yelled. "You better hurry! Ellie just went into labor, and we've got to head to the hospital!"

Beatriz and Mike pulled away from one another and chuckled until they were delirious. Mike yelled back to Barbara as he nuzzled into his mate, breathing in her scent like it was his oxygen.

"We're coming, just rinsing off!"

Beatriz covered her mouth as the laughter grew more uproarious. Mike nibbled on her neck, then proceeded to finish washing. Beatriz did the same, then stepped out of the shower hastily.

It pained Mike to see her cover up her marvelous body. As she dried her hair, Beatriz gazed over her shoulder, a salacious look in her eyes.

Lord, she was breathtaking.

"To be continued?"

"Yes, forever and ever and beyond," he growled back.

The two lovers dressed in the extra clothing Tristan and Barbara provided, then headed out to the shifter hospital. Mike had never felt more blissful in his entire life, holding Beatriz's hand in the car as they sped off to watch the birth of one more member of the indelible Wolfe family.