Coti's Unclaimed Mate

by Elle Boon

  “What the hell are you doing?” he roared. Shit, his wolf was up and so was the other half of himself. They were uniting, and neither were happy.

  All three women turned to him, blood on their fists and clothes. Their own, and his NeNe’s...Ah shit. They were claiming her, yet he couldn’t seem to stop the growl as they stared at him.

  A redhaired woman placed a hand on her hip, looking him up and down before she spoke. “Go on about your business, this doesn’t concern you.”

  He moved toward them, silently cheering when they scattered away from the prone form of NeNe. “Hey, you.” He bent and brushed back a hank of hair that had fallen over her face. Her heart raced, the whoosh whoosh sound reassuring to him.

  “You can’t just come in here. This is our space.”

  Coti glared at the red head. “You speaking again? Really, you should probably shut the fuck up and run. All three of you, get the hell outta my sight, but make no mistake, I’ve catalogued every single thing about each of you.” Oh, he knew he could find them in a crowd at anytime from that moment on. Once he told Lyric and the girls what happened, these three bitches were going to wish they were never born. He watched the redhead’s eyes flicker to amber, her wolf wanting to come out and fight him. The fact he was still masking his scent was the only thing keeping her in check. Of course, if he allowed his wolf out, she’d become a bitch in heat begging him to forgive her or some shit. There was no forgiveness for what was done to his female. She may be his unclaimed mate as of now, but that was going to change, soon.

  The three females quietly rushed from the tented space, the flap closing quietly behind them. He opened his senses, allowing himself to flow into NeNe while he kept a presence in his own body. “Fuck,” he swore as he imagined the internal damage she suffered from their beating. Being human meant she didn’t heal like shifters, nor was she as strong. If he attempted to lift her and carry her out, there was a chance he could kill her. Yet, he also knew if he didn’t do something she was going to die. “Those fucking bitches.” Looking around the space, he nicked his finger with his incisor, watching as the tip filled with ruby red blood. The rich lifeblood of his kind would help heal her enough that he’d be able to carry her out and get her to a human hospital, he hoped. With his other hand, he tilted her head back to make sure her breathing was steady and stuck his finger into her mouth. At first, she didn’t do anything, her stillness making him think she wasn’t going to accept his gift.

  After a few seconds, he felt the soft rasp of her tongue flick against his finger. He ran his hand over the back of her head, feeling a huge bump. “Motherfuckers,” he whispered, his palm moving away from the injury. Her mouth closed around his finger, cheeks hollowing out as they sucked. Goddess, his dick became fully erect, which made him feel like a complete pervert since she was near death. Slowly, he eased his finger out, knowing she had enough to start healing, yet not so much humans would wonder at the miracle.

  One big green eye blinked open. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” she whispered.

  Coti chuckled. “Pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve been accused of being in heaven.”

  NeNe moved to sit up, then groaned. “Oh god, I’ve been run over, then backed up on for good measure. Where’s the sisterhood of the traveling bitches?”

  At the reference of the trio in question, he growled, then the scents hit him. Shifters were coming, and they were coming quickly. “Can you stand?” His blood was powerful, but he didn’t know if she’d had enough to work that quickly. Her right eye was still swollen almost completely shut since he’d concentrated on her inner injuries.

  “Well, I can breathe without feeling like I’m going to pass out, and I can feel, everything. I say that’s a good thing. Help me up?” she asked, holding her hands out.

  Coti stood, grabbing her under the arms and lifting, not wanting to jar her too much. What he really wanted was to carry her out, but if he was going to fight, he’d need both arms free. “Can you shoot a gun?”

  She pointed at her face. “I’m a good shot, but not sure if I would be with only one eye?”

  He nodded. “I’d rather you be honest than accidentally shoot me in the ass.”

  The flap was jerked open, allowing several men inside followed by the sisterhood of the traveling bitches as NeNe called them. “He threatened us because she got what she deserved for disrespecting us.” Grace pointed, her voice grating.

  A huge man, clearly a bear shifter, placed Grace behind him. “Boy, you don’t come in here disrespecting our bitches. You may’ve beaten Champ, but that was in the cage. Out here, there ain’t no rules.”

  The sound of fabric ripping let him know some of the shifters were partially shifting, agitation making them lose control. Fuck, what the hell was wrong with this pack that they not only allowed humans to lead them around by their dicks, but they’d shift in front of them and have fights between shifters and seemingly full humans for fun? “Listen, I don’t want to fight any of you. I’m taking my girl here, and we’re leaving.”

  “Looks like your girl ran into some trouble. Why don’t you let us take care of her?” The bear shifter offered.

  Coti’s wolf wanted to break free and rip the assholes throat out, but years of tempering both sides of his being kept the animal reigned in. “Nah, I got this.”

  “Yo, you got a problem, Coti?” Joaquin asked.

  Seeing a familiar face in the crowd along with several of the man’s MC brothers, Coti gave a lift of his chin. Joaquin not only was a shifter, but he was Coti’s alpha’s cousin. If he opened his mind, he’d be able to connect with the other man, but Coti didn’t trust easily, nor did he want to give Joaquin an opening to his own thoughts. Instead, he met the alpha’s stare, a thousand words conveyed between them.

  None of the shifters could miss the scent of NeNe’s blood or the fact she was one hundred percent human, while the three bitches hiding behind the wall of shifters weren’t. The fact the little firecracker was alive was a testament to her strength.

  “What the hell, man? Who fucked up your old lady?”

  “Real fucking subtle, Blade. I think that’s a question we’re all wondering.” Joaquin looked around the space, his eyes going to the three women with blood on their white tank tops. “Haven’t you heard it’s better to stick with black? It don’t show blood as easily.” Joaquin moved closer to Coti and NeNe, putting himself between the crowd.

  Without a word, several other men came to stand in front of Coti and NeNe, creating a wall of tattooed muscle. “Looks like we got a standoff. What’s it gonna be, boys? We gonna have a brawl inside this here tent, or you gonna let our boy and his lady walk out of here?” Joaquin asked, his tone sounding bored.

  “You can’t let her leave.” a female voice growled angrily.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?” Mac called out, making the entire space go quiet.

  Coti allowed his other being to close itself off so only his wolf was apparent, then opened a link to Joaquin. “I’m leaving here with NeNe if I have to kill every motherfucker in this place, including that bastard pretending to be an alpha.”

  “I feel you, but let’s try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. There’s more going on here than what you see on the surface.” Joaquin shifted closer to Coti.

  “Rose, girl is that you? What the hell happened? Come, I’ll take you to our physician.” Mac held out his hand.

  NeNe whimpered, pressing herself closer to Coti. “Sorry, man, but she’s mine.”

  Mac’s brows rose. “Is that right? You’ve been here all of five fucking minutes. How’d that happen?”

  Coti could see the man was fighting to keep his wolf in check. “I actually came here looking for her. We sort of had a fight. Took me a minute to track her down. Luckily, I did.” He put his arm around NeNe, feeling her shiver at his touch.

  The crowd parted as three more men filed in, their scent let him know they were cat shifters as well, but these men he knew. Of course, they w
ere usually on his side, but Coti wasn’t willing to risk NeNe’s life on the off chance they were playing for the other side.

  Damn, he really wished he’d called his pack before he’d walked into this shithole. Before everything could go completely to shit, he opened his link to Kellen, hoping like hell he wasn’t intruding on ‘sexy time’. “Hey, man, sorry to pop in unannounced, but there’s some shit going down.” He gave a quick rundown while keeping his eyes on the gathering crowd, waiting for Kellen’s response.

  “Well fuck, son. You sure know how to ruin a guy’s boner. The Fey Queen’s out of commish for the time being, but I can send a fiery little dragon. She’s kinda made herself available in Jenna’s place.”

  Coti pictured the pink haired crazy female popping into the already full tent. “Not just yet. Let’s see how this shakes out. I got Joaquin and a few of his guys. Hell, Ace and the cats just strolled in like they were out for an evening walk.”

  “Cats make me sneeze,” Kellen snarled.

  “You should see the fucking menagerie we got here. Lions, tigers, and bears, alongside wolves.” He joked, not mentioning what all he was. “Oh, and let’s not forget the dragons.” Yeah, their world was getting crazier every damn day.

  “You forgot to say ‘Oh my’ you know. Don’t get killed, and just so we’re clear, there’s gonna be a mandatory meeting when you get out of the situation you’ve found yourself in. Check in with me as soon as you get your ass out of there. Me and the boys will be paying Mac and his crew a visit real soon.” Coti heard the threat in the growled voice inside his head. The Iron Wolf was not to be fucked with, which made him wonder why Mac and his merry bunch of shifters had settled so closely to them.

  “Alright, I need to focus on the circus in front of me. I’ll try not to get dead.” Although Kellen had said it like a threat, Coti and the rest of the pack were an intricate part of the Iron Wolves. When one was severely injured, or Goddess help them, killed, Kellen felt the loss deep within him. An image of Kellen’s middle finger with the Wolf head ring on it flashed in front of Coti’s eyes.

  “You ready to roll outta here, Coti?”

  He turned, meeting Ace’s eyes. The huge shifter moved subtly, showing Coti he was packing a couple guns. “Ready when you are.” Which meant he was up for just about anything.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” NeNe whispered.

  His gut clenched at the image of the fiery little female tossing her cookies in front of the crowd. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” He swooped down, lifting her into his arms, trusting his pseudo pack to have his and his unclaimed mate’s back. Of course, if shit went south, his other half would come out, then none of them would be safe.

  Chapter Three

  NeNe tried to control the rolling of her stomach. Lord knew she didn’t want to appear any weaker in front of the bitches who’d literally beat the living shit out of her, let alone the rest of the asshats who’d gathered, but damn if her body wasn’t having other ideas.

  As Coti lifted her into his arms, she was sure the motion would be the final straw, yet her body relaxed, the nausea dissipating, thank you, lawd. Forget decorum, or women’s lib, she wanted to snuggle up to the big tattooed biker. She wanted to let him fight her battles, well at least until she healed, then she was going to find each of those bitches one-on-one and beat the fuck out of them. Of course, she’d have a goddamn bat with her because those bitches knew how to hit, hard.

  “Easy, we’re gonna walk out of here,” he murmured near her ear.

  She blinked at his whispered words. Her body trying to curl into a ball in his arms. Looking into his eyes, she thought she saw a flash of red. However, with only one eye, she was sure it was a trick of the lighting, or the bitches had fucked up her sight. “Am I going blind?” she whispered back.

  Coti tilted her chin up. “You’re going to be fine. Just hold still.”

  It was then she realized her arms were wrapped so tightly around his neck he had to be uncomfortable. She took a deep breath, pain in her wounded ribs made her wince, but she forced her arms to relax slightly. Up close, she could smell his masculine scent. Damn, she wished she wasn’t missing the vision in one eye. At such close proximity, she’d have been able to study his tattoos, then she’d be able to ask him if they had meaning. God, she hoped he had a story behind each one, instead of just getting them because he was bored. For her, getting ink was special. Each of her tattoos had meaning. She didn’t judge those who went out and got one because they wanted to, but for her, they were cathartic.

  “Hey, stay with me,” Coti said.

  She jerked upright, not realizing she’d almost drifted off to sleep. Crap, they were almost to the entrance of the little makeshift town Mac had created. “My bike,” she croaked. God, it felt as if she’d swallowed sand, then proceeded to gargle it for shits and giggles.

  “Where’d you park it?” he asked, not breaking stride.

  NeNe wondered how far they’d make it before gunfire would erupt. Knowing the men who manned the gates, she wouldn’t put it past them, or Mac, to have them shot as they drove off.

  “NeNe, I need you to tell us where your bike is,” Coti said with a little force behind his words.

  Running her tongue over her lips, she tried to sit a little straighter, trying to orient herself in Coti’s arms. “I can walk,” she offered.

  Coti grunted. “Bike?”

  She gave him the general location, praying like a good little church girl that it was still there, only breathing easier when they reached it.

  “Ace and his boys are going to trailer it back to the Iron Wolves Club, along with my bike. Now, before you open those lips that are too damn bruised for me to kiss shut, don’t. Just don’t,” he growled.

  “Hey,” she said. He wants to kiss her lips? “What was I going to say?” she asked.

  “Damn wolves always making the females lose their minds.” The one she thought she’d heard called Ace muttered as he walked by. “We got this. We’ll also follow you out just to make sure you ain’t picked up no shadows.”

  “Thanks, man, I owe you a solid.”

  “Don’t fuck up my car, she’s special,” Ace said.

  NeNe placed her head back on Coti’s chest, her mind whirling. These men were taking over, talking as if she weren’t there. She should be putting up a fight. Heck, her bike, her baby, was going to be trailered away by men she didn’t know, yet all she wanted was to lay down and rest for a week or three. “I think I have a concussion.” That was the only reasoning she could think of.

  Her words had Coti stopping, his face screwing up as if he was in pain. “No, you’re just exhausted. Once we get out of here, you can rest.”

  “Gee, thanks for that great triage, Dr. Coti,” she snarked.

  Coti winked at her. “Want to see my stethoscope?” He wiggled his brows.

  The absurdity of his words and the fact she actually did want to see his “stethoscope” made her laugh, then regret doing so when the pain struck her. “Oh god, don’t make me laugh; it hurts my face,” she moaned.

  One of the men from the tent came up next to them. He reminded her of Kellen Styles in looks and demeanor. He kept pace with Coti while the other men could be heard talking behind them.

  “Your face hurts me too, little girl. Why did they beat you like that, may I ask?”

  “Joaquin, don’t.” Coti stopped walking.

  “There’s more at play here than you know, Coti. I need to find out if she knows anything.” Joaquin didn’t raise his voice, but the command was there like she’d noticed with Kellen.

  Coti adjusted his grip on NeNe. “Don’t try me with your alpha bullshit. I let Kellen do it out of respect ‘cause he’s my alpha. I don’t owe you shit except gratitude for helping me get my...NeNe out of that place alive. You want to have a sit down with her and I, you give me twenty-four hours to see to her needs. Fucking rattle my cage, you won’t like what I become.”

  Ace, Dalton, and Norris moved up b
eside him, flanking him and NeNe. “I don’t want to war with you, but on this, I’m immovable.” Damn cats were becoming things he was beginning to like.

  “Coti, what’s going on?” NeNe whispered. “They want to know why I got my ass handed to me? That’s easy to answer. Mac wanted me, but I didn’t want him. Grace is a jealous bitch, and her sidekicks are twatwaffle’s who’ll follow that cuntamungous anywhere she goes, do anything she tells them, like the trained bitches they are, without question. There ya go, there’s your damn story. I didn’t do anything nefarious to deserve this.” She pointed at her face. “I didn’t fuck my boss or any of the other porchdickasshats that hangout there. I show up to work, do my job, and remember what they like to drink. I make sure to have their next one to them before they ask for it and make great tips because I do all of that with a smile, not because I don’t wear panties under my skirt. That’s it.”

  He barely restrained the growl as he listened to her explain what she did and didn’t do. “You wear a damn skirt around those fuckers?”

  NeNe huffed. “Really, is that all you got out of what I just said?”

  “How long have you worked there?” Joaquin asked.

  Coti glared at Kellen’s cousin. “I said twenty-four hours. You got your explanation, now you get the fuck outta my space.” He hadn’t been joking about rattling the cage he kept his beast locked behind. Hearing her speak as if she’d been fucked with on a daily basis had him wanting to go back and rip the heads off of men who touched her, uncaring if they were human or shifters.