“Hey Evie,” Lucky Cooper, Guardian Storm’s little brother, waved as they approached. He was sitting on a downed tree, his feet kicked out in front of him as he watched two of the boys circling each other.
“Hey Lucky.” She nodded toward the group. “Who turns twenty first?”
“Axel does,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But we all will be of age at the Summer Solstice.”
“So, you’re going to ask Talon for Guardian status?” Malaki asked, his brow furrowed in concentration as he watched them finally go hand to hand.
“That’s the plan,” Taze Malone said as he made his way over to Evie. He introduced himself to Calla and Malaki, but his eyes stayed on the scene in front of him.
Diesel Monroe and Axel Coleman, Ranger’s little brother, were in a tangle of limbs on the forest floor. Evie cringed when Axel got in a punch to Diesel’s jaw. The sound was almost deafening. She was pretty sure he broke something.
As she watched, Evie became more fascinated with the way these males moved, avoiding being hit and easily rebounding when their opponent got the upper hand. Although they were fighting, Evie could easily make out how well choreographed each move was done.
The males were protectors. It was ingrained in them to guard the pride, even if they never became official Guardians. Talon’s men were the best of the pride and were held to the highest esteem in their society.
Evie’s heart thundered in her chest and she felt the adrenalin spiking in her veins. This was not your normal playground antics. No, these males were training and she found herself moving closer to the action so she could see what they were doing in more detail.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh!” Evie startled, spinning around on her heel. Kye was standing just inside the tree line to the small meadow. His nostrils flared as he looked over her shoulder, but didn’t say anything else. He just held out his hand for her to come to his side. “I’m sorry. Were we late?”
“What are you doing getting that close to fighting males?” Kye asked, tugging her hand so she would follow him back up to the gravel road. She looked over her shoulder and saw Calla and Malaki trailing not far behind.
“It was fascinating.” She smiled, but it died on her lips when she noticed Kye’s eyes sparking amber.
“It’s dangerous,” he grunted.
“They weren’t going to hurt me,” she sighed, feeling fear race up her spine. Kye was obviously mad. “They were only sparring.”
“You and I both know that a panther who hasn’t matured yet can be careless,” he said, looking up into the sky. He took a deep breath, calming his panther. “I’m sorry, but I heard the fighting and caught your scent. I followed the sound of the voices and found you not ten feet from them.”
“I really had no idea how close I was,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Just be careful from now on,” he ordered, still holding her hand tightly. “Ma has lunch ready. We need to get moving.”
Evie glanced back one last time with a feeling of longing. She wondered if she could’ve been able to fight off her captors during those few days. As she looked up at Kye and back at Malaki, she realized that even if they hadn’t reached their full maturity, these guys were three times her size. She was a female, and females were small and very much protected.
As she stepped into Mrs. Shaw’s cabin, she wished that she was a male so she could learn how to fight, too.
Savage tossed back the remainder of his whiskey on the rocks and slid the empty glass over toward Cole, the bartender at The Deuce. It was the first warm day of spring and the Spring Solstice had been only a week ago. They were probably heading for a very hot summer if the weather kept up its current pattern.
Savage had just finished the roof on a new business complex he’d been working on for the last few weeks. As the foreman on the construction crew at Shaw Construction, he could’ve delegated the responsibilities to his crew, but Savage needed to work off some frustrations and beating nails into a roof was just what the doctor ordered.
He’d been agitated all day. Hell, his panther had been pacing in his mind ever since his eyes had opened that morning. The man next to him at the bar stiffened as Savage looked over, glaring at the human with a snarl on his upper lip. Whatever it was that was bothering him really needed to stop.
“Is Mary Grace here yet?” Liberty asked the bartender, pulling Savage from his thoughts. Anytime Mary Grace was mentioned, his panther sat up straight.
“No.” Cole frowned, looking over his shoulder at the clock above the television that hung on the wall. “She’s only a few minutes late. Let’s give her another ten minutes before we send out a search party.”
“Yeah, okay,” Liberty said, her mind seemed to be miles away. She rubbed absently at the small baby bump that had started showing about two weeks ago. She was halfway through her pregnancy and still working. Savage would have put his foot down if his mate was pregnant and working. He’d definitely have a say-so in her being on her feet for hours on end, but Talon hadn’t done that with his mate.
“How late is she?” he asked, turning his stool around so he could face the alpha’s mate.
“Fifteen minutes.” Liberty suddenly frowned. “You don’t think her ex showed back up?”
“He knows better,” Savage grumbled. In fact, that son of a bitch should’ve been dead for laying a hand on Mary Grace. He had paid the fucker a visit at the mechanic shop he worked at the day she’d showed up with a black eye right before Christmas three months ago. The ugly bastard ended up with two swollen eyes, a broken nose, and if Savage counted correctly, three missing teeth.
“I’m going to work in my office,” she groaned, checking the time on the clock one last time. “Come find me if you need anything.”
Savage watched Liberty out of the corner of his eye, making sure she was okay. The alpha’s mate wasn’t stupid. She knew that Talon had told his Guardians to stop by the bar at different times of the day to keep an eye on his mate.
“What happened with MG’s ex?” Cole asked once Liberty was down the hall and out of sight.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Savage said, his long, black hair covering his eyes as he looked down at the wooden bar top.
Cole barked out a laugh and shook his head, grabbing a white bar towel to dry a glass he’d been washing. Savage nodded with a small smirk playing at the corner of his mouth when the bartender slid over another whiskey on the rocks.
“That one is on me,” Cole offered, then smiled.
Savage nodded but didn’t say anything else as he tossed back the amber liquid. The smoothness of the liquor calmed his panther, letting him feel somewhat human for once. The damn thing had been on edge for months and Savage had no idea why.
“Damn it, I’m going over there!” Liberty shouted as she rounded the corner into the main area of the bar. Her face was set in an angry scowl, her eyes glowing.
“Whoa,” Savage said, halting the alpha’s mate. “Where are you going?” If she was taking off on her own, his alpha would want to know about it. Liberty was carrying the next alpha to the Shaw pride and didn’t need to be running off alone…anywhere.
“I’m going over to Mary Grace’s place,” she snarled, digging her keys out of her back pocket. “I tried to call her, but it went straight to voicemail. She never misses a phone call, Savage. Never!” Liberty scooted by Savage, careful not to touch him. “Something’s wrong.”
“I’m going,” he ordered, making the alpha’s mate pause. “You stay here.”
“Are you sure?” She stopped cold, frowning for a moment before looking up into his eyes. “Be careful, Savage.”
“Where does she live?” he asked, crossing his tattooed arms across his massive chest.
“Here,” Liberty said, tearing a piece of paper off of a small notepad that was sitting on the bar. The address she’d given him was one town over and about a twenty minute drive. “Call me as soon as you find her.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Savage nodded at Liberty.
He didn’t wait for Liberty to say anything else as he hurried his steps to leave the bar. Once in his truck, he fired up the engine and turned north. His panther snarled in his mind, pacing as the vehicle ate up the miles toward her home.
Savage cursed loudly when he pulled into the dirt drive. Ahead of him was an old mobile home that looked like it’d been built twenty years before he’d even been born. Lines of rust painted the siding after years of rain had seeped into the bolts holding it together. Two trees hung over the metal roof, casting shade and providing a small amount of camouflage from cars passing by on the road. A tall flag pole stood proudly in her yard, the American flag flapping in the gentle breeze.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, his panther raised its hackles when they both scented the male who’d harmed her a few months ago. The most overpowering scent was blood and it wasn’t her ex’s.
No, this blood belonged to Mary Grace.
A roar shot through the air as Savage raced forward. It only took his superhuman strength one well-placed shoulder to her front door to get him inside. His eyes shifted, an amber haze causing everything in the room to come into focus.
A brown couch was in front of him and a small television sat on a rickety table just inside the door. To his left was a small kitchen, flowered wallpaper covering the walls. There wasn’t a speck of dirt or a dish in the sink. He raised his nose to the sky and inhaled deep. The sound of a weak heartbeat reached his ears, and he ran toward the kitchen. As soon as he rounded the corner, Savage fell to his knees. Mary Grace was lying in a pool of blood with a knife stuck into her left side. Savage’s panther demanded release, but he was able to calm the beast as he moved closer to her still body.
Her long, golden curls were a bloody, matted mess where she’d fallen and struck the side of her head, but her face was just as beautiful as it’d always been. She wore a pair of denim jeans and a black shirt that had the name of the bar that Liberty owned, but the stains on the outfit were the same ones from the night before.
She’d been passed out in her own blood for hours!
“Mary Grace, sweetheart,” Savage choked out, his panther poised and ready for a fight to defend her. “Mary Grace!”
She wasn’t moving. She wasn’t responding and he had to get her help. His hand stilled over her body. His automatic reaction to not touching a female stopped him from picking her up.
“Fuck it,” he growled, reaching over to touch her face. He’d do anything to wake her up so he could see her beautiful blue eyes. Savage slowly moved his hand forward and sweat beaded up on his brow. He had to get her to a healer…a human doctor. He tried one last time to get her to wake up…to open her eyes. “Mary Grace?”
“Oh God!” Savage’s hand had barely grazed her skin when he felt the jolt in his fingertips. His arms began to shake, his panther screaming for release. Something magical happened and the world slipped away for a moment in time. For just a second, Savage saw his future, but he was pulled back to reality when his future was lying in a puddle of her own blood, barely alive.
“Mate!” His hands moved frantically, testing her pulse. His cock strained against the denim jeans he was wearing because his nature called to him to mount her and make Mary Grace his mate in all ways. He bit into his lip with his canines that had thickened in his mouth to keep from doing what needed to be done to bind them together. He couldn’t…wouldn’t even touch her in that way while she lay dying on the floor. It took all of his strength to push back his beast who was pacing in confusion over what was happening.
Mary Grace gasped suddenly, her eyes opening in a rapid flutter. She began to move, but it was weak. She’d lost a lot of blood and more was seeping out of the wound. Savage removed his shirt and pressed it against the spot where the knife was imbedded. Her head rolled to the side and he gasped when his enhanced hearing picked up the faint sound of her heart as it slowed. She was going to die.
His wrist raised automatically to his mouth, the ripping of his flesh was the only sound in the room. The coppery taste of his own blood hit his tongue a second later. His hand tangled in the back of her hair and he balled his fist tight. With nothing but a prayer, Savage held his bloody flesh to her lips, and as a lone tear escaped the corner of his eye, he whispered, “Drink.”
Talon’s boots clomped loudly as he entered the bar. His panther purred softly in the back of his mind when he caught the scent of his mate and their cub. It didn’t take long before he found the object of his desire.
Liberty was carrying a tray of food out of the kitchen with a bright smile on her face. Talon growled low in his throat when he saw it was weighed down with several plates for a large table of people.
“You shouldn’t be carrying heavy things, you know this,” he scolded, slipping the tray from his mate’s fingers. She rolled her eyes and let him follow her to the table. Liberty didn’t speak to him until after she’d handed out the plates. The customers ignored them and continued to talk, digging into their food as soon as she was done.
“It wasn’t that heavy, Talon,” Liberty sighed. “I have more strength than I ever had.”
“Still,” he huffed, taking her hand and pulling her toward the office. Liberty giggled behind him as he hurried her steps to keep up. Talon didn’t stop until they crossed the threshold. With one well-placed kick to the door, it slammed with a deafening thud. He flipped the lock and scooped his mate up in his arms, pressing her back against the door. His lips found her mating mark and he nipped at it with his human teeth. “I missed you.”
“It’s only been three hours, Talon,” she giggled, but accepted his punishing kiss. God, she tasted like heaven.
“Three hours too long,” he murmured against her lips.
“Stop, Talon,” she breathed, making a feeble attempt to push him away. “I have to work.”
“My mate…my rules,” he growled, his eyes flashing amber.
“My bar…my rules,” she giggled against his lips.
“You are so mean,” he smirked, slowly releasing her so she was steady on her feet. He tasted her arousal on the air when her sex brushed against his straining erection.
“Down boy,” she teased, then winked at her mate.
Just as she started to walk away, Talon reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning Liberty into his chest. An agonizing wail echoed through his head as he heard his Guardian calling out for his help.
Talon!
He gathered all of the magic inside him and pushed back toward Savage with demands for information. Liberty gasped, and Talon knew she had to be feeling his power swell around the two of them as they stood inside her office.
“Talon?” she questioned.
Mary Grace…
“Where’s Mary Grace?” Talon demanded, his eyes sparking amber. His demand was mumbled because his canines were thick in his mouth, but his mate heard him loud and clear.
“I don’t know,” Liberty replied, her eyes widening. “She was late for work and Savage offered to go check on her. Oh my God, Talon! What’s wrong?”
“We have to go, Liberty,” he snarled, taking her hand and pulling her out the office door. Cole moved out of their way as they passed him in the hallway leading out to the bar. Talon barked orders that he was taking Liberty with him but didn’t wait on a reply from the bartender. “I need you to take me to her place. Now!”
Talon lifted his mate into his truck and shut the door, rushing around to climb in the driver’s seat. He sped out of the parking lot, throwing rocks in his wake.
“Get on the highway and head toward Byhalia,” Liberty instructed. “Head north on highway 309 and I’ll tell you when we are close.”
“Jesus,” Talon said, tightening his hold on the steering wheel.
“What’s wrong?” Liberty asked, reaching out to touch his arm. The softness of his mate calmed him, but it was his Guardian’s pain that continued to tear at his alpha heart.
“Savage is in
distress,” Talon choked out, pressing the accelerator to the floor.
Chapter Three
Pain licked up the sides of her face and piercing pain clamped around her head like it was stuck in the vice grip of an angry god. Mary Grace screamed when the pain radiated through her entire body. A snarl in her mind was drowned out by her agony. She couldn’t distinguish any sounds or scents. Where was she? What had happened to her?
There was no sense of time. There was no sense of anything but the pain…the endless screams. The taste of blood on her tongue was thick and rich. Her nose twitched when she caught the scent of something wild, untamed, and very appealing…something familiar. She licked her dry lips and moaned, praying that scent would continue to surround her. Whatever it was, she wanted it with every part of her being.
“Help me,” she cried as the pain returned; her body felt as if it was breaking and rearranging itself. The crack of her bones sent her scrambling for cover…to do anything to get away from the pain, but something stronger was holding her. Hands clamped down on her fractured bones as if to keep them in place, but the crushing of her body was no match for them. “Oh, God! Help me, please!”
“Let me die!” she begged one last time, hoping that someone would let her go…let whatever was killing her just win the battle, because she was too weak to go on any longer.
Savage paced in front of the staircase leading to his mate. She was in agony, and his panther was on the verge of exploding out of his human skin. In fact, his canines were already present and his face had partially shifted. His heart beat frantically in his chest, and he knew at any moment, he was going to lose his shit over her being in pain.
With each scream, Savage felt the beast inside him clawing to be released. The Guardians were hovered around him, waiting for the moment he snapped. Every time he moved to go up the stairs, Booth and Dane would block him.
“She’s in pain,” he choked out. “Let me go up there.”
“No,” Dane said, shaking his head. “You are not in a good place right now, brother.”
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