A crack of a branch breaking sounded in the distance. She detected him then, that unique scent of Jake. He was nearby, and he could screw up the whole thing. Alex didn’t look in the direction of the sound, but Mildred had heard it. Of course, she heard it. She was a wolf.
“But, you didn’t, did you? There was one left over, one that you didn’t get. What about Sarah?”
Mildred turned her head back to Alex. “She is traumatized. She will never be the same.”
“She will. She will survive because she is a strong girl with good parents. She will make it, and she will be better than you ever were.”
“Shut up.”
“You were never good enough to be one of them, one of the crowd because you are weak. You always were. That’s why you are married to the town drunk.”
“Better than being the Alpha’s whore,” she spat out.
She heard a rumble from behind Mildred and knew that Jake wasn’t happy with the comment, and he had his wolf on. Hell, she was pretty sure Mildred knew it too.
“Being Jake’s lover is ten times better than being married to a man who hates me. How does that feel?”
The gun shook. “He doesn’t hate me.”
“Oh, really?” she asked, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. “I mean, I’m sure he drinks because he is so fucking happy being married to a woman like you. A woman who would never attract a good mate. An outcast, a woman who didn’t belong. That’s what he married, and that’s why he drinks himself blind every fucking night. I would too if I were married to you.”
She barely got the words out as Mildred screamed. The strangled sound vibrated through the dark night as she rushed Alex. Even with time to prepare, Alex couldn’t stop them from falling back over and tumbling to the ground. They rolled around, and then the sound of a gun being fired filled the air. There was a sharp pain in her shoulder, then it was gone. The howl she heard next wasn’t from the woman holding her down, but from behind her. Jake came rushing out of the brush, full wolf, with others following behind him. Mildred fell down, her face planting in the dirt beside Alex.
She looked around and found Wilbur standing there, a .45 in his hand.The smell of gunpowder filled the air. “I had to shoot her. You understand. I had to put her down.”
She blinked a few times and realized there were tears coming out of her eyes. Jake came loping toward her, licking her face. She looked at him in wolf form and saw it there. The concern, the love. Pressing her hand against his face, Alex looked around. The entire Sanderson pack stood at the ready, waiting for her to say something.
They were waiting for her, they had come for her. Never in her life had she had a family. Not a real one. She had always thought the department, the men and women she had served beside had turned their backs on her. But now, this family, they had shown up to fight, to protect her back, and in that one second, she realized what it meant.
She belonged. Alex might not know exactly where she fit in this new world, but she knew she belonged to them.
“I’m fine. I need help, though.”
And just like that, the air around her sparked, the rain shower of electricity burst beside her, then, Jake was there, naked, but he was there. He pushed Mildred off her.
“Thanks,” she said, but it ended up muffled against his shoulder.
“I thought I had lost you, Alex. I can’t have that.” She pulled back and looked at him, taking his face into his hands.
“I love you, Jacob. For who you are, for what you are.”
The world started to spin around her. She blinked a few times.
“What’s the matter?” he said.
“She’s been shot, Jake,” Caleb said.
“I have not. Mildred was shot.”
Looking down at the burning in her shoulder, she saw the blood.
“Well, fuck, it’s my other shoulder.”
Then she passed out.
Chapter Twenty
Jake paced the clinic floor outside of Alex’s room. It had been hours since they had arrived, and while she had made it out of surgery just fine, Jake still hadn’t seen her. He had been brought up to her floor just minutes ago and told to wait…again.
It was an unacceptable situation.
“You need to sit down, Jacob,” Dillon said. He had arrived just moments before after the Bufords had come to take care of Sarah.
Jake said nothing. He couldn’t. He was dressed in fucking scrubs, his heart still lodged in his throat, and his wolf wanted out. It wanted to tear things apart, firstly Mildred…then her husband. He knew that Wilbur had made it easier by killing Mildred, but he had harmed Alex in the process. Not to mention he had allowed his wife to Caleb had told her she was okay, that she lost very little blood since the bullet had gone through cleanly.
“You’re just going to have to be patient,” his younger cousin said, his voice dripping with humor. Jake turned to look at him.
“You’re not too old for me to beat the crap out of.”
“Yeah, but my boss might charge you with something.”
He opened his mouth to tell him to fuck off, but Alex’s door opened. Caleb waved him in but stopped him before he could get past him.
“Hey, slow down, cuz. She’s still pretty drugged up, and we have her on an IV because I want to make sure she doesn’t get too dehydrated. All the activity last night took a toll.”
Jake nodded.
“You picked a good one there, Jake. She’s strong. Take care of her.”
He said nothing as he stepped past Caleb and into the room. The lights were dimmed, to help her rest. A nurse checked the IV bag, nodded in his direction, then left him alone with her.
She looked so fragile lying there in the bed. She had a few scrapes on her face, and her shoulder was bandaged. They had secured her arm against her stomach, probably because they didn’t want her moving her shoulder.
He walked as silently as he could, but apparently, not quite enough.
“I can hear you sneaking up next to me, Sanderson,” she murmured. Her eyes were still closed.
“Sorry.”
“No worries.”
He sat down in the chair next to her bed. “How do you feel?”
“Like someone shot me.”
He chuckled and felt something loosen in his chest.
“That’s a good sound,” she said, her voice fading.
“You need rest. Go to sleep.”
“You’ll stay here?”
“Always.”
Apparently happy with that, she drifted off to sleep as he watched over her.
She was being discharged when Caleb showed up the next day with a petite redhead.
“What are you doing here?” Jake asked as he took her bag out of her hand.
“I brought Fi by to meet Alex before he took her to your house. I figured after that we wouldn’t see Alex for a few days.”
Jake said nothing to Caleb. “You should be resting,” he said looking at her.
She sniffed in his direction then smiled at Fi. “Thank you for your help with Abigail.”
“You are more than welcomed. I wanted to let you know what we found. As I told Caleb, you are probably connected to what we viewed as conduits at one time.”
“Conduits?” she asked.
“Healers and protectors for our Pack.”
She digested that bit of information.
“So, it makes sense that you became a cop,” Caleb said.
“I’ll have to do more research to find out your connection to us and to the Tonkawa tribe. Once you’ve recovered, Caleb is going to draw some blood. I’ll run your DNA and species test.”
She blinked. “Species test?”
“Yes,” Caleb said. “Fi dug up some info on the conduits and we want to check you against that.”
“Can’t you take my blood right now? Isn’t it easier with me in the hospital?”
Fi shook her head. “Right now, you need to replenish your reserves. Between the healing and the surgery, you ne
ed to make sure you are strong enough. I want to do some more research.”
“Do you need a place to stay?” Jake asked. “I’m sure my parents can put you up in the guest room.”
Fi glanced at Caleb with an inscrutable look, then shook her head. “No, I have that covered.”
“Get some rest,” Caleb said.
“Thanks,” she said.
Once they were alone, she glanced at Jake. “Are they a couple?”
He looked at her as if she had grown another head. “They hate each other.”
“Hmm,” was all she said. There was definitely a vibe between Fi and Caleb and Alex was pretty sure Caleb was the one who was putting Fi up.
Before she could think about it further, the discharge nurse breezed into the room.
“Ready to get sprung?”
She nodded. “You have no idea.”
Three days later Alex was ready to kill someone. Mainly, Jacob Sanderson. The man was driving her insane. Since she had been released from the hospital, he had been a hulking presence overshadowing every movement she made. He wouldn’t even let her go into work and do paperwork.
Right now, she was looking at him from across the table while he chomped on bacon.
“Not hungry?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I said; I wanted to go to work.”
“I said no.”
“And I ignored it.”
She ground her teeth together. “I am going into town.”
“No.”
“I can move my arm, and I’m not taking any drugs.”
She motioned with the appendage to prove her point. He said nothing. He just continued to stare at her as he chewed on his bacon. He was so fucking
“You cannot tell me what to do.”
He blinked. “I’m your boss, so I can.”
“I quit.”
“Nope.”
He was so calm. He ignored every insult she threw at him and just let it slide off his back.
“You can’t tell me I can’t quit.”
“I just did.”
She studied him as he applied himself to his breakfast. With a grunt, she stood up and stomped to the bedroom. He had been acting like she was some kind of fragile flower who would fall apart if he handled her the wrong way. Worse, when she felt the need to connect with him, he refused sex. Refused!
She tore off her nightshirt and pulled on a pair of jeans, then grabbed a t-shirt.
Before she could pull it over her head, it was torn from her hands.
She turned and looked at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I. Said. No.”
The words came from behind clenched teeth. His eyes were dark with anger and his face flushed. Oh, big bad Mr. Alpha was pissed. Good, because she was too. She’d been waiting to have this fight for days now.
“I said I was going to go in. Give me my shirt.”
He took the t-shirt and ripped it in half.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m doing. I have been patient, I have put up with your dumbass idea that you could come home the morning after you almost died.”
“I did not almost die. I got shot.” She was flinging her hands around when she finally realized that she was shirtless. Apparently, Jake noticed about the same time.
He swallowed and took a step back. It was if he had stepped across the Grand Canyon. Jake might be close enough to touch, but the move had made it clear to her. They were miles apart even if in metaphor. Normally, she would let it go, just allow it to
“Why do you keep doing that? Why do you keep moving away from me?”
“It’s…” He closed his eyes and bent his head back. “You almost died. It was my fault.”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? This is about your ego.”
He opened his eyes. “The ego of an Alpha is a very fragile thing.”
“Really? I thought you were made of steel—ego included.” He said nothing to that. “So, this is all about me getting shot?”
He sighed. “No.”
“Are you going to explain it to me?”
He paced away then back to within a few inches in front of her. “I bonded with you.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course, you don’t,” he spat it out.
“What do you mean? I told you I loved you the night of the shooting.”
He said nothing, and let the silence stretch. Her heart started a slow slide to her stomach. She ached as if she were sick. She didn’t understand any of it, but she knew there was something definitely wrong. Very, very wrong. She was in a world she didn’t understand anymore.
“You better explain this to me or I am walking out of here.”
She held her breath and waited. If he told her to walk, she just might break into a million pieces. She definitely wouldn’t let him see it, but Alex knew she wouldn’t walk away from this in one piece.
“For wolves, we bond while lovemaking. I spoke the words. You did not.”
She blinked. “You spoke words. When did you speak words?”
“The first night we made love. The second time.”
She thought back to that night, to those mysterious words he had spoken, then it all clicked.
“And being bonded means?”
“That we are Mates.”
“Mates?”
“I knew the moment I brought you to my house, that you were my Mate. Before that, actually.”
It sounded archaic, but she was just now beginning to understand their ways. “I’m not a wolf.”
“True, but that doesn’t matter. Plus, your connection to us runs deeper than the average human.”
“I—”
“Listen, could you cover yourself up? Normally, I can control myself, but I haven’t been on a run in a few days, and seeing you like that…and being able to scent you.” He drew in a deep breath. “Could you just put on some clothes?”
It took a second for his behavior and everything he had said in the last few minutes to sink in. He had bonded with her, he had taken the step, took her in as his Mate without asking anything in return. In fact, he left himself exposed. For some reason, a burst of happiness bubbled up. This man, who was so damned proud, had bonded with her because he wanted to. Because…he loved her.
She hadn’t been lying the other night. She loved him. She didn’t really understand why or how it happened, but just the fact that it had.
“You ripped my shirt.”
“Alexandra.”
She giggled. “Ohhh, the full name treatment.”
“Stop kidding around.”
She stepped closer and slid her arms around his neck and tugged. “Not kidding around at all, Jacob.”
He resisted for a second, but then he groaned and bent his head. They fell on the bed. She was laughing when he kissed her. They tugged and struggled with their clothes until they were both nude. He kissed her over and over, slipping down her body, teasing her with his hands and his mouth. Settling between her legs, he breathed in a deep breath.
“You smell amazing. Like a treat made all for me.”
Before she could respond, he slipped his tongue into her again and again, pushing her over the edge into a blinding orgasm before she was ready for it. It crashed through her, overwhelmed her. He didn’t wait. He kissed his way back up her body and grabbed her hips. He rose to his knees and plunged inside of her. She was still sensitive from her orgasm, but she didn’t care. She wrapped her legs around him as he thrust into her again and again. His fingers dug into her flesh as he slammed into her.
After several moments, her nerve endings started to sparkle, then light afire. Her release shimmered just out of reach.
“Please.”
“Please what?” he demanded and continued moving in and out of her just deep enough and fast enough to leave her right there on the edge.
She twisted her head back and forth, begging him for the relief only he could
give her.
“The words, Alex, say them.”
“Tell me again,” she struggled to say.
“You are mine and I am yours. Together we are one.”
He slowed his movements, holding her relief just out of reach.
“Say it, Alex. Tell me.”
“You are mine and I am yours. Together we are one.”
Then at that moment, he plunged in one more time, pushing her over the edge into ecstasy. He followed her a second later, shouting her name as he came.
Long moments later, they lay in bed together. She was snuggled against Jake beneath the covers, her arm around his waist, and her head tucked under his chin. For the first time since he had met her months ago, he felt settled.
“So, I guess I should have asked about this bonded thing.”
He chuckled. “Too late.”
“What does it all mean?”
“Our lives are intertwined. I am not sure what it means for you specifically because you’re weird.”
She rose up to her elbow and gave him a mock frown.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You are unique. You’re from a race most of us didn’t even know existed, so you are pretty damned special. And kind of weird.”
She held her frown for one more second, then she smiled. It made his heart dance when he saw the way her eyes sparkled and the glow in her face.
“I love you, Jacob Sanderson.”
“I love you too, Alexandra Lightfoot.”
She settled down again.
“Now, about the wedding…”
She raised her head so fast; she smacked him in the chin.
“Damn,” he said rubbing his chin.
“Wedding?”
“Yeah. I mean, we should get married.”
“This is the way you propose. Really? You suck at romance.”
“Give me a break, will ya? You’ve had me all tied up since the moment I realized you were my Mate, then I bond with you before you even understand, and you get shot. I’ve been just a little busy.”
She chuckled. “Okay, but it better be spectacular.”
“I promise.”
Leaning down, she brushed her mouth over his. Jake was sure that she did it just as a sweet gesture, but the moment she did, his body reacted. He slipped his hands down to her waist so he could roll them over the bed; determined to prove to her that her Alpha definitely knew a thing or two about romance.
The Alpha’s Saving Grace Page 12