“It’s your new pride member,” the sheriff replied and entered the office, closing and locking the door. “This one you can’t get involved with.”
“Just spit it out,” Talon ordered. “I have too much going on here, and I need to put my priorities in place if something is coming for us.”
“It’s not coming here,” Garrett said, feeling a pain in his chest. He would stay out of this one. It was written by the gods that Booth had to find his own way with Jade, and she needed to prove her worth in the worst way.
This one was going to be tricky. Talon couldn’t be involved in anyway should the current course put the female in danger, either. Garrett’s hands were tied, and he’d been ordered to stay away from the pride until it was all over.
“And?” Talon pressed.
“Jade will need to find her own way,” Garrett warned. “If she decides to leave, you will have to let her go. Should a time come where she calls out to you, you have to send Booth. He is the one fated to save her.”
“Will my Guardian be safe?” Talon asked, his eyes flashing amber sparks.
“He will be once he saves his princess.” Garrett nodded, clearing his throat. “Whatever happens between those two, you need to let Booth be the one to find her.”
“I don’t like what you’re saying,” Talon stated with a scowl.
“Trust me on this one,” Garrett begged. “Booth needs this, and Jade will have to learn from her mistakes.”
“They’re mates, but they won’t touch,” Talon informed him.
“They’ll be fine,” Garrett promised. “As long as they stay on this course, that is.”
“So, don’t do anything that would change their path?” Talon confirmed.
“Exactly,” Garrett said with a nod. And with another flash of light, he disappeared into thin air as Talon let out a vicious curse.
Chapter Seven
Jade collapsed on the ground as soon as Booth ran off. The injury to her shoulder bled slowly as it began to heal. Her blood made streaks as it flowed down over the crease of her arm, stopping short of her hand. It wouldn’t kill her, and she didn’t need a healer. Her advanced healing would close the wound within the next hour, quicker if she shifted again.
That male was her mate. There was no doubt about that. His mating scent and the way he protected her from the young male was proof. It was blatantly obvious he didn’t want anything to do with her by the way he ran away.
Good, because she didn’t want to be tied down to a male anyway.
At least, that was what she told herself.
No, she couldn’t. Her dream of fighting was too strong. Having a male keep her from her dreams wouldn’t work. Booth showed his true self when she’d tumbled with the young male, and his protectiveness was too much. She had to protect the teenager from his mating rage, and she would’ve fought Booth if he’d come after the boy.
Picking herself up off the ground, she checked her arm, noting the gash had almost healed. She allowed the shift and ran back to the pride, her nose bumping the door when she arrived. The older woman who had been introduced to her as Evie’s mom opened it and stepped aside. Jade didn’t shift until she reached the bedroom she was using. Once inside, she climbed in the shower and stayed there until the water ran cold.
A knock on her door later revealed the alpha and his mate, Liberty. In the female’s arms, she held her son. He was barely a year old, and he looked just like his father. Babies weren’t in her future, and as much as she adored them, she like them better when they belonged to someone else.
“I came to apologize on behalf of Booth,” Talon stated as he leaned against the door frame. “He told me what happened.”
“There’s no need to apologize for him,” she promised, holding her hand up when the alpha began to talk. It was a move that would’ve probably gotten her another black eye at her old pride, but this alpha pressed his lips together to let her finish. “It was an accident, and he was being protective when he saw I was bleeding from the tumble.”
“Do you need to see our healer?” Liberty asked, shifting the cub to her other arm.
“No, ma’am,” she sighed. “I think a downed limb impaled me as we rolled down the embankment, but it healed even before my shift.” To prove her point, she slid the strap of her tank top away from the spot. All that remained was a pink spot that looked like a scar. It would be gone before dinner.
“Again, Booth has been dealt with, and I am asking one of the other males to work with you in the meantime,” Talon stated. No, it was more of an order. The flash of amber in his eyes and the push of power from him proved that.
With Jade having taken his blood, and the forced shift from doing so, it connected her to the Shaw pride’s leader. Inside her, the beast wanted to push back, telling him she didn’t need his protection, but she refrained. She wasn’t an alpha like they thought. If she was, she would’ve been free to roam on her own and have no need for another’s rule.
“I feel you pushing at me,” he said, lowering his voice.
“I am trying to obey you, alpha,” she said in defeat. “I’ve always been a rebel, and I didn’t realize I was pushing power toward anyone until you pointed it out. I felt it just now, and realize I’ve felt it before. Again, I have no alpha gene, and I’d rather keep it that way. All I want to do is fight and protect others.”
“With some more training, I would be honored to have you work as a protector with the other females,” he offered.
“If I can’t gain Guardian status at the solstice, I guess I’ll have to settle,” she frowned.
“I can’t let the females fight for a spot,” Talon repeated to her. He backed up and leaned against the wall across the hallway from where she was standing near the threshold of her borrowed room. He never asked to enter, and she’d rather keep him out. That room, however not hers, was all she had. “As you saw with Booth, the males will go feral.”
“I understand, but I do have a question.”
“And?” Talon asked.
“Is there any way I could move into the dorms?” She waited while he mulled it over. There was no reason she couldn’t live there. The two males who still remained would be moving soon anyway, and she’d have the place to herself.
“Malaki and Taze will be moving out soon,” he said after a long pause. A glance at the alpha’s mate gave her the answer. The female smirked and gave a quick wink. “I will speak with them today and make sure there will be no problems making the dorm co-ed. I can give you an answer by the time dinner is served.”
“That would be great,” she exclaimed, wanting to hug the alpha. “I promise to take good care of the place.”
“I’m sure you will,” he replied, “because Taze will be your new trainer.”
“The young Guardian?” she balked. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Actually, Taze has been working with the females for over a year now, and he’s good,” Liberty offered. “Give him a chance.”
“If you insist,” she scowled.
“I do,” Talon added. “Now, take the rest of the day off and rest. Tomorrow, you will resume training.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied and moved back into her room, closing the door.
Booth took the beer from Cole as he plopped down at the bar. He had to leave the pride, and the only place he wanted to be was at The Deuce. His friend and fellow pride mate must’ve seen the look on his face as soon as he walked in. Hence, the fresh beer.
“She driving you insane yet?” Cole chuckled, wiping down the bar top to his left.
“I don’t want this,” he mumbled. “I’m not capable of having a mate who is going to fight and possibly get hurt.”
“Would you say that to Evie? Hope? Liberty?” Cole pressed, sending him a knowing glance.
“I have never doubted our females’ ability to protect the pride, but this one makes me question everything,” he admitted, taking another long drink from his beer.
It’d been three days since
the incident, and he wasn’t allowed to see her. He’d come and gone from the alpha’s office many times, but he hadn’t seen her or even scented her in the main house.
He worried she had left, but Talon had reinforced his no communication policy again that morning, warning him not to train until after noon each day. With his work schedule, he wasn’t going to be in the facility until the evening times anyway.
“I haven’t seen her,” Booth answered Cole’s unspoken question. He could see it in the male’s icy blue stare.
“It’s probably best you don’t,” Cole warned, sliding over another beer when Booth tossed his first one in the can behind the bar with accurate precision.
“I don’t want to see her,” he supplied. Seeing Jade sent his beast into a frenzy whenever he caught her mating scent. He’d been woken up many times over the past few nights with it stuck in his head. He tried to block out the memory of her naked body that day in the woods. Her large breasts and dark nipples, the tight abs and powerful legs, her neatly trimmed sex. All of it was like a powerful drug sent to capture him, drowning him in lust.
The door to the bar opened, and the scent of shifters crossed his nose. Cole’s eyes flashed amber as two males entered, both of them elderly. Booth immediately slid off the chair and greeted them at the door. “Can we help you?”
“We are looking for Jade O’Connor,” the older man stated. He was bald with bushy, gray eyebrows. He walked with a limp, and Booth’s beast didn’t sense any danger. However, the other male didn’t put off a scent he could recognize, and he bristled at the male’s obvious scowl.
“Why are you looking for this female?” Booth questioned, feeling Cole come to stand at his back.
“She’s been gone for two weeks from our pride, and her father is concerned for her safety,” the first male said.
“And you are her father?” Booth asked, turning toward the male.
“I want my daughter returned to me,” he demanded, straightening his shoulders. The panther inside Booth wanted to snarl and unleash his claws, but he refrained. That wasn’t the best action inside a bar packed full of humans.
“I’m sorry, but your daughter has joined the Shaw pride,” Booth informed them. “At this time, I would suggest you contact the alpha for a meeting with Jade.”
“She’s my damn daughter,” the male bellowed, “and she will be coming home with me!”
Booth’s body swelled, feeling his panther push at his skin when Jade’s father lunged toward him. The only thing that saved the male was Cole stepping between them.
“You need to leave or I will contact the sheriff,” Cole warned, partially shifting as he called out to Talon. Little did the two males know, but any call to Talon from a pride member would cause a call to Sheriff Lynch. Plus, if Noah was in the control room, everything would have been seen on the camera.
“I’m not leaving without seeing my daughter,” the male pressed. He pushed Cole’s hand out of the way, advancing on Booth. “Is that tramp fucking you? Is that why you want her all to yourself?”
“Excuse me, sir?” Booth calmed, his rage put on the back burner. At any moment, he could unleash his claws and gut this male, but he wanted to get something perfectly clear. “You think so little of your daughter you’d suspect a male in her pride of taking advantage of her? Well, I assure you, your daughter can hold her own, and she is a warrior who doesn’t need a male to keep her safe. I suggest you calm yourself before you see her, because if you act like this, she may just spill your guts where you stand.”
“I should have you arrested for kidnapping,” he accused, stabbing his finger into Booth’s chest. Cole started to make a move, but the sheriff’s voice from the door halted any attack that might have come.
“Sir, I’d advise you to step away from the Guardian,” Sheriff Lynch ordered. “If you cannot be civilized in this place of business, I will escort you out, and if you so much as harm a hair on that male’s head, I will put you in my jail.”
“I want to see my daughter,” he repeated. Booth could sense the lies coming from the male. It wasn’t clear as to why her father was here, and he really wished she’d told him the truth. Had Booth known what actually happened to make her leave, he would’ve been able to handle things easier.
“Take them to the back room,” Talon bellowed as he entered. “This will not take place in my mate’s business.”
The patrons of the bar were all regulars, and as Booth moved to allow the sheriff and his alpha to take them to the back, he noticed the human males in the bar standing as if they were going to help defend The Deuce.
“We can take it from here,” Booth promised, pulling out his wallet. “The next round is on me.” He tossed Cole a hundred and made his way into Liberty’s office. When he arrived, his alpha’s mate was standing from her chair, eyeing the two males. Talon stood protectively at her side.
“You are Jade’s father?” she snarled, her eyes flashing amber.
“I am,” he replied.
“I should kill you where you stand,” she said through gritted teeth and fully extended canines. “Get them out of my bar!”
“Woah,” Talon whispered, sending out a wave of calm. He was ordering his mate to stand down, but she was strong, stronger than all of the Guardians.
“Do not try and calm me, Talon,” she warned. “There is nothing that will keep me from punishing this male for the things he’s done.”
“Wait, what?” Booth barked. “What happened to Jade?”
“That is for the female to tell,” Liberty hedged, turning her head to look at her mate. “I. Want. Them. Out!”
The sound of feet running down the hallway was the only warning they had before the office door flew open and Jade stood there, her blonde hair pulled up in a bun as if she’d been training, but she was dressed in jean shorts and her signature tank top.
“What are you doing here?” she bellowed, unleashing her claws. “You are nothing to me anymore, and I am not a part of your pride.”
“I am your alpha,” the other male growled, narrowing his eyes on her. “You are disobedient, you ran away without telling your father where you were going, and you are a disgrace to the Gentry pride.”
“Good thing for you, I am no longer a member of the Gentry pride,” she snickered. “Cedrick, go fuck yourself.”
Booth’s cock hardened in his jeans. He’d never witnessed a female with bigger balls than most Guardians. She was a warrior all right, and she obviously didn’t want to be with her old pride.
“You should be put down,” Cedrick warned, turning toward Talon. “You can have the bitch. She thinks she is going to become a Guardian, but she’s not even worth breeding with, if you ask me.”
Booth’s name was shouted, but the beast inside him burst from his skin before it registered. Jade jumped back as he placed his body between her and Cedrick Gentry. There would be none of that on his watch.
A sense of calm fluttered across his skin, a quiet command to let them leave. His panther glanced at his alpha, and he was at ease, narrowing his eyes on everyone in the room. Jade let out a soft sigh and stepped away, moving closer to the alpha’s mate.
“I have calmed him,” Talon admitted. “But as you know, alpha, I can command him to annihilate you. Coming in here and threatening harm to a female will get you killed when it comes to the rules of my pride. Not only that, but you caused a scene in a business owned by the pride. Should we lose money because of that, you will be required to repay any lost business. The ball is in your court. Make your decision now.”
“You’re worthless,” her father told Jade, pointing a weathered finger in her direction as he turned to leave. Booth felt the command from his alpha to calm, and when the males were gone, he forced the shift.
Liberty opened a cabinet and tossed him a pair of jogging shorts and a cotton shirt with the bar’s logo on it that she kept on hand should one of the panthers shred their clothes. It wouldn’t look good for a naked male to walk out of the bar’s office dur
ing rush.
By the time he had dressed, Jade was missing from the room. When he went to find her, the alpha’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from leaving.
Chapter Eight
Jade returned to the pride, slamming her truck door in her hurry to get out so she could shift. Tears streamed down her face at the humiliation she’d felt when her father had talked to her like she was nothing more than dog shit on his shoe.
She dropped her clothes, not caring to pick them up, and shifted in an instant. The sounds of cars arriving faded as she gave over to her beast. The woods were eerily quiet as she ran.
Each and every breath she took, Jade pushed herself to run faster. In her life, she’d known nothing but disappointment from her father. Ever since Jade could remember, he’d always been a hateful male. She’d raised herself, found a job, and paid for her training with her own hard-earned money.
She’d hardened her heart against the negativity, and that was the main reason why she refused to touch a male. The knowledge of disappointing a male she loved had been beat into her by her father. The night the alpha had found out about her training wasn’t the first time she’d been disciplined with fists during her life, either. The bones and wounds had healed, but the mental pain was always there. The constant reminder of how she had been spared instead of her mother still rang through her mind.
I’m worthless.
If her panther could shed tears, Jade was sure the beast would break down as easily as the human did. Shifting kept the tears at bay and helped keep her heart hardened. It wasn’t good to cry. Crying made you weak and vulnerable.
The panther snarled aloud as the presence of another shifter’s scent came near. The sound of paws running across the solid ground came shortly after. In a defensive move, Jade’s panther snarled, spinning around to face whoever it was coming for her.
“Shift, Jade,” Booth bellowed as he changed to human.
Booth (Rise of the Pride, Book 9) Page 5