Page 3 of Protected By Her Mate

She nods, her eyes on my face, reading my expression. She reads it correctly. “I won’t be a problem, I promise.” Her voice is urgent, desperate, but there’s no way I can hunt a shifter with his mate in tow.

“Of course you’ll be a problem,” I growl, turning to stare her down pitilessly. “You’ll try to stop me from putting him down.”

She’s shaking her head, but we both know better.

“You won’t have a choice. Your instinct will kick in and force you to defend him. Go to Allan and tell him you want reassignment. I’ll back you up if he balks.”

I expect her to cry or beg, but instead she stands, her spine stiff as she steps directly in front of me, dropping the last of my flavoured ice on my shoes. Her eyes are glittering, but not from tears. It’s determination I see.

“I will track my mate and I will be the one to put him down,” she says frostily. “No amount of mating instinct will interfere with this grave duty. You can either help me find him or I’ll find him myself.”

A female shifter is no match for a male, but I believe if anyone could be, it would be Edith Thornton.

I stare at the melting puddle at my feet as she storms away.

Fourteen days later, we’re hot on the trail of her mate. I’m leading, running across the dusty landscape in shifter form. Edith Thornton is slightly behind and to my left, Allan Pinkerton Junior on my right. Three Rangers following us.

I track the scent of the rogue shifter until I see him. He’s not far.

His feet are hitting the ground with enough force to send puffs of dust and gravel into the air. It obscures my vision, but I regain his scent through the thick curtain of dust surrounding us, tensing as I leap, my aim unerring as I land on his back, taking him down into the dirt.

We roll several times, teeth snapping, claws scrambling as each of us tries to gain the upper hand.

I feel his teeth at my throat and jerk my head back as his jaw snaps together. I shove an elbow into his throat and slam my paws into his chest, taking the dominant position as we roll to a halt.

“Move aside!” Ranger Smith shouts, his rifle levelled at us.

Edith Thornton steps through the dust swirling around us, her human body bare in the harsh sunlight. The Rangers gape, but we ignore them. Her dark gaze is on me, her hands held up as if urging caution.

“Lennox, you don’t have to do this.”

I’m unmoved by her plea, but goddammit! I’ll have to take her out if she doesn’t back down.

The shifter beneath me tries to move and I slam my paw into his chest, snapping ribs, ripping a howl of pain from him.

I have to finish this. I don’t play with my prey.

“Lennox, please….” Her voice is anguished as her knees give out and she falls to the dirt. “I’ll take him away.” She knows it’s not good enough. No matter where she takes him, he will still be a rogue shifter, still a danger to anyone he comes across. A sob rips from her. “At least let me do it.”

I lower my snout to his throat, making eye contact with the feral wolf, sending him a silent apology as I tear out his throat. When I’ve finished the distasteful task, feel the last beat of his heart beneath my paw, I lift my gaze.

Tears streak Edith’s face and fury suffuses her features. She screams, her voice a harsh echo through the surrounding canyon. The Rangers lift their guns, but don’t seem sure where to point them.

I tense, expecting Edith to shift and leap at me. I killed her mate, the highest sin among our species. She might understand, might even be relieved, but in this moment her wolf is urging her to take vengeance.

I won’t have a choice if she does. I’ll have to kill her too.

She shifts, her accusing gaze never leaving my face as she sinks onto four paws, her fur shining midnight in the desert sun. She turns and sprints, her paws eating up the ground until she’s gone, disappearing into her own dusty trail.

Chapter 1

Bringing the heat

CHARLIE

PRESENT DAY

“Mom, radio!” Luke shouts, tossing my radio at me.

---