Page 73 of Protected By Her Mate

The minutes tick by, the atmosphere in the room growing heavier as we wait.

Charlie calls her parents to see if Luke has arrived. He hasn’t and now they’re worried too. Charlie is too upset to reassure them.

Her fear beats at me. I’ve never in my life felt so helpless.

Could I have stopped this? Yes. I should have stayed away from Charlie. Edie wouldn’t have had a reason to target either Charlie or Luke if I’d kept my distance.

Charlie shakes her head as she listens into my thoughts. “We were worried about the curse, not Edie. If the curse didn’t exist, then we’d be telling the world I’m your mate.”

She’s right. This isn’t the curse.

My phone rings and I answer quickly, putting it on speaker. “What’s going on?” I demand.

“We think Edie got to him,” the captain says grimly, his words coming out in rapid-fire. “Your bear friends were scouring the area where they think Edie made her way out of the water and into the city and they discovered the body of a policewoman with bite injuries to her neck. She was stripped of her uniform and dragged into some bushes. The officer who picked Luke up was a woman matching Edie’s description, wearing a police uniform. She gave her name as Officer Callie, the name of the dead officer.”

Charlie’s knees collapse and I drop my phone, catching her before she hits the floor. Officer Burton rushes to the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water. Charlie shakes her head and huddles against me on the floor. Her mind is blank with panic.

“What’s happening?” Charlamagne’s concerned voice comes from the phone.

Ignoring him, I say to Charlie, “I’ll get him back.” Cradling her head, I force her to look at me. “He’s alive, Charlie.”

“How do you know?” Her words are the cry of a wounded animal, her fear so great she can’t think of anything other than the danger her child is in.

I shake her gently, forcing her to focus. “I know because he’s part of you and you’re my mate. I can feel him.” I press my hand over my heart and a spark of hope leaps into her eyes. “He’s alive.”

It’s the truth. After our day at the zoo, Luke holding my hand for much of it, I forged a connection with him. It’s secondary to the connection I have with his mother, but it’s in there, a bright spark of orange, a tiny flame of life that hasn’t been extinguished yet. Charlie can hear my thoughts; she knows I’m telling the truth.

She shoves me away from her, but not angrily. “Go!” she says hoarsely. “Go get him.”

I stand, pulling her up with me. Her legs are shaking but she finds the strength to steady herself. “You bring my son back alive.”

“I promise.”

And you kill that woman. For me. For Luke. End this,she adds silently.

I will.

I turn to Officer Burton. “Duncan Sharptooth’s head of security is on his way over with reinforcements. I want them in this apartment with Charlie in case this is a ruse to get me to leave her.”

“You’re wasting time, Lennox!” Charlie snaps, shoving me toward the door. “It doesn’t matter if she’s coming here. Go save Luke!”

I head for the door, pinning Burton with a look.

He nods his understanding.

I don’t look back, don’t try to reassure Charlie again. She’s in my mind anyway, following me every step of the way as I make my way up to the roof, leaving my clothes where they drop. Once on the roof, I shift into my huge white wolf.

I pad to the edge of the building and close my eyes, inhaling deeply, concentrating.

Charlie has gone silent, but I still feel her. She doesn’t want to hamper my ability to find her son, though it’s killing her not to scream at me to hurry.

I push everything aside except Luke, conjuring his image in my mind, allowing the orange flame of his spirit to unfurl in my chest. So like his mother, but so independent too. His spark is strong and steady, lighting a path straight to him.

I have him,I tell Charlie, leaping from the roof, aiming for a window ledge on the next building, using it to propel myself higher. I run faster than I’ve ever run before, climbing and leaping, using the metal jungle to my advantage as I close in on Edie’s position.

I figure out where she’s heading and realize she knows about my special spot on the bridge.

She probably knows everything about you, Charlie says and I have to agree. I’ve had a stalker for a very long time and never realized it.

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