"Give me my sister, asshole," I roar. My wolf is so close to the surface, I’m about to shift and fight him.
"Bandit," Cyrus calls out. "Let's calm down and find out what the hell happened here."
"Fuck calm right now, Prez, no offense, but my sister is beaten, and I can smell the blood." I take another step toward Dane, my lethal intentions evident in my eyes. "What the fuck did you do to Raine?"
"Bandit," Corbin calls, snarling, moving in close to Dane. "Cyrus told you to calm the hell down. If you'd think for a god damned minute, you'd see that he didn't do a damn thing to her. You'd also smell what the rest of us can. The scent of humans."
"Heard her screams while running. Came up on the road to see about five men surrounding her. Beating her. Some were kicking at her, others holding her down," Dane tells us, holding my sister close to him. His gaze locks on me. "She's human. Not shifter. She's not your sister."
"She's fuckin' adopted, asshat. Raine's my little sister, now give her to me," I sneer.
Dane shakes his head and looks down at my sister before he murmurs the next six words with enough force that each of us takes a step back from him. "I will not. She's my mate."
He looks positively rabid right now, like he won’t allow anyone to remove Raine from his grasp. "Give me my sister," I plead.
"No," Dane snarls, holding her even closer.
"How about we just get her back to the clubhouse, and I take a look at her?" Zavier suggests.
"That sounds like a good plan," Daniel states. "Come on son, let's get her checked out,” he says, coming closer.
Dane nods. "They were there to teach her a lesson," he states, talking more to himself than the rest of us.
My question is who the fuck was teaching my sister ‘a lesson’ and what kind of asshole beats on a woman to begin with?
"I don't know what the hell is taking so long for her to wake up," I rumble as we all sit sentry over her and watch Raine lying there unconscious.
“Calm down, Bandit. She doesn't need you getting all worked up like this," Sloane says, her voice calm and pacifying. "Your parents will be here anytime now, and you don't want to stress them out further than they already will be."
“I hate that we had to call them back from their trip early. They haven’t shifted since Raine moved back home,” I murmur.
“Do you really think you could’venottold them and lived to tell the tale?” Sloane asks, her hands on her hips. “I know you know your mother would’ve kicked your ass.”
I chuckle because she’s not wrong. My mother can be as much of a hardass as me and my father. Sometimes she’s worse because of the fact she’s got that maternal gene buried deep inside of her and if one of her kids is hurt or injured, she’s in full-on momma mode.
"How about you all leave the room and let me be alone with my mate?" Dane asks.
Raine groans, her eyelids flutter, then she opens her eyes before gazing around the room, taking in her surroundings. "What is everyone doing surrounding me like this?" she asks before glaring directly at me and adding, "you know I hate when you hover."
"Raine," I growl warningly, peering down at her. "Don't you start."
"Then stop with the hovering," she mutters, giving me her typical sass. Right now, I’m not at all in the mood to entertain her brattiness whatsoever. I want to find out who the fuck is harassing and beating on her then go and show them exactly what it means to mess with my family.
"You'd think with the bullshit of you being beaten on, you would lose the sarcasm and bristly attitude," I retort.
"Not a chance," she snarks back at me. "I need you to back off some."
"No offense, but I'm not backing off. Not until you tell me what the hell that was all about. Who attacked you? What the fuck did they want?" I ask, peppering her with back-to-back questions.
She glances down, one of her tells that lets me know she’s trying to stall for time and avoid answering me. But I’m a persistent fucker, and Iwillwear her down. Eventually. She’s a bit stubborn, after all.
"It was nothing," she states, acting nonchalant, causing not only me to growl but also every shifter in the room with us.
"Don't lie," Dane orders. My brows raise at the tone of voice he’s using when talking to my sister and I’m about to suggest he shut his fucking mouth when Raine speaks up instead.
"Don't you tell me what to do," she sneers before getting out of the bed. "I don't need you or anyone else telling me what to do. You can back off with all the growling." She glances around the room then pins me with a glare and says, "Allof you."
"Raine." This time it’s Sloane who speaks up. "What happened?"