Page 46 of Into the Dawn

Ben strokes my hair back from my face and presses a gentle kiss against my forehead. His touch sends warmth through our connection when his beast reaches out to comfort mine.

"John's going to be fine. He's already en route to the hospital, and Doc says the wound isn't too deep. Looks like it missedany vital organs." He snorts, rubbing a hand down his face and sighing, suddenly looking bone weary and exhausted. "Looks like even when your brother tries to murder a human, he's shit at it."

Ben stills and grimaces, pressing his hand to my cheek.

"Sorry, sorry. I know this must be really hard for you. That was childish."

I shake my head and lean into his comforting touch, letting the tears stream down my dust-covered face. As if I'd defend Jed after all the trouble he's caused, and the twenty-four hours we've just had. The salt of my tears mingles with ash and dirt as I stare up at my mate, the man who’s always been my rock… when I let him.

"There was always something wrong with him," I say. "Even when we were younger, my mother used to warn me to stay away from him. I guess she sensed it, even then. It was more than just being an entitled prick with a power complex. There’s something twisted inside him, something wrong with his wiring."

Ben nods but refuses to be drawn into further bashing of my family. His restraint is admirable, though I can sense the anger still simmering beneath his calm exterior. He doesn't need to point out that my father wasn't much better.

"It doesn't matter now anyway. You're free. You don't ever have to go back to that place. I'm sorry, I had hoped to get John out in a much stealthier way. I never thought it would end like this."

I shrug. It's not Ben's fault, and it's not mine. They started this when they took John and continued it when they went after Kali. There was no way this was going to end peacefully, and there was no way we could let them get away with it.

This war was always going to end in bloodshed.

Ben's arm tightens around my shoulder, and he continues to stroke me. Our bodies touching helps to calm my frazzlednervous system, wrapping me up in a cocoon of his warmth. His steady heartbeat beneath my ear, beating solidly in his broad chest, regulates my own.

"Are you feeling okay?" I ask, remembering Jed's drugs, knowing they're probably still circulating in Ben’s system. God only knows what was in that.

"I'm fine," he says. "Don't worry about me."

Evan's driving, but his ears prick up, and he turns quickly to look at me. His beast is close to the surface, his protective instincts triggered by any mention of his brother being hurt.

"What's that?" His tone leaves no room for argument, lying or half-truths, so I blurt it out immediately. I’m not going to get on Evan’s bad side after he came to our rescue.

"Jed injected Ben with something that suppressed his beast for a while and made him weak."

Evan thumps the steering wheel with his fist, parking at a fork in the road, then growls quietly. He had his indicator on to turn left but immediately changes it to signal a right turn and curses.

The truck swerves slightly as he puts his foot down and yanks the steering wheel. "For fuck's sake, Ben. You didn't think that was something you should’ve mentioned? You're going to get seen too. I'm not bringing you home until you've been checked out."

Evan is in full big brother mode.

"I'm fine." Ben insists, his voice getting louder and gravelly as his animal pushes to the forefront. Much like me, Ben just wants to get home. Unlike me, he’s not afraid to argue with Evan King.

Evan's eyes flash in the rearview mirror, and the confined space of the truck fills with tension. This is escalating rapidly. Tempers are frayed, and adrenaline is pumping. We don't need this right now.

I stretch out a hand and place it on Ben's chest, right above his heart, and he stills, reining himself back in immediately as he gazes down at me, my head resting against his torso.

"Please, Ben. For me. I won't be able to rest until I know that you're fully okay."

Immediately, his features soften, and he wraps his arms around me. "Of course, of course. Anything for you."

Evan grumbles from the front seat. "Fucking idiot. That's what I said."

Ben curls the corner of his mouth in an ill-tempered snarl but immediately returns to lavishing attention on me, the matter now settled as we pull up in front of the clinic where Doc is already inside and finished treating John.

The antiseptic smell of the clinic cuts through the lingering scents of smoke and blood as Evan comes around to open the door, allowing Ben to climb out with me still in his arms.

"Put me down, I can walk." I argue, but Ben just tightens his grip. There's no way my feet are going to touch the ground. He's in overprotective alpha mode, and I'm not going to lie, I kind of like it.

Evan opens the front door and holds it so Ben can enter, grumbling all the while about implanting tracking devices on every single person that he knows so this shit can stop happening.

As we pass, I reach out and touch his arm, knowing that his agitation comes from a good place.

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