Page 40 of Saving Nevin
Pike frowned. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I told him, feeling just as lost as he looked. “Xan said I need to come home, that Nevin needs me and that they’ll explain when I get there. I’m worried. I’m sorry.” I glanced back up at the half-finished job. “I could come back over later, maybe…”
“No.” Pike’s tone was matter-of-fact. “It’s fine. Go and be with your Omega. We can finish this another time.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Once I got to Nevin’s side, I doubted I’d ever want to leave him. At least for the rest of the day. “Thank you, man.”
“Anytime,” Pike said, clapping me on the back.
I grabbed my coat off the coat rack, shrugged into it, and climbed into my truck. I gunned it home, driving ten over the speed limit down backroads, bouncing along to the sound of silence and my heart beating. I got there in no time flat.
Parking haphazardly in the gravel drive, I burst through the front door and into the house. “Nevin? Xan?” I called out.
“In the living room,” I heard my brother say, so I followed the sound of his voice. I found Nevin curled up in blankets on the couch, and Xan… His face was smeared with blood and dirt, scuffed and bruised. What the hell had happened?
I stared at my brother, who frowned at me and chin-nodded to my mate, whose bottom lip wobbled with oncoming tears.
“Baby… What happened?” I sat down beside Nevin right as he burst into noisy sobs. He threw himself against me, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck. I hugged him close.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. What happened, Nev? Honey, what’s going on?” I pulled away so I could look into his soulful blue eyes. They were wide and frightened. “Are you hurt?”
“N-No. Not yet anyway,” he uttered.
“We were attacked at the mall,” Xan said flatly.
Attacked? I growled and Nevin shrank away from me, scrunching up his eyes. “By who?” I demanded, looking at my brother. “That skeezy coworker of yours?”
Xan grimaced. “No. Not him.”
Nevin’s voice was small and timid as he spoke. “It’s Rex… H-He found me. He and one of the other Alphas from his pack attacked us in the lot. If it wasn’t for Xan’s quick thinking…”
He shivered, hunching his shoulders up around his ears and shaking his head, like he might be able to shake off those bad memories. “I don’t know what would’ve happened. He wants to take me back, Kace.” Nevin whimpered, and my soul went cold.
“No,” I growled. “That’s not happening. You’re mine, and you’re not going anywhere, Nev. I promise you that.” I reached for him, pulling him into my lap. He straddled my legs and clung to me, crying quietly as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I stroked his hair, shushing him. “Everything’s gonna be okay, honey…”
Xan looked down at the floor. “The Alpha that roughed me up… He said he was going to ‘add me to his collection’, whatever that means. Said I’d look good barefoot and pregnant—so I maced his ass.” He wrinkled his nose and I growled under my breath, anger simmering just below the surface.
“So they plan to take you both?” I bit out, squeezing Nevin to my chest. “Over my dead body. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of this. I’ll kill that bastard if I have to.”
“Kace—” Nevin whimpered.
“I will,” I said firmly.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Xan muttered before standing and limping off down the hall. My heart ached for my brother, whose bravery had saved both himself and my mate today. If it wasn’t for him…
No. I couldn’t think that way. Nevin was safe, right here, in my arms. And I wouldn’t let him be snatched away to be used and abused all over again. I refused.
Nevin cuddled closer. “I’m scared.”
“How did he find you?” I asked, confused. Nevin turned his face away, but not before I saw the guilt flash through his eyes. “Nev?”
“I… I didn’t want to tell you,” he whispered bitterly. “I didn’t want to worry you, but a few months ago, I ran into one of my old packmates at the mall. One of the Omegas. I begged her not to tell Rex, but apparently she did. I’m sorry. I’m so stupid.”
“Oh honey.” I pulled him close, kissing his forehead, then the top of his head. “You’re the farthest thing from stupid there is. You’re scared. There’s a difference.”
I held him for a little while, needing to feel his warmth in my arms to reassure myself that he was safe, but my mind was already speeding ahead, a train off its tracks.
Xan came back out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later. His face was cleaned off, but he still looked shaken up. He hesitated in the doorway of the living room. “I think I’m gonna head home.”
