Page 6 of Mated
Relief rips through me. “Here.”
A wash of garnet colored light flows over the forest floor and the woman’s blood soaked face. Gage and Caine damn near drop from above. The warrior falls to my side, swearing, as he rips his shirt from his torso. His upper body is pale moonlight and jet black tattoos in the dark, and I ignore the old burn scars covering him as he clamps his shirt around the woman’s frame.
I raise her up so he can tie the material. He peers at her through eyes that glow like emerald beacons. “Fucking half her stomach is gone,” he mutters, assessing her in the bright light of our eyes. “I can’t fix this here.”
“Where is the closest hospital?” Caine asks. His slacks are still on fire from his demon portal now floating feet away.
I eye it wearily. The little bubble doesn’t look too solid, but we have no choice.
Standing carefully with the woman in my arms, I look at him. “About fifteen miles south. Can you get us there?”
His emo length dark hair holds highlights of red in the light from his magick, and his hellfire irises gleam at me from a sinister face.
He opens the portal and holds it wide with one agile hand in answer. I climb in behind him.
Gage waits on the forest floor. “The shifter?”
My lips curl. “Took off. Go get Ruin and meet us at the hospital,” I call to the Fae male. “As soon as she is in their hands, we’ll come back.”
He nods and dives through the trees, heading back to the lodge. The portal closes completely.
Caine peers at me, his lean hands weaving sparks of ruby light. “Hold on. I’ve never carried this many before. It could get bumpy.”
I’m five seconds from telling him to let me the fuck out, when his magick jolts us into the air at fucking warp speed. My spine collides against the portal. Everything blurs outside in a nauseating rush, and I tighten my hold on the woman. “Caine …” I warn.
He cackles and weaves us over the tree tops. I try to keep my eyes locked out the front of his portal, or on the nearly black canopy below. But they keep straying over the woman.
Who is she, and why was she on Silver Rock land?
Even more fucking prominent, does the alpha know he has a rogue running unchecked nearby? Or was the other cat a skin-eater? The supernatural equivalent of a cannibalistic serial killer?
Either option leaves me in a clusterfuck of epic proportions with no happy ending in sight.
In order to find out who the man—err—woman-eater is, I need to confront Callus. And the Silver Rock Alpha may not want to talk to me.
Owning as we were on his land without permission—and I never even told him I was in town …
I grimace.
Yeah…
So fucking much for a peaceful full moon.
Chapter 3
Tanner
Ruin paces across from me as Marcus Alport’s voice floats from the phone held between us. Once we got the woman in the hands of the capable staff, calling him was the next move. Hell, the only move.
Even if I want to rush in guns blazing, I have to sit on my fucking thumbs until we go through the ‘diplomatic’ channels.
“I’ve contacted the local coven house,” the King ofourcoven says. “Devon knows you’re in town now. Though he was awful quick to ask questions on why my best team was inhisterritory.”
Behind me, Horan shifts against the wall, his sword scraping on stone where it rests along his spine.
Ruin winces as his gaze flows past me to the dark-haired woman standing next to Caine. “And what did you say?”
Marcus snorts. “That you were on a honeymoon with yourhumanwife, and I trust no one else to protect my child’s god-parents.”
