Page 10 of Unbreakable Bond
“You’re not fighting it because of the heat!” Michael yelled right back ather.
Rafe growled again. He didn’t like the idea of anyone raising their voice at his mate. His wolf was on a very short leash and he was about to gnaw through the last strands of it. He was trying to give them a second, to let them sort this out, mostly to keep from getting himself shot, but he wouldn’t tolerate Michael yelling ather.
“I’m not fighting it because there’s nothing to fight. This is fate. This is what we’ve been waiting for since the day I turned eighteen.” Her lips trembled and her eyes watered, “It just happened with the wrongwolf.”
Rafe really didn’t like that. He didn’t like that his mate looked close to tears. He didn’t like that she was hurting. He really didn’t like that she’d called him the wrong wolf. Did that make Michael the rightone?
“Zoey?”
She sucked in a breath of air when he said her name for the first time and her eyes jerked back to his. Her eyes were the most beautiful mix of blue and green that he’d ever seen. He wanted to drown in them but not because there were tearsthere.
“Zoey, come here, come tome.”
Michael growled and broke the moment when he stepped between them again, “Zoey, stop. Don’t dothis.”
“You’ll have to grab me again to stop me and I don’t think that’s a goodidea.”
She started to step around Michael again and Rafe thought, for just a second, that his smart, logical brother was going to do the right thing and let her go. He thought that Michael had realized he was fighting a losing battle. Whether he loved the girl or not, she wasn’t his and rules were rules. Rafe had been the one that hated the rules, had bent them until they almost broke, but Michael had always played by them. Knowing that, he was shocked when he watched his brother anchor a hand around her wrist and jerk her to a stop onceagain.
“Michael! No!” Sheyelped.
Rafe growled, his feet moving before he’d consciously decided that he was done waiting and watching. His fist connected with the Sherriff’s gut, doubling him over, and he moved easily around him. He had a momentary flash of his mate’s eyes going wide but he jerked his attention off of her and put the full brunt of his weight behind it when he swung at Michael this time. He connected with his brother’s jaw, snapping his head around, but he didn’t wait to see if Michael regained his balance for anattack.
He swept his mate into his arms in one easy move and headed up the hill. A sense of rightness immediately settled over him, calming the worst of his anger. She was his and she was here, in his arms. He could keep her safe now. He would claim her and then the terrible wave of jealousy he was feeling would ease and they could talk about all of this rationally tomorrow. After he’d mated her so that they were tied togetherforever.
“Rafe!”
He smiled when she yelled his name this time. Yes, that sounded better. That sounded right. It was his name that should always be on her lips. Onlyhis.
“Rafe,wait!”
“Can’t. Done waiting.” He started to shift her into a more comfortable position to run when he felt the sting in his back. “Dammitno!”
The pain radiated out as if he’d been stung by a thousand bees all at once. He took one more step. Two. His legs felt weak and the world shifted on its axis. He had the forethought to understand his body was failing, that he was going to fall, and he held his fragile, breakable mate to his chest, trying to shield her and protecther.
His knees hit the ground first and he winced at the jarring collision, “They can’t take you from me. You. Are.Mine.”
His mate opened her mouth to respond but only a shriek came out because his back gave and he slumped forward. He tried to shield her from the enormity of his body weight but it was no use. He landed on top of her as gently as he could considering he could barely move his limbs. There was a strange sense of accomplishment having her pinned beneath him and his heart thumped at the closeness, at the fact that their skin was touching, that their scents were mixing, even as his body failed and his visionwavered.
“What’s wrong? Oh God, what’shappening?”
He used the last of his strength to brush her hair back off her face. Pretty. So pretty. She reminded him of the girl from that story, the one with the big, bad wolf. He smiled at the thought, tried to file it away to tell her later, certain she would laugh because he was exactlythat.
“Why are you smiling?” She tried to wiggle beneath him but it was useless, she wasn’t getting free of him that easily, “Oh, hell, you’re as crazy as he said you were aren’tyou?”
“Not crazy.” He dropped his head, his heavy head, against the curve of her neck and breathed in her sweet, distinctive scent, “Yours. I’myours.”
“Luckyme.”
He thought he sensed sarcasm in her tone and smiled again. Feisty. His mate was feisty. She’d argued with her Pack Alpha, gone toe-to-toe, and she’d won. She would handle him too, he had no doubt. They were going to be a goodpair.
“Mine.”
She snorted, ‘”Yeah, you mentionedthat.”
Her soft hand brushed his hair back off his forehead and he closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch. He couldn’t open them again. Darkness closed in all around him. He was going under. He knew the feeling. It wasn’t the first time he’d been shot after all. Luckily, it wasn’t a bullet this time. His only regret was that he hadn’t been able to get her away, get her somewhere safe, because when he was unconscious, he wouldn’t be able to protecther.
“Rafe?” Her voice, sweet with concern for himagain.
“I’ll find you.” He mumbled the promise, unsure if his words even made sense through the fog of the drugs in his system. “They can’t keep me from you. I’ll findyou.”
The world shifted away and the warmth of the drugs lulled him into sleep. He hated sleep. He only ever dreamed in nightmares. Flashes of pain and agony, destruction and loneliness. But this time was different, because he had his mate in his arms, underneath him, her body pressed to his, her scent in his nose. And just before he went under completely he thought he heard her say something that would have made him smile again, if only he werecoherent.
“You won’t have to. I’m not goinganywhere.”
