Page 7 of Hers to Love
Chapter Five
Taika came back to himself to find that he was lying face first on the floor, his body still twitching from what felt like five billion volts of electricity that had coursed through his body, and his gorilla going completely mental inside him. The first he could deal with, the second was annoying, but the third was the hairy bastard’s fault for being so wrapped up in their mate, he failed to warn him that they were about to have company.
He cracked his eyes open and blinked to clear his vision until he could see three men and his mate still in the motel room. Taika wanted to leap off the floor and protect her, but his body was just not going to cooperate. All he could manage was a constant growl and an expression that no doubt promised retribution.
As he watched, he saw one of the men dare to put his hand on his mate, and when Ataahua took him down with a not so subtle knee to the groin, he wanted to cheer out loud. Taika saw red moments later when the bastard’s friend stepped up to Ata and planted his fucking fist in her face, dropping her to the ground.
A red haze seemed to fall over him, and Taika felt every muscle in his body tense, and then a single heartbeat later, his gorilla burst from him in an explosion of roars, snarls, and lethal brute force. When his animal was running on full fury, Taika had no real control over his actions. Control was a difficult thing for an Alpha like him to relinquish, even to his animal form. Taika would usually fight to maintain some semblance of power over his animal form, but in this moment, with these assholes, he let the monster have his way. The fight was short-lived, despite the three men using weapons equipped with silencers, because his animal was beyond pissed.
As soon as the men were dead, his gorilla moved toward their mate, the sounds he made deep within his chest as comforting as Taika had ever heard him make. The gorilla dropped to sit beside her, lowering his huge head to Ataahua’s, and inhaled her scent. The deep sense of connection that rang within the animal struck a chord with Taika.
Mate. Ours.
Taika couldn’t have agreed more. He was surprised when the animal ceded control back to him without complaint. Usually there was a gorilla sized hissy fit when he wanted control back, but not today. Taika embraced the pain that came with a shift, and then he was crouched beside his mate in his human form. He allowed himself a few moments to simply bask in her beauty, before getting to his feet. He needed to get her out of here, out of town, and somewhere she would be safe, and nowhere on this earth was as safe as his lands.
He grabbed her bag, and cast another look around the room. Taika would need something to wear to get back to their family lands. He quickly dismissed the clothes of the men he’d killed, and reached for one of the sheets off the bed. He’d have to go toga style, and they had to move now. Taika had no idea why no one hadn’t come running at the sounds coming from this room, but he wasn’t going to push his luck for much longer.
Five minutes later, and he had his mate tucked into the passenger seat of his truck, and they were hauling ass toward home. From somewhere in the car, a cell phone rang, and frowning, he pulled over. It was coming from his mate’s bag. Now, most men would probably leave it, not wanting to breach her privacy. But Taika wasn’t most men. He was an Alpha who tended to do things and never apologize for them later.
He pulled the phone from the side pocket.Kaea?Who the hell was that?
Swiping his finger to the left to answer, he growled, “Who the fuck is this?”
There was no answer, but he could hear a conversation taking place in the background. His eyebrows shot up when he realized he was listening to a conversation between two males, some distance from the phone itself, but his shifter hearing was phenomenal.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Xavier! What the hell are you trying to do? Kill someone?” This was a man’s voice, and he sounded pissed off at whoever this Xavier was.
“If I have to! Get your ass out here now, Kaea.” Ah, so the first man was this Kaea person that Ataahua had in her phone. “You don’t walk away from me just because you don’t like what I have to say.” Xavier sounded pissed—really pissed.
“I walked away because you were being a clueless asshole. That’s my right.”
Oh, Kaea, you’re poking that man with a sharp stick. You’ve been taking sassy lessons from my Ataahua.
“And it’s my right to protect you and make sure that you are safe! Christ, Kaea, all I want to do is keep you from getting hurt. Is that a crime? You’re my mate.”
It was all becoming crystal clear now. This Kaea was Xavier’s mate, and Taika could totally relate to whoever this shifter was. There was nothing more sacrosanct than that of a relationship between two mates. If Kaea ran from Xavier like Ataahua did him, then he was totally on Xavier’s side.
“What did he do, honey?” This was a third person, a woman, who sounded closer to the phone than the other two did.
“Heforbademe from doing something that is well within my rights to do.” Taika winced. Yeah, he could totally see himself doing that with Ataahua, but he had a feeling she would react just as Kaea had.
“Frank! You open this door right now.” The woman was talking again, and there was no missing the anger in her tone.
“For you, Marge, anything.” That must be Frank.
“How dare you, young man. This lovely boy seems to be old enough and wise enough to make intelligent and adult decisions on his own, and shouldn’t have to have your permission to do anything. You don’t exactly show common sense and great decision-making skills. You just slid your car in front of a moving bus, forcing Frank to have to slam on the brakes and scare the living daylights out of us here on this bus. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Taika took the phone from his ear, and disconnected the call. Marge sounded like she was on a roll. He didn’t want to hear how that played out. Either Xavier was going to talk his way out of it, or he was going to have that woman smacking him with her handbag. From one Alpha to the next, he figured it would be best to give the man his privacy, even though he had no idea that Taika was listening.
He popped the phone back into the bag, started the truck and headed for the large stone gate that stood at the beginning of his lands. As always as soon as he turned into the drive, a sense of home fell over him.
Ataahua made a sound beside him, and he looked over at her. As soon as his gaze rested on her, that sense of home grew until it was everything he ever thought he wanted or needed in this life. The only thing that marred it was the darkening bruise on the slightly swollen right side of her jaw.
“Where are we?” Ataahua asked in a quiet voice as she pushed herself a little more upright and looked around at the dark night.
“We’re back on my lands. My family group are here, and they can protect you from these men.” He looked over and gave her a pointed look. “Or anyone else who comes along and threatens you.”
Ataahua kept her gaze on his. “And they would do that because you think I am your mate?”
