Page 29 of Possessive Mate

Kane nodded in agreement. “I'll grab Will.”

“We'll meet you outside,” Jack said, he and Zander moving toward the door.

Eddie remained glowering at Hanson. “He stays here.”

“Like hell I am!” Hanson snapped back before he had a chance to think about it.

Eddie stepped forward again then, squaring up as he growled low in his throat, “She's my sister, you fuckwit, don't think I won't tear your throat out for this.”

It was at that second a gasp from further down the hallway distracted them all.

“Zander, are you seriously going to let him talk to him like that?” Layla growled, storming down the hallway towards them. “Jack? Seriously? After all Hanson has done for this pack?”

Hanson’s skin crawled. In the eyes of his original packmates, he was something of a hero, helping Jack end Karl Ryker's tyrannical rule. But in the eyes of the others, that just made him more of a threat, and he felt that now more so than ever.

“Fuck, Eddie,” Zander grumbled, reaching for his friend. “Would you cool it with the testosterone? You're gonna get me in trouble.”

If not for the seriousness of the situation, Hanson might have actually laughed. The men might have been big and powerful, but when it came to their she-wolves, they knew who the real bosses were.

And mine is out there somewhere, Hanson thought, his chest tightening. It was Layla standing beside him who gave him the courage to speak up. “Think whatever you want of me, Eddie, but while Elena is a guest of the pack, she’s a part of it, and I swore my oaths to this pack just as you did.”

“Well said, Hanson,” Layla said, placing a hand on his forearm. Though he was grateful of her support, he wasn't sure how much it was actually going to help.

“Fuck this!” Eddie grimaced angrily. “We're wasting time. Come or not, Just don't get in my fucking way or I'll slay you where you stand.”

Even their other packmates looked shocked as they glanced around at each other, watching Eddie storm from the manor before following him.

Hanson was about to follow on when Layla’s hand gripped his arm a little tighter.

“You care about her, don't you?” she whispered, the meaning in her gaze touching Hanson right to his core when he met her eye. All he could do was nod. “Then don't let Eddie's bullheaded brother routine get in your way.”

Chapter 14 - Elena

The aching in Elena's head was nothing compared to the burning pain in her wrists when she came to.

The smell of burning flesh made her stomach twist with nausea. She had felt that burn only a couple of times in her life. Silver.

And a glance over her shoulder told her she was right. Silver chains fastened her arms around a large wooden pillar.

Mixed with the stench of her own sizzling flesh was the rancid smell of pig shit and hay and other farm animals. As her wits returned to her, Elena realized why.

She was held hostage in a damn barn, sat in filthy hay with a couple of sheep making god awful noise in a nearby pen.

Though they stank to high heaven, they looked good enough to eat, and for the first time Elena realized she hadn't eaten since the night before. Her stomach growled desperately.

Glancing above her head, she saw the pillar was holding up not only the roof but also the hayloft. She wondered if the whole lot would come tumbling down if she pulled hard enough to yank herself free. Maybe it was a risk she was willing to take, considering the alternative was being set upon by four wolves again.

“I wouldn’t even consider it if I were you,” a voice growled from the shadows near the open doorway. The harsh light filtering through the large opening made Elena squint with the effort of trying to see who was speaking.

“Well, you aren't me, so who the fuck are you?”

She could hear the smile in his laughter even before he stepped into view. And the menace behind that smile made her feel sick to her stomach.

She couldn't have said who he was, but she definitely sensed that she should know. He looked like one of those assholes you would remember after only a minute in his company.

“Please, there is no need to be so aggressive,” he said calmly, moving to stand before her. When he dropped down into a crouch, bringing his eyes level with hers, Elena forced herself to meet them. He continued to smile a friendly smile, yet she could see right through him to the rot hiding beneath. He examined her closely, as if he actually cared, sighing, “I do hope my men weren't too rough with you.”

“Does knocking me out constitute being rough?” Elena snapped. She spat at him just as aggressively as before, determined not to be fooled by his nice guy act. Whoever this guy was, he was an enemy of the Nightstar pack, that much she was sure of.

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