Page 4 of Possessive Mate

“What's going on, El?”

The way he stepped forward and gripped hold of her arms made her cringe. She wasn't sure she could bear her brother's comforting touch right now.

With tears in her eyes, she lifted her gaze to his and admitted, “I need sanctuary, Ed.”

As if she had struck him in the face, Eddie stepped back, his hands falling limp at his sides. “What have you done, Elena?”

Anger boiled in her veins then. Jaw and fists clenched, she glared at her brother and snapped, “I haven't done anything. I just…I can't go back to the home pack.”

Eddie examined her closely, his eyes probing into hers as if he were trying to decipher the truth from them.

“What's happened, El? What about Jason?”

Elena flinched. The mention of her mate's name made her blood run cold. Numbness threatened her insides and she let it in. It was all she could do to stop from feeling.

“He…he’s gone,” she said, unwilling to say anymore. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“But he's your mate? How can he just he gone? Elena, you've got to give me something here, damn it!”

Eddie stepped forward again as if to hug her, or maybe even try to shake the truth out of her. Either way, she couldn't stand the thought of being touched again. She feared if he did touch her, he would know everything. That, or she would spill the beans about everything and end up a puddle of tears on the ground. Neither of which she was ready for, and so she stepped back.

“You left the home pack a long time ago, Ed. Things have changed since you left for the military.”

“Surely they can't have changed so much you need sanctuary?” Eddie protested, shaking his head. “What are you running from, El? Is Malcolm coming after you?”

Elena shivered. The alpha of their birth pack was the least of her worries right now. Yes, she was running, but not from him—not really from anyone. Still, she wasn't ready to give him the answer, and so she simply shook her head.

Looking her brother dead in the eye, she pleaded, “Please, Eddie, will you help me or not?”

Chapter 3 - Hanson

Dawn arrived with the sound of birdsong at Hanson’s open bedroom window, but still he lay, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was her. Beautiful, blonde, big breasted, and damn, those hips. Hell, how he wanted to grab hold of those hips.

And the way Eddie had dragged her away down from the porch played on his mind also. It bugged him. Whether he was her brother or not, he shouldn't have laid hands on her like that. Sure, she hadn't protested, but still. His hackles had risen the second he saw it, and it had taken all he had in him to stop from charging down the porch steps to free her from his grip.

Now, though he tried his damnedest, he couldn't rid himself of thoughts of her.

It had been hours since they had gone off on patrol, but her scent still lingered in his nostrils. It was sweet, seductive, sexual. And when he breathed deeply, it caused him to shiver from head to toe.

Hell, this she-wolf was dangerous; he was wary. What had she done to him to have elicited such an instinctual response?

He had never felt this kind of pounding in his chest, the need to know where she was and what she was doing and with whom. Was she safe? Had Eddie upset her? Did she and her brother have an argument?

He thought he would rip Eddie's arm right out the socket if he so much as saw him lay a hand on her again.

“Fuck….” he growled out through gritted teeth, running his fingers through his red-blonde hair.

Whatever she had done to him, however she had done it, it was bad. If he hadn't smelled the wolf within her and if he didn't know she was Eddie's sister, he might have said she was a witch. She had certainly cast some horrendous spell on him.

Glancing at his alarm clock on the bedside table, he decided it was time to give up trying to sleep. It was well past seven, and there was always something to be done nowadays. If it wasn't the final renovations on the manor, it was keeping the town safe from the threats of Christian's men or keeping the peace within the town itself.

From the second Jack and his packmates took over, it had been all hands on deck, and Hanson was determined to prove his worth and his loyalty. There was no way he would risk his place in this pack, not after so long under the rule of a tyrant.

Jack was a badass and one hell of an alpha, but compared to Karl Ryker, he was practically a puppy dog until somebody did something worthy of punishment. Even so, Hanson wasn't about to risk getting on the alpha's bad side.

So, feeling like death after zero sleep, Hanson clambered from his bed and stumbled through getting dressed.

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