Page 8 of Wolf's Wild Woman

She shook her head. “No. I…I’ll go in. I just need to tell you something first.”

“I’m listening.”

“I spilled blood here tonight.”

“The man who attacked you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll spill more before the night ends.”

“You don’t understand, Taylor. Benji’s mean, and he runs with a group of guys just like him. I don’t… I don’t want to see you get hurt because of me.”

Fuck. I didn’t know whether to be grateful she was admitting to caring for me or insulted she didn’t think I could take care of myself. I appeased my ego by reminding myself she’d never seen me fight. My mate had no idea what I was capable of. She would shortly. Then she’d never doubt my ability to protect her.

“I won’t get hurt, baby. More importantly, I’ll make damn sure no one ever tries to hurt you again either.” I stared into her gorgeous blue eyes for a long moment. “One of the people I put in their place tonight will be your mother.”

She shook her head again, but I continued before she could speak.

“She should have protected you. From the time you were born. That’s what a parent’s job is. To nurture and protect. If I ever get lucky enough to have a son or daughter…” I had to stop and swallow the emotion in my chest. “I’ll protect them with my life if needed.”

A lone tear slid down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away. She straightened her shoulders as if preparing herself to go into her home. Didn’t that say a lot about her life. A home should be a refuge to run to, not a place to run from.

“I have a few things I’d like to get while I’m here. I left pretty quickly. Plus, I didn’t have room on my bike. If you don’t mind, I can put them in your SUV. I’ll find a place to store them before I leave.” She glanced up at me as if she expected me to say no to her request. “I might want them when I find my own place.”

Part of me wanted to tell her again she wasn’t leaving, to remind her she was my mate. But I’d show her instead. Later. For now, this worked just fine for me. We’d get whatever she wanted, put it in the back of my vehicle and move it to my home—the place I firmly planned to move her into. It was close to the house my alpha, Bas, had taken with his sister. The one he’d be moving his somewhat reluctant bride into once he’d convinced her.

Most of the pack stayed on the property with him. I had a house about a mile up the road. It made sense for me to be there. A line of defense in case some idiot got it into his head he wanted to fuck with the James Pack. I had a big house with plenty of room for my mate and the family we’d build together.

“We’ll grab whatever you want,” I assured her.

“Fine,” she snapped, and I saw the shields going up as she climbed out and stomped toward the door. “Know this, Taylor. I’ll never forgive you if you get hurt because of me.”

I almost laughed, but I sensed that was meant more toward herself than me. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to me. Was there no one in the godforsaken Rigton pack who cared about her? Hell, if anything, tonight was making me dislike this damn pack even more.

“Stay behind me,” I ordered as I caught up with her.

She shook her head. “I’ll lead the way. I know this house inside and out. We’ll go to my room first and get my stuff. After that, we’ll check out the house and see if Benji’s still here. If he’s not, I know some of the places he hangs out. Maybe, we can get a few more of your pack and go find him.”

I didn’t comment. My actions would show her the man I was. Instead, I waved my hand, letting her go ahead of me to the porch. If her hand shook a little when she grabbed her keys, I pretended not to notice. I wasn’t sure what had happened earlier between her and her mother, but Rebel was gearing up for whatever she expected to greet her. I was more than ready to step in when my woman needed me. There was one goddamn thing she should be certain of, no one would raise a hand to her again.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside. She paused briefly, but when it was apparent no one was waiting for us, she moved on. I followed closely on her heels. Rebel headed down a hallway and into a room saturated with her scent. The bed was unmade. One blanket hung to the floor, and pillows were tossed haphazardly at the headboard. There was a chair in the corner by a full-length mirror. Clothes and books were piled on the cushion, spilling onto the floor. Bottles of perfume and makeup, scattered brushes, and lingerie littered the top of her dresser. My woman was messy. I loved it. I tended to keep everything tidy, perfectly put away, but God, I wanted her clutter.

She whipped around the room like a whirlwind, pulling out suitcases, ripping open drawers and carrying stuff by the armloads to toss them inside. I stepped inside the room, careful to stay out of her path and leaned against the wall to watch. Hell, I wasn’t sure she even remembered I was with her, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

She moved from the dresser to the closet, leaving mostly empty drawers half-open. She ripped the clothes from where they hung, taking some hangers with her while others fell to a ghostly death, snapped in one way or another.

“What the hell are you doing back here?”

The woman who filled the doorway looked nothing like Rebel. Old enough to be her mother, yes. But…no resemblance whatsoever to my beautiful mate. No, this woman had bleached hair that stuck up all over her head. Her makeup was smeared. She was taller than Rebel by a couple of inches, and her eyes were a murky shade of brown. She was lackluster. How my amazing mate had come from this woman, I had no idea.

“I’m leaving.” That seemed to be Rebel’s mantra for the night. God knew she’d said the same words to me more than once. And she was leaving. She wasn’t leaving me, though. She was leaving with me.

“Leaving requires not coming back,” the blonde hissed. “I warned you not to come back here.” She glanced around nervously. “Hurry up and get what you want and go. And this time, don’t ever come back.”

“Was there ever a time when you loved me?” Rebel asked softly. “When I was born? When I took my first steps or said my first word?”

“I’m a whore, Rebel. Whores aren’t meant to be mothers. I should have…” She bit off the rest of her words, but Rebel didn’t let it go.

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