Page 28 of Simon's Runaway Mate

“Do not get yourselves hurt!” I ordered with a snarl. I had no wish to have either my mate or her brother kill me for letting their respective parents get harmed.

“You sound like Hannibal,” Leslie offered with a laugh. “Now, go!”

I dashed from the truck to the back fence and vaulted over it easily. Privacy fences were not made to keep out shifters. At least, not the fences in her neighborhood. I was heading toward the back door when Gabe stepped out for the corner of the house and waved me over.

“They’ve got her in the living room. She’s holding her own so far.”

“How close did you get?” I asked.

“Close enough to hear the conversation. Makers Sr. is planning to use your mate to force us to turn over his son. Lacking that, he’s going to kill her and keep going until he hurts all of us the way we hurt him.”

“Taylor should have killed him instead of telling him to get the hell out of town,” I growled.

“We all should have done a lot of things. Lessons learned. Now, what do you have planned?”

“Slipping in the back door. Cecilia’s dad and Hannibal’s mom are going to head to the front door and try to either gain their attention or at least split it while we get inside. You focus on my mate. Get her out of danger and don’t leave her side. No matter what.”

Gabe nodded. I knew he saw the bloodlust in my gaze. My wolf wouldn’t calm for anything less. My mate was in danger, and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I tasted the blood of my enemy, until it dripped from my lips while I tore out his throat.

“Madison?” Gabe asked.

“If she tries to run, stop her. If she tries to interfere, stop her. If she tries to hurt my mate in any way…kill her.”

Gabe nodded again.

“Follow me.”

We made our way to the back door, and I had the key in place and ready to turn when I heard Cain and Leslie making their way to the front of the house. They were loud, laughing and talking as if they had no idea what awaited them inside. I turned the key and eased the door open, leaving it ajar as Gabe and I made our way inside.

“Who the fuck is that?” Jarrod Makers demanded.

“My dad and his new wife.”

The tone of my mate’s voice made it seem that she didn’t like her father’s new wife. I knew better. I tried to figure out what she was thinking. Was Cecilia trying to make Leslie seem less important, thinking that would keep her safe?

“She’s a wolf.” Madison’s voice and it took all I had to hold back my growl. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could let her walk away. I didn’t make a habit of attacking women, but there was a special place in hell for those like Madison. Those who sought to use and abuse others because they could. Because humans were so far beneath her.

“Wrong,” Cecilia said.

“I can smell a wolf.” The sound of smacking flesh was followed closely by Cecilia’s cry of pain.

Gabe grabbed my arm, and I almost attacked him but managed enough control to focus on what he was trying to get me to pay attention to. I heard another smack, followed by a yelp from Madison.

“She’s not a wolf, you fucking moron,” Cecilia snapped. She sounded vicious. I wanted to see her. To taste the fire on her tongue. To let it burn through us both. “My dad is.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Jarrod said. “Wolves sire wolves.”

“Not when they mate humans,” my mate challenged. “Then it’s fifty-fifty what you get. And with me, my parents got human. My mother was so disgusted she left when I was younger. My father kept me anyway.”

I could add cunning to my mate’s list of attributes. She’d managed to make it so they’d concentrate on her father and not pay as much attention to Leslie. Cecilia had just painted the other woman as a weak human, playing on their beliefs. Fuck, there was nothing weak about Leslie or Cecilia. Now, instead of them realizing Leslie’s scent covered her mate, they’d think Cain’s scent was covering Leslie. Oh, my mate was a genius.

A knock fell heavy on the door.

“Cici, you home?” A few more knocks sounded against the door. “Cici!”

“If I don’t answer, he’ll use his key to come in. He knows I came back last night and that I’m mated to a wolf. He doesn’t know which one.”

“Nice try,” Jarrod scoffed. “He’ll smell your mate on you and know my scent doesn’t match.”

---