Page 26 of Chev's Mate

He may be my dearest friend, but at this moment, he’s nothing more than an obstacle keeping me from saving my mate. I charge, fully intending to crush him, but my feet are swept out from underneath me by a tricky fucking incubus.

Gray yanks my ankles, and he tumbles alongside me as I fall. I’m immediately trying to get back up, and I snap my teeth in his direction when he throws his torso over me to try to keep medown. Gray is brave but weak, and I kick my hind legs into his belly just as Aziel joins in to help him.

Aziel is strong, and he successfully manages to pin my bear. I snarl, my spit hitting him in the face and mouth as I wiggle and kick, trying and failing to break free.

Silas appears near my head. “Vanessa’s okay!” He grabs my jaw and forces me to look into his eyes. “I was just at the facility. She’s taking a self-defense class with the other females, and she made a wrong spin and twisted her arm. She tore the muscle, but she’s okay.”

He’s covered in blood from when I bit him, but his injuries seem to have healed. He holds out a phone, and an image of Vanessa is on the screen. She’s sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree as she holds an ice pack against her shoulder. She looks confused.

I’m sure she wasn’t expecting a bloody Silas to appear and take a photo of her.

My bear is skeptical, and I huff as I lean forward to smell Silas. He wears my mate’s scent, and I wiggle closer to ensure it’s fresh. I know the fate doesn’t like me, but he still brings his body closer to mine.

Yes.

The smell is fresh.

I’m too worked up to shift back into my skin form, but my bear no longer tries to fight. Aziel releases me before lunging at Gray, his body shaking. Aziel seems just as agitated as me, maybe even more so, and he buries his face against Gray’s neck. Gray glares at me. I don’t care.

I try to stand, but I’m unsuccessful. I hurt myself falling down the stairs, and smashing my head against the metal fence didn’t help. I shouldn’t have done that.

A tense silence stretches over the four of us, and it continues until a panicked Charlie comes bursting into the area. Shenarrowly avoids a large tree as she whips around in her golf cart, and she accidentally runs over Gray’s ankle in her path toward me.

The incubus curses, clutching the limb to his chest, but I’m not worried. He’s well-fed, and he’ll heal quickly.

“Chev,” Charlie gasps, throwing herself in my direction. “What’s happening?”

Silas swoops in and pulls her away from me. It’s a smart decision, and I wiggle even farther away. My bear is unpredictable, and he won’t hesitate to bite her if she gets too close. I settle next to Aziel, trusting him to stop me from doing anything stupid, and I lie on the ground as I wait for my body to heal. I’m comforted knowing Vanessa is okay, and I’ll have Aziel check in on her later this morning, this evening, and before bed.

Gray places a hand on my back, mindlessly trying to stroke my fur, and I grumble until he pulls away.

I am no pet.

It takes several minutes until I have enough strength to shift back into my skin form, and I lie face down on the ground as my head heals. Somebody covers my lower body with fabric, and I groan into the dirt to saythank you.

Another several minutes pass before I manage to sit up. Aziel and Gray are leaning against a nearby tree, and Charlie and Silas sit in the golf cart. All four are staring at me.

“Why are you still here?” I ask.

Silas scoffs. “Would you rather we left you alone and vulnerable?”

Charlie elbows him, the action subtle. “Is your head feeling better?”

She climbs out of the golf cart. Silas doesn’t stop her from approaching me this time, but I can feel three pairs of demon eyes watching my every move as Charlie roughly grabs my headand forces me to look down. Pointy fingers sift through my hair, searching and prodding at all my sore spots.

Charlie sighs as she looks them over, and now that my senses have cleared, I can finally smell the blood that covers me. About half of it belongs to Silas and Gray, but the other half is mine. It pours down my head and shoulders, and I frown as I wipe at the wetness on my forehead.

“You’re about healed,” Charlie says.

She returns to Silas. I eye the fate, scanning his arm. His shirt sleeve is missing, but the spot where I bit him looks fine. I look at Gray next. His stomach and chest are covered in blood from when I kicked him, but he seems okay, too.

Aziel was unscathed.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter.

Gray shrugs, always quick to let things go, and Silas hums. Aziel doesn’t respond, but I’m not surprised. His tense muscles and blown-out pupils make it clear that he’s still struggling to hold back his wrath.

Play-fighting is usually enough to rile him up, but I wasn’t playing. I attacked his mates and scared his children. I’m impressed he didn’t kill me when he had me pinned earlier. That’s some very exciting growth on his end.

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