Page 60 of Vengeful Mates

Hawk on high alert, I didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. Instincts evaluating the threat. Horus’ powers scrutinizing the intentions of the captive.

A woman approached the cell bars. Dirt-streaked face, messy blonde hair with aqua streaks, eyes burning with vengeance at being caged.

I sniffed her, getting hit with raw power beyond her musk from not bathing. No magick. Power like Slade contained. Potent. Powerful. Will-bending. An Alpha’s strength and might.

“Let me the hell out,” she snarled, flashing elongated and sharp wolf’s teeth. Her body shook with unbridled rage to burst free from her captivity. Judging by how stale her scent was, Dash kept her down here for a few days.

Fuck, why didn’t I detect this sooner? Those assholes covered it up by brewing ginger beer to throw me off the scent.

Aaliyah attempted to break free of my grasp, but the growl from the female prompted me to drag my mate back a few paces. “Why are you in here?”

“Who are you?” the shifter asked, fiery eyes casting up and down my mate, hot enough to set fire to Aaliyah if she got too close. “His ex?”

One of the men’s ex-girlfriends who couldn't let go. Groupie who took things too far. Traitor, perhaps. The last one was encouraged by our history with Aaliyah.

My mate gestured her thumb at me. “I’m Slade and Alaric’s mate.” She gave the female enough information to gather more from her.

“Who?” The shifter’s wary steel blue eyes narrowed.

Aaliyah exchanged a cautious glance with me. I let her handle the question. The shifter prickled at my questions, responding better to my mate.

“Slade, President of the Jackals’ Wrath MC. Alaric, the Jackals’ road captain.” The words came out with a soft interrogation of whether the shifter knew about them.

“Asshole lied to me,” the shifter hissed.

My suspicions raging, I jumped in with more questions. “Who’s keeping you here? What’s your name?”

“Dash kidnapped me,” she growled. The shifter gripped the bars and hissed at the iron burning her palms. Castor once told me iron was toxic to shifters. “My name’s Sarah.”

The wolf shifter could be lying, and we weren’t about to release her in case she was dangerous, guilty, or jumped us.

“Why is he holding you captive?” I had to take this to Slade and let him deal with this mess. Shit we didn’t need before a major ride.

Sarah stubbornly folded her arms. “Ask him. I’m confused. One minute we’re mates, the next we’re not.” Rejection burned hot in her words.

“Let me get you out, honey.” Aaliyah glanced back at the stairs. “I don’t have a key but let me go upstairs to get one.”

I let my mate leave to rally my president.

Sarah and I studied each other for several moments.

Her nose tipped up, sniffing me. “What are you? Angel? Devil? I haven’t smelled your kind before.”

My smile kicked up at the last one. We were angels and devils in a way. Good and bad. Balanced by the law of Maat.

Dash and his five closest men knew what we were, but I wasn’t about to divulge that to Sarah in case she was a traitor.

Slade stormed down into the basement with Dash and Steele on his heels and Aaliyah close behind.

“What the fuck, Dash?" Slade’s eyes burned dark, hot like coals to rival the heat in Sarah’s gaze. “Explain this bullshit. N.O.W.”

A new club and president kidnapping a woman didn’t go down well. Not that us avatars were angels in that regard, either. Protective instincts took hold of Zethan and me when Aaliyah was mugged, and we broke an order to bring her back to the shelter to mend her.

Sarah’s report did not account for her captivity, and we needed to get to the bottom of it before we left for the run. If she was held against her will or illegally, Dash and the club could be up for serious charges. Limelight we didn’t need right now after getting the cops from breathing down our necks.

Dash scraped the back of his neck. “She’s... ugh... my mate.” None of the confidence bled from his voice, but a note of regret entered it.

“Rejected mate,” Sarah corrected, standing taller, flashing more teeth that told me she wanted to sink those fangs into his neck and draw blood.

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