Page 26 of Sigma
I glare at him. “Do I not get a fucking choice? Remind me when I asked to be part of your pack, Linc.”
“She’spart of our pack,” Tyson says, “and you’re hers.”
I growl with frustration.
He leans forward aggressively, a challenge in his eyes.
I stare back for a minute, but I’m the one to look away first. Because I don’t need to make an enemy here of a guy trying to help. I need to talk them out of this because I can’t take the chance.
“Jared,” Mason says, coming closer and looking me over. “You need to shift to heal. Back of your shoulder’s lookin’ rough.”
“Send her away and I’ll do it.”
“We’re not sending her away, Jared,” Tyson insists. “We send her away, you’re out of here and we can’t help you fix this.”
“And…” Mason says, “Your female will have our asses in a sling if she thinks we made it easy for you to hit the road.”
“True. That little lady of yours may be all wolf shifter, but she’s also part hellcat,” Linc adds.
Before I can even fathom how to respond to this, Linc says, “Here.” He squats and reaches into the bag he brought in, pulling out a giant leather, metal, and belt buckle contraption that looks like the seat of a sex swing.
If it were different circumstances, I might quip about his bondage gear again, which I did in the past when he brought a bunch of it out to see if he had anything we could use in a rigged-up restraint system. But I don’t have much in the way of humor in me right now.
Actually, none at all because now I’m wondering if he used any of his bondage gear when he was fucking my mate. What the fuck he meant by hellcat? Cold suffuses my veins, so I box-breathe and work hard to beat it back.
They must sense this because they all back up and give me a minute.
When I look up to show I’m through it, Linc speaks.
“This was in the attic of Tyson’s place. Generations back, we had an alpha go near rabid with illness. Pack healer worked on him using this to keep his mouth shut while the healer did their work. It should fit. Put it on before you shift.”
“I…” I let that hang because no, I’m not through it.
“Unless you’re willing to shift soon, you need first aid. Are you gonna be able to stop yourself from a shift if one of us gives it to you?” Mason asks.
I fight hard for composure and when I find some, I manage to say, “Not you,” to Linc. “I smell her on you.”
He raises his hands defensively. “She was upset, brother. I gave her a brotherly hug.”
I growl. And it’s not quick. It’s a continuous low rumble. A warning.
Linc leans in and looks me in the eyes. “Stop it.”
I stop growling but my lip remains curled.
“See?” He throws a hand up. “The fact you’re there growling at me and I’m able to shake it off? Everything you’re doin’ is pointing to your need to be with your mate. The way all of us are reacting shows we’re equipped to help. And if you give us a fucking chance, we might be able to help you make it so you can have what Fate’s showing you is yours. She’syours, brother.”
“And if I shift against my will, then wake up with her blood on me?”
“She’s your mate,” Mase argues. “Maybe your wolf knows this.”
I snap, “My wolf didn’t hesitate to rip out the throats of my own sister or my mother, the females who gave birth to me and nurtured me for thirteen years. Tell me, if your wolf killed your family, would you be willing to have it around your mate?”
The three of them freeze.
No, I haven’t told anyone this before. Nobody. I immediately fall forward as far as the chains will allow and begin retching.
Linc slides a pail from the shelf over and it gets in front of me just in the nick of time. I probably haven’t eaten in two days so I’m only throwing up the sports drink I just drank. And bile. A lot of it.
