Page 99 of Mortal Shift
The sounds of fighting continued, filling the air around us and I tried and tried again to get past the wolf, to join the fight, to protect my mate. A second wolf came to block my path, and I knew there was no way I could get past them both. Hell, who was I kidding? There was no way I could get past even one of them.
“All right!” I snapped. “All right. I get it.”
I threw my hands up in frustration and backed off a step. The two wolves shared a look and the aggression leaked from their postures, replaced by a wariness. And then I didn’t give a damn about them, because I could see Cole beyond them, taking on both the men who’d attacked him. Blood was leaking from his face and his knuckles, but he wasn’t backing down.
His fist smashed into the face of one, sending him crashing to the ground, but the other jumped him from behind while he was distracted, yanking his arm back. Cole rounded on him, but his movements were slower than usual, and I was pretty sure he had a couple of injuries. The second attacker was back on his feet before Cole could land his punch, and then they each had hold of one of his arms. He thrashed and kicked and twisted in their arms, roaring in wordless fury, and for a moment I thought he would break free.
Then a hand grabbed me from behind, wrapping around my neck, and I froze as something sharp pressed to the hollow of my throat. One flick, and he could open it, and I’d bleed out before help arrived. Fuck.
“Cole,” he called, and Cole jerked his head round to him, still fighting. “Stand down, and I’ll see she isn’t punished. Continue to resist, and I cannot guarantee her safety.”
Abruptly, the fight went out of Cole, like air releasing from a balloon, and he sagged in the grip of the men holding him, panting from the exertion. His head hung low and he barely raised his eyes enough to look at the man threatening me.
“I won’t fight you,” he said hoarsely. “Let her go.”
“Kneel,” my captor commanded, and Cole sank to his knees, his arms still held up by the men behind him. Bile rose up my throat at the sight, and fury flashed behind my eyes.
“Don’t,” I snarled, my shoulders bunching in preparation.
“Steady, girl,” my captor whispered in my ear. “I’d sooner take him in alive, but the law doesn’t require it.”
I swayed on my feet, taking everything I had to stay standing. They’d kill him? No, I…I was only just getting to know him. Tocarefor him. I couldn’t lose him now. I wouldn’t.
“I’ll find a way to free you,” I vowed to him.
“Smart girl,” the man behind me said. “Now stay here and don’t give me cause to hurt him. Understand?”
I nodded numbly, and the arm moved from around my throat. The man walked over to my kneeling mate, and the two guards holding him—both of whom, I noted with a certain fierce pride, were bloodied from the brief fight. They might have won, but it hadn’t been an easy victory. There was a reason my mate was heir to the Iron Shadow pack.
I watched helplessly, heart in my throat, as the man took hold of Cole’s wrist, flipped it, and drew a rune on his palm. He was fae. I should have known. No-one carried casual arrogance quite like them. Cole’s throat bobbed as he completed the rune, and instinctively I knew what they’d done to him.
“You didn’t need to do that,” I spat, but my voice shook with more than just anger. “He’s cooperating. We’re both cooperating.”
“And he’ll continue to cooperate now that he cannot access his beast form. It’s merely routine. This is better for everyone.”
“Better for you, you mean,” I snapped.
“Better for your mate if he does not get himself killed in some foolhardy escape attempt,” the man returned curtly. He turned to his entourage. “Come, let’s escort the prisoner to the cells.”
“Wait!” I took a step toward them, and the two wolves turned to me, hackles raised. “Where are you taking him?”
“To await trial.”
“Trial for what?”
“The council does not require me to give explanations.”
“Bullshit!”
One of the wolves took a step toward me, but I wasn’t about to be brushed off by some power-drunk arrogant excuse of a fae, and I wasn’t going to be brow beaten by an overgrown puppy. I shoved straight past the beast. It gave a sharp snarl, but the fae raised his hand a fraction, and the sound subsided. And if he thought I was going to be impressed by the shifter’s aggression or his control, he was sadly mistaken. Because fuck them.
“I am hismate,” I ground out, “And I demand that you tell me why you are arresting him.”
“You demand?” The fae raised an eyebrow, apparently amused by the impudent human. Well, he could just bite me, because I wasn’tjusta human. I was a bookworm.
“Yes, I demand. As his mate, according to the terms laid down by the Treaty of Colluden, I have the right to all relevant information when my mate stands accused of a crime.” I narrowed my eyes, watching the fae. “As you well know.”
“Very impressive, Ms…?”
