Page 33 of Stealthy as a Wolf

His head turned toward me when I spoke, but a snarl curled his lips at the mention of the others, and I quickly backtracked. “They’re her mates. We’reallher mates. We’re here to protect her. If we run into any danger, we’ll block the attackers and give you enough time to take Maggie to safety.”

Much to my shock, he cocked his head to the side and seemed to accept my explanation. His gaze dropped to the woman in his lap, his eyes clearing of madness for a moment. He gently tipped Maggie back until she was cradled in his arms, a scowl crossing his face when he noticed her too pale complexion and the deep bruises under her eyes.

Burke’s beast grumbled under his breath, the continuous rumble vibrating in his chest, as if his beast were trying to talk to her and wake her up. When he looked up at me, I could see his humanity returning, but it was going to take a while since his beast was being overly protective.

Until he was sure she was safe, his cat would refuse to give up his hold.

Burke slid out of the truck, taking care not to jostle the woman in his arms. He hunched over her, his eyes sweeping the parking lot, alert for any sign of a threat. Only when he was satisfied did he charge into the hotel room like he expected a sniper to take him out at any second.

By the time I closed the truck door and followed them into our room, he was ensconced on the far bed, Maggie tucked against his side, the possessive asshole still clutching her in his arms.

When I took a step into the room and closed the door, the possessive asshole bared his fangs at me.

Stubborn fucker.

I didn’t know why I was surprised that the mating bug bit him so hard. Burke did nothing in half measures. I was curious to see how he would react in the morning and which version of Burke we would be facing.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Grady said, interrupting the stalemate. “Get some rest.”

I eyed the two beds, but my own cat refused to give up our claim to Maggie so easily. I stripped out of my shirt, then slid onto the opposite side of the bed from my brother, keeping Maggie firmly between us. Burke growled so ferociously that the bed vibrated beneath us. Just as I braced myself for him to launch himself at me, Maggie released a tiny groan, and a cute little furrow appeared between her brows.

The snarl cut off abruptly, and everyone turned toward Maggie to see if she would wake. The rest of the guys gathered close, each of us holding our breaths as we waited for Maggie to open those beautiful golden eyes of hers.

I half expected her to wake up and freak out, so I was a little disappointed when she only gave a tiny sigh and snuggled closer between us. As much as I wanted to let her get some rest, I first needed to make sure she was okay.

I just needed to figure out a way to do so without the rest of the guys killing me first. I cleared my throat, then glanced at Grady. “She’s out cold, but I need to check her for injuries. We need to know how badly she’s hurt and if she needs medical attention.”

Every eye in the room snapped toward me, then their gazes landed on the girl huddled in the middle of the bed. Without her quirky personality to fill the room, she looked small, almost fragile, and I swallowed hard at the idea that she was injured because of me.

Because of us.

She was so insistent that the collars needed to come off that I didn’t stop to think of the cost. I didn’t understand how anyone could take that much pain and survive. Now I was kicking myself in the ass for it. I never imagined the price would be so high, or I would never have agreed.

None of the guys looked happy with my pronouncement, but no one protested. I blew out a heavy breath, knowing that if I touched her wrong or caused her more pain, they would rip out my spine. So I would take it slow and tell them what I was doing every step of the way. “Get her shoes and socks off.”

Maybe if they helped, they’d be less likely to attack.

Matty didn’t hesitate, quickly unlacing her first shoe. Grady waited a beat, as if debating whether to cross that boundary and take such liberties while she was unconscious, then he shrugged and tackled the other shoe. Grady gave a vicious curse when the sock came free in his hand, revealing a thick layer of scars that completely encircled her ankle. The scars were nearly three inches wide, some so deep that they had to have cut down to bone. They were similar to what appeared on her neck, only much lighter. Like electricity had coursed through her body and escaped through the chains.

Matty froze when the second ankle was revealed, the skin almost in worse condition. The wounds were years old, but that didn’t diminish my visceral reaction. My hands shook as I struggled against the need to shift and hunt down the fuckers that did that to her. I thought she’d exaggerated her story, but if anything, I now suspected that the little wolf had downplayed her situation.

We were grim while we stripped off the rest of her clothes, each of us keeping our touches respectful. With every scar that was revealed, every bruise decorating her body exposed, we became progressively more appalled. When her clothes were gone except for her underwear, the tension in the room was so volatile that one spark would set us off.

The only good news was the electrical burns were limited to her hands, the dark tips of her fingers already healing. I was at a loss for words when I saw the long scars crisscrossed over her back, down her ass, and decorating the backs of her thighs. While some of them appeared to be whip marks, others were just too wide, too jagged.

The only thing that could make those marks were claws.

Over and over.

Some were pale, almost faded, while others were newer and still looked raw.

Proof of years of abuse.

Burke snarled and yanked off his shirt before he gently pulled it over her head and tucked it around her body. Then he pulled the blanket over the two of them, so every inch of her was covered.

I peered into Burke’s dark blue eyes, and a fierce resolve shone back at me.

Whoever did that to her was a dead man.

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