Page 35 of Forced Mate Bride
“I need you to pick him up and bring him in as soon as possible,” Jasper said. He would have done it himself, but he wanted to be as by-the-book as it could be—and he wasn’t sure he would be able to refrain from decking Vincent. The man was betraying Nikki by letting her trust him when in reality, he was in league with the man who wanted her under his thumb.
“Of course,” Franco said.
Jasper knew he would have to tell her. He should at least tell her first that he needed to talk to her. He’d warn her about Vincent in person, when it was easier to explain everything.
Already composing the brief text he wanted to send in his head, he pulled out his phone. He was about to unlock it when the top notification caught his eye: a text from Nikki.
Alarm bells began to clang in his ears, and he stiffened, staring down at the screen. There was no reason that he should be unsettled by seeing her name pop up. Except somethingscreamed at him that this was different. Something had happened.
Slowly, uneasily, he pressed the notification, eyes locked on the screen, glued there until Nikki’s message came into full view.
On a hike with Vincent. Will be back before too long.
He read and reread the text, willing the words to change. They didn’t.
“Shit!”
Everyone else looked at him. “Jasper?” Camden asked.
But Jasper was already throwing on his jacket and shoving his phone into his pocket.
“Jasper!” one of the guys called out after him, trying to get his attention.
He didn’t acknowledge them. At the moment, they didn’t matter. The only thing he cared about was getting to Nikki.
The text was old, by at least a couple of hours. He never checked his phone while in meetings, so there was every chance he was too late. He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t think like that. He wouldn’t let himself. Because if he was too late, that would mean Nikki was already in Lucas’s clutches. It would mean that he had failed her. Had failed to protect her.
He wasn’t going to give up hope until he knew for certain it was too late.
The second he stepped out of the pack house, he shifted, transforming into a great wolf. He raced to the library, paws pounding on the pavement, hoping he’d be able to catch her scent. He charged through the crowd, earning bewildered looks from passersby. He didn’t care.
He came to a screeching halt in front of the library. Raising his snout, he sniffed, praying that he might be able to still catch her scent, that it wouldn’t be too faded.
Her scent was faint, but he managed to catch it. He didn’t even give himself time to be relieved. He sprinted, following her scent, desperately hoping he wasn’t too late.
The trail led him to the forest on the outskirts of town, then onto a barely perceptible trail, the kind he might not have noticed had it not been for the fact that Nikki’s scent lingered there, leading into the trees. He charged through the woods, ignoring the branches snagging his fur and the stones digging into his paws with every other step. The trail of her scent was growing stronger. He kept waiting for a new scent to emerge, one seared into his memory from when he had shoved Lucas away from Nikki. If Lucas’s scent appeared at any point, it would be too late to protect Nikki without an all-out assault on a hideout they still had yet to locate.
A shriek echoed through the woods. Nikki.
Jasper’s stomach sank even as rage coursed through him. He snarled, pivoting mid-stride and following the sound. He kept going, racing faster and faster every second until he came across a horrifying tableau.
Vincent had Nikki by the wrist and was dragging her through the woods. She wasn’t making it easy on him, though—she was lashing out with her feet, her fists. At one point, her foot hooked around the side of a tree trunk, and she tried to pull herself away. Her eyes were burning with rage and hate, and determination.
A flash of savage pride shot through Jasper. She was a fighter, even if she didn’t realize it.
Being a fighter wasn’t always enough, though, and he could see her losing the battle. If he didn’t step in, it wouldn’t be long before she wore herself out, and Vincent could properly subdue her.
Vincent saw Jasper a second before Jasper pounced. Vincent’s eyes widened in surprise and horror, but it was too late for him to do anything. Jasper’s paws slammed into Vincent’s shoulders.
Vincent stumbled over, releasing Nikki from his grasp. Before he hit the ground, though, he transformed, shifting into a massive gray wolf. He snarled, lunging for Jasper.
But Jasper was already reacting. His claws swiped out, running across the other wolf’s snout. Stumbling back, Vincent bared his fangs. Jasper sprang forward again, claws lashing out and slashing across Vincent’s flank. The other wolf yelped, stumbling back and whimpering.
While Vincent was distracted, Jasper pushed Nikki back, away from Vincent. Her eyes were wide with shock. He jerked his snout down the mountain, trying to tell her to run, but she stayed where she was, either from paralysis or because she didn’t want to leave him alone. It didn’t matter at the moment.
He rounded back toward Vincent, just in time to avoid the other wolf’s lunge. Jasper barreled into him, shoving him to the ground. He was just about to tear into Vincent’s throat when Vincent launched Jasper off him. Jasper soared through the air, but landed safely while the other wolf hauled himself to his paws.
Vincent glanced behind him, sides heaving, then back to Jasper, who had planted himself between Jasper and Nikki. Spreading blood matted his fur, plastering it to his side. Jasper could see him calculating, wondering if it was better to retreatand come back some other time when he had reinforcements, or continue fighting Jasper.
