Page 48 of Savage

He was quiet for a moment and a niggling of fear crept in. What was he trying to say?

I turned to face him, to look into his eyes when he spoke about something that was obviously really important.

That was when the front door was kicked in.

20

CLINT

My wolf instinctshad me grabbing Becky and rolling us to the far side of the bed, away from the bedroom doorway. We dropped to the floor, and I tucked, so I hit the hard wood, and she was protected from the fall with my body. Only then did I flip us and, as much as I could, set her as far beneath the bed as possible. I heard the frantic beating of her heart and felt the goosebumps rise on her skin. Her fingers clutched at me like talons, yet I had to set her from me. Only when she was hidden and as safe as possible, did I jump up and leap across the bed.

I heard the heavy footsteps of the intruder, the ragged breathing. Taking a deep breath of my own, I couldn’t miss the tang of sweat beneath the obvious scent of shifter. The cold, outside air pushed it toward me. Only an enemy would enter unannounced. Any shifter within a hundred feet of the cabin would have heard us fucking, known I would be vulnerable.

My adrenaline pumped, my wolf at the ready. Shifters in wolf form didn’t come through the front door. I would fight like for like except I was naked. I had no weapons. I had my gun in the truck, but that would do me no good now. The only way to fight would be in wolf form, but then I wouldn’t be able to protect Becky.

Fuck! I’d known Donald would come. That was why we hadn’t stayed at the house in town. Here, we had protection. Rob and I had put a plan together, but that had been before Becky’s ex’s murder. We’d changed plans, so we’d stay here under watch, under pack guard. In town, this couldn’t be done.

I’d been fucking stupid. Donald’s need for revenge had escalated. He’d killed a human, just like his cousin, without care that the human police would investigate. It had been a sign to tell me he could get close to my mate, but he’d broken pack law. The same as Jarod.

“Enforcer!” The voice carried into the room a second before a man stood in the doorway. It was dark, but I saw him as clear as day. He wore no coat, only a dirty thermal shirt and jeans. Heavy boots on his feet. His long brown hair shot out wild about him. As wild as his deep yellow gaze. His wolf was showing.

So was the gun in his hand.

Rob was watching the road by the ranch—the only entrance to this mountain. But Donald must’ve slipped past him.

“Donald.” I kept my voice low. Even. I’d never met the fucker before, but there was no one else who he could be.

“You killed my cousin. Put a bullet in his head.”

“He broke pack law. Robbed convenience stores and murdered innocent humans.”

“We take care of our own,” he countered. He tipped his chin down to stare even more intently.

I had to stall him, keep his attention on me, off Becky. He’d know she was here. The scent of her, my cum and her arousal was heavy in the air. With the front door open, the room was getting colder by the minute. I could barely feel it, but I knew Becky would begin to chill.

“I don’t make the decisions. I just follow orders. The council’s judgement was delivered and completed.”

“You killed him,” he seethed. Spittle fell from his lips, and he used his empty hand to wipe it away.

“I did.” I heard Becky’s slight intake of breath, and I kept talking to cover it, but Donald’s gaze flicked to the unmade bed. “Shifter justice is my job.”

“You didn’t even fight him like a wolf. You ended him in human form. You put a bullet in Jarod’s head. Your mate will get the same fate. Then you’ll know how it feels to have someone you love taken from you. To live yet be dead inside.”

Oh Fates. He wasn’t here for me.He was here for Becky.

“You went to her house to kill her,” I realized out loud.

Todd wasn’t the intended target.

“She wasn’t there, but the male human was, taking her TV. He saw me break in, knew my face. He had to die.”

Todd’s asshole ways had gotten him killed. If he’d just left Becky alone, he’d be living his miserable life in Meade. But he’d had to keep fucking with her, and he’d had his throat ripped out.

If I hadn’t kept her with me, she’d have been at home. He’d have broken in, and she’d have been defenseless against Donald. In human form and especially as a wolf.

A growl rumbled deep in my chest at the thought of her dying at this asshole’s sick idea of vengeance.

“You’re just like your cousin.” I tried to keep his focus on me. If he shot me, I’d survive. Not if he shot me in the head, but he had lots of other places to aim for. “You both went rogue. You bring danger to our kind. You’ll be put down like him.”