Saving His Mate ( Lycan Romance ) Page 11

  The moment that Summer reached for the woman with her mind it could not have hit her harder than if she’d run head first into a brick wall.

  Her body went rigid with the waves of emotions that battered her, and she gasped in a breath as images flicked into her mind.

  Fae… there was a strong sense of Fae, but not from her and not from the dead woman. Pain… the pain was overwhelming in its intensity, as if she had been flayed alive, but not flayed… something else has caused the pain… Her powers… her essence was being pulled from her body, twisted and gouged out of her very being.

  Summer cried out at the intensity of the pain that tore through her, and Flynn was at her side in an instant.

  “Summer, what the hell?”He growled. Looking for someone or something to rip limb from limb as his mate writhed in agony in his arms, but there was nothing, no one.

  Slowly… so slowly he took her essence from her body, drawing it into himself, gathering it to him, as his powers grew, and Summer could feel the torment of his victim… could hear the woman scream inside her own mind as she was ripped apart… torn from the very thing that defined her…

  “Summer…”Flynn was holding his mate in his arms, holding her upright against him, or she would surely have been on the floor. He bent and collected her legs over his arm. Turning on fast legs and running with her away from the body of the Fae. If she was capable of feeling things from the body then it made sense to him to get her as far away from the damn thing as possible.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Flynn felt her fingers close over his jacket, digging in as they curled up in pain into tight fists, and he turned and used his shoulder to batter through the outside door and out into the cold night air.

  In that very instant he felt his mate push out the breath that had been frozen within her body as she went limp in his arms. Her head rolled backwards over his arm, and his heart froze within his chest as he dropped to his knees and cradled her against him, listening for her heart beat. It seemed to fade, in was the longest moment of his life to date, and then he heard the hard thump as her heart stomped its way back to normality.

  Flynn let out the breath he had been holding and brushed his hand down over her cheek. She felt as if she was on fire, her skin was burning hot and he tore down the zipper on her jacket to allow the cold night air to cool her. A million dark curses went through his mind as he stared down at her, helpless in his arms. He didn’t have a clue what he could do for her. There were no physical enemies for him to fight. He felt lost at that moment.

  Abe strolled towards the bed and breakfast determined in his mind that he would pay a visit to his mate. He’d given her enough time already today to be alone. He knew that the mating pull on her body would still be working its magic within her, even if he wasn’t in her presence, but it would go a lot faster if he was. Not that he was trying to rush her into anything…

  She’d be his mate. He was certain of that. There weren’t a lot of mates out there that had denied the mating pull or the bonding. He doubted that given enough time she would come around to him. He didn’t want to think how his life would be if she did deny him and left.

  She was his mate, it was that simple. Even if he had to get creative and use any means necessary to woo her to him, well not any means. He wasn’t about to throw her over his shoulder, carry her off into a damn cave somewhere and have his way with her, as some of his ancestors might have done. But as far as he knew that was only between Lycan’s anyway, and those practices weren’t condoned anymore, and for good reason.

  Abe stopped in his tracks and looked up at the light spilling out from the bedroom window that he knew to be his mate’s room. He rolled his shoulders and considered his actions. He very much doubted that she would be glad to see him. But how put out would she be? Perhaps he should ask Summer to invite her to the house, or out to dinner…?

  Perhaps he should just man up.

  Abe turned back around and walked away.

  Summer was still out cold by the time that Flynn had carried her home and laid her on the couch. Kneeling beside her he brushed the back of his hand against her cheek again and found that she wasn’t burning up anymore.

  His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when her eyes suddenly snapped open and she snatched at his hand, her fingers gripping tightly around his.

  “Summer what the hell happened?”Flynn growled down at her. Running his hand under her back and scooping her up against his chest.

  “That was a rush unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before…”She still had a death grip on his hand, and her other hand was against his chest grasping a fistful of his jacket. He could scent the fear on her. She’d not only managed to knock a few years of his life with her damn antics, but it seemed she’d done the same to herself.

  “What happened? I had to get you the hell out of there…”

  “I don’t know, Flynn. All I know was the dark magic, he was using dark magic…”

  “He?”

  “He was stripping her powers from her body and she was screaming in her mind, but she couldn’t scream, she couldn’t move…”Summers body literally shook with the chill that swept through her, but it had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. Flynn still pulled her in closer, wrapped his arms tighter around her.

  “Who is he?”Flynn couldn’t even begin to imagine the horror that either the dead witch or Summer had gone through to leave her shaking like this. But he needed something physical to fight, someone real to rip to shreds to protect his mate from. To protect the other Fae…

  “Warlock…”Summer tried to hold back the emotions that were raging through her. She had felt the woman’s pain so clearly, so utterly, that she could have been inside that damn room with them, could have been the witch having her very essence torn from her body. She pushed back on the tears that were threatening to breech her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

  “A warlock here? How the hell do you detect a warlock?”

  “They are similar to Fae, but the dark magic makes them less obvious, cloaks their essence. You might not even be able to pick up their scent. They seem benign…”

  Summer felt Flynn’s whole body tense around her. The curses he muttered as he reached inside his back pocket for his phone spilled out of him, and she pulled up and away from him.

  “Do you know who he is?”She demanded and Flynn bit down hard on the anger inside him.

  “Porter…”

  “Karl Porter? The bed and break…?”Summer felt sick to her stomach. Tina, oh god Tina…

  “We sent Tina right back into the vipers nest.”He growled hitting his brother’s number as he jumped to his feet. “I’m going to shift to get there faster. Stay here and rest.”He shouted over his shoulder, literally counting his own damn heartbeats until his brother answered the phone.

  “It’s Karl Porter, get Tina out of there.”He growled before tossing the phone and yanking open the front door.

  Abe heard his brother’s words and his whole body froze with inaction around him. His eyes went up to the light in the window and his wolf tried to push forwards within him.

  Abe tossed the phone and cursed out into the night as his body was propelled into action, everything inside him told him to protect his mate. His wolf wanted the shift, Abe didn’t, right in that moment in time there was no danger. He needed to stay human in order to get to his mate.

  Abe pushed through the front door and half expected to see Porter behind the desk. He dismissed the empty space with his eyes, but he couldn’t shake it from his mind. Where was Porter? But this was his home as well as his business so he could have been anywhere.

  Abe made towards the stairs, he needed to get to Tina, but her scent in the air made him stop. She’d been this way recently, her scent was mixed with Porters, but it was still too strong for it to be that old, but there was another scent in the air. Fear.

  Abe barely hung onto his wolf inside, as he spun on his heels and tracked her scent. Shifting would have a
vailed him of his beast’s strength, fangs and even claws, but right now he needed his human hands to open doors, and to access places that his wolf would have had to break into.

  Abe stalked through the corridor. He could scent the kitchen ahead. Too far… her scent hadn’t gone beyond the point in the hallway where there was nothing, no doors… Abe looked at the floor beneath his feet. Solid wood, no false sections, no stairs, no secret panels…

  Abe eyes flicked to the wall and the panelled wood that ran floor to ceiling. His eyes refocus to use his wolf’s eyesight to take in the detail of the panel. A shaft of light stretched from the floor to the top part of the décor. Abe flicked his claws out and hooked the edge of the wood, pulling hard, he wrenched the door backwards, almost taking it off its hinges.

  He wasn’t surprised to find a small landing and a cement staircase that led down into a basement. Tina’s scent was strong, as strong as the scent of fear, fear and sweat mixed in the air as he descended the staircase. There was no time for caution. No time to evaluate what he was doing or what he would find. His mate needed him and he needed to get to her.

  Abe’s eyes took in the scene in front of him and his brain accessed what he saw as best he could in the time he had. A male figure stood with his back to him in dark robes. His arms were outstretched towards the ceiling; he held a knife aloft over the long table where his mate was lying, her face twisted in pain. She was thrashing against the bindings around her wrists and ankles. Sweat clung to her body, and it was as if she was trying to scream without sound.

  Abe didn’t hesitate. He took a mere heartbeat to cross the room. His claws were still extended and he slashed downwards, through the robes and into skin. The piercing sound of Porters scream echoed through the basement, as Abe gloried in the feel of the man’s bone beneath his claws.

  The action had taken Porter off his feet and he was spun sideways, away from his mate.

  Abe heard the scream from her lips, almost as if a spell had been broken and she could found her voice. She thrashed against her bonds and her eyes snapped open. For the longest moment of his life he held her gaze and saw the recognition in her eyes, the relief that flooded through her.

  “Tina…”He growled out fiercely, taking one long step towards her and then his head snapped to the side towards where Porter had been tossed. Empty space. Porter was gone.

  Abe’s eyes scanned the area around them. Turning his back towards the table and his mate, his arms came down in a defensive stance as he used his body to protect her. He listened. One heartbeat other than his own. Porter was gone.

  Abe turned back to his mate. His claws were down and his fangs were out. He was ready to kill, ready to shift. Using his claws, he cut through the ties that bound her to the table and heard her gasp her relief.

  He could scent her blood in the air. She’d been thrashing so hard that the ties had chaffed and cut into her flesh. Abe wanted to roar his rage. He wanted Porter between his fangs now…

  “Where are you injured?”He growled out as he cut her ankles lose and gently eased her into his arms. His mate didn’t fight him to be set free, didn’t pull away from him, she curled into his chest and huddled against his body. His warmth, his strength, seeking his protection and his familiarity.

  “Tina, I need to know your injuries…”He was trying to still the rage within him. Now that he had his mate within his arms the beast inside was no longer trying to push through, content that their mate was safe, knowing that he couldn’t shift with her against him like that for fear of hurting her.

  “He didn’t… It was his magic… pain inside…”She still couldn’t breathe in a full breath as she fought the tears that flowed down her cheeks. He needed to calm himself to be able to properly sooth her.

  “I have you, you’re safe now. I won’t let him hurt you again.”Abe started to move towards the staircase when he heard a noise from above. He froze in place, ready to turn her behind him, but the scent of his brother’s wolf drifted down the stair towards him.

  “Porter’s gone Flynn. Escaped. Search the area, find that bastards scent.”He yelled towards the stairs and heard the wolf’s claws spin on the concrete stairs, as he carried Tina from the room. “You’re safe, sweetheart. Safe.”He soothed her, whispering against her hair as he carried her back up into the house.

  Flynn stopped in his tracks and scented the air. The scent of Porter, blood and all, had been easy to follow right up until this point, and then it just magically disappeared. Magic. Damn it.

  Flynn circled back and scented the air trying and failing to pick up the Warlock’s scent. No Fae scent. No human scent and no damn blood. The man had just vanished into the night. Flynn circled again, looking for tracks. The man may have been able to mask his scent somehow, but he couldn’t damn fly…

  Flynn growled out in annoyance. Even in his wolf form he couldn’t find a trace of him. He had the distinct impression that he could spend the rest of the night out here and never find another track, another trace of the Warlock.

  He turned back towards the house. It would do him no good right now to keep searching. His brother and Tina would be better served by getting back onto pack land, and he had his mate to think about. She was alone at the house…

  The sound of rubber sliding on ice hit his ears. The sound of brakes screeched out, metal on metal, and the sound of a woman’s curse reached his ears as the pickup truck missed him by a whisker and spun to a halt not ten feet from where he stood. Damn it. Females. He growled into his mind as he stood there staring at his own truck and cursing for all he was worth.

  He heard the sound of the driver’s door, the crunch of boots against the icy road, and the slip and slide of her feet as she came around the truck towards him. Her eyes were wide as she showed the fear on her face.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? Stupid animal, running out in front of my damn car!” She yelled, and he was more than grateful that this part of town was sparsely populated. He growled up at her in annoyance.

  “Oh no you don’t get to growl at me, butthead. You ran out in front of me.”So she knew that she was looking at her mate’s wolf, and yet she was still giving him the death glare. He growled again and she tossed him a dark glare as she started towards the bed and breakfast.

  Flynn felt the annoyance run through his very blood. Damn woman. He got ahead of her, unwilling to allow her entrance to that house before him, just in case Porter had somehow doubled back.

  He saw his brother cradling his mate in his arms and scanned the area. Two heartbeats. He shifted into his human form and nodded to his brother.

  “How is she?”His wolf was still evident in his voice as he heard his mate gasp behind him. He was surely going to deal with her later.

  “Scared. Bleeding at her wrists and ankles, but she’s calming…”Abe’s fangs were still partially down and his claws were still out. He couldn’t seem to push his wolf far enough back to retract them.

  “Tina…”Summer gasped.

  Abe’s eyes flicked towards Summer as she sidestepped Flynn and started towards her friend, but Flynn grabbed her around the waist and pulled her backwards against his body when his brother growled a warning at her.

  “Not yet, Abe’s beast is still protecting his mate. He needs time to pull the beast back…”Flynn warned her.

  “But, Tina…”

  “Tina’s the only one who isn’t in danger from Abe right now, Summer. Trust me.”Flynn assured her and he felt his mate still in his arms.

  Abe lifted his mate’s wrist and surveyed the damage to her skin. The whine that came from his chest was followed by a gentle growl as he traced his tongue over the wounds, cleaning and sealing them, gentle and careful in his ministrations so as not to cause her any more pain.

  Summer watched as Abe’s fangs receded. His claws followed as he took care of her other wrist. The whole time Tina lay against his chest watching him as silent tears fell over her cheeks.

  Summer had retrieved some clothes for Flynn out of th
e cab of his pickup truck with Flynn at her side guarding her the whole time. To anyone looking out he would just have looked like a dog at her side, a very large dog.

  They had packed up Tina’s things and stashed them into the back of the truck, and Flynn pulled it in front of the bed and breakfast to allow Abe to carry Tina from the house.

  He flatly refused to allow her to walk, allow her out of his arms. He even sat her on his lap in the back of the truck on the way back to the cabin, and she didn’t speak the whole way there. Just curled into him as if he was her solidity to this world.

  When they reached the cabin Flynn brought Tina’s bags in as Abe carried his mate straight upstairs to his bedroom. He wasn’t about to let her out of his sight for the next fifty years or so.

  Flynn took her bags upstairs and left them outside the bedroom door as he turned back to his mate and growled at her in annoyance. Now that it was over. Now that the mates were safe and he could relax, he was about to tear her a new backside.

  “Why are you staring at me like that?”Summer screwed up her face, but her eyes went wide the moment he stalked towards her. Closing his fingers around her arm he half stalked-half lifted her along the corridor into their bedroom and slammed the door closed behind him.

  Summer yanked her arm away from his grasp, and he let her go as she spun around towards him.

  “What’s got your tail in a spin?”She demanded. Her hands went to her hips and she stared back at him in annoyance.

  “I told you to stay here when I left…”Flynn growled at her as he took a step and closed the distance between them.

  “Well you might have needed me…”Summer offered and Flynn growled.