“I have you to help keep me safe now.” I tilted my head back to offer him a soft smile. “He can’t hurt me again.”
Solidifying the mating bond with Aero had wiped away the fear I’d felt over my captor’s short jail sentence. With him by my side and the Timber Ridge Pack behind us, I wasn’t worried about being taken again. Even if the worst came to pass, I knew that my mate wouldn’t stop until he found me. But it was almost as though I’d jinxed myself with those words.
As soon as they left my mouth, a car slowly crept up the gravel road between the cabins. I’d never seen it before, and my curiosity was piqued when the vehicle stopped in front of Garner’s cabin. The cougar shifter hadn’t had any visitors in the time I’d spent here, and I was surprised when a human stepped out of the car. It quickly turned to shock when the wind blew past him and in our direction.
The faintest trace of a familiar scent was on the human, but it was enough for me to recognize. My falcon screeched inside my head, demanding vengeance. “He’s one of them.”
9
Aero
“One of who?” I didn’t wait for her answer before I started moving toward the man who tried to dive back into his vehicle when he saw me rushing around the cabin with a look of fury on my face.
“He’s friends with the man who captured me. I can smell the bastard on him. He must’ve been to his house of horrors or visited him in prison recently,” Ramsey explained as she followed me to confront the man.
My falcon wasn’t happy about my mate being anywhere near someone connected to the man who’d kept her prisoner for almost a year, but I knew I needed to let her face him. Being trapped in that cage had made her feel helpless, and keeping her out of this fight would chip away at her confidence.
Besides which, no way in hell was anything going to happen to her on my watch. She was almost back to her full strength, and I would be right by her side to make sure nobody hurt her. Plus, there was only one weak human to go up against. He’d been foolish to come looking for her by himself and was going to pay dearly for that mistake. With his life.
“Shit. Fuck. Damn,” the bastard chanted as he went to slam his door shut before we got there.
Too bad for him, he didn’t see the wolf shifter coming from the back of the vehicle. Rome slammed his hand down on the handle and flung the door wide open. Keane was right behind him and fisted the guy’s shirt to yank him out of the car. “Who are you, and what the hell are you doing on my land?”
The man’s eyes were wide as he mumbled, “I was just looking for directions. Took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up lost.”
“He’s lying,” Ramsey whispered, her nostrils flaring as she took another deep breath. “The scent is faint, but it’s there. This man knows the one who took me.”
The alpha’s chuckle held no humor as he tossed the guy on the ground near my feet. “And he was stupid enough to come here?”
“I wonder what he wants,” Rome rasped, his wolf clear in his eyes.
I felt Ramsey’s relief over both men believing her through our bond. At least one good thing had come out of this bastard showing up here. After what her old alpha had pulled, it was important for her to know that there were people who would never doubt her.
The man’s panicked gaze darted among the four of us as we surrounded him. Thrusting his hands in the air, he cried, “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I was just…”
His denial trailed off when I took a step forward and crouched low to glare at him. “Just what? Looking for my mate?”
“Mate?” he echoed softly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as the stench of his terror filled the air.
I nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“Fuck,” he groaned, dropping his gaze to stare at his lap, where a wet spot was beginning to spread because he’d peed himself.
“You know what mates are. You’re a part of the smuggling ring that auctions off shifters,” Ramsey accused.
“That true?” Keane growled, crouching down on the other side of him.
“Wonder how the fuck they’ve managed to catch anyone,” Rome muttered, tapping his finger against his temple. “Can’t be too smart if he thought it was a good idea to show up here all by himself.”
“Call me dumb all you want, but I’ve bagged three shifters all by myself,” the man boasted, proving exactly how stupid he was.
“Thought the dumb bitch was here by herself,” he muttered, the color draining from his face. “She’s a loner. Didn’t know there was a pack here that had taken her in.”