A Mate's Bite(20)
It took thirty interminable minutes for them to reach the school. When they did, they caught sight of Ellie with a group of enforcers and Jordan sitting some yards away, both scratched up, but okay.
Both he and Jake jumped out of the vehicle in a rush. They reached Jordan, who was sitting on top of her car, wrapped up in a blanket.
“Are you okay?” Jake asked.
She nodded, pushing the hair away from her face. The movement revealed a long gash on the side of her face, dripping with blood. “I’m okay, but they can’t find the guys anywhere.”
Jake turned to Nate. “Go to Karla. I’m going to talk to the enforcers. I’ll go search the area with them and scent the women’s clothing to see if we pick up anything. You stay with them, and I’ll get back to you on what we find.”
Nate nodded and glanced around. He stomped back and forth around the emergency vehicles, searching for Karla but not seeing her anywhere. The wolf pushed at the skin wanting loose. He growled and turned to Jordan, but she was being interrogated by some enforcers.
He snarled. Fury soared inside him, explosive and dangerous. His mate. He had to see her. Touch her. Ensure she was safe. Fear for what could have happened created a red haze of wrath in his vision.
He ran around in a circle, growling at the scent of blood. The bastards were gone. They’d escaped, and they’d hurt his family.
Ellie ran toward him, blanket swinging around her legs. “She’s in the ambulance. Kelvin was cut up pretty badly, but we’re sure he’ll be fine.”
The ambulance doors opened at that moment. Karla was helped down by a medic. She looked pale. His anger turned to concern she’d collapse.
“Karla!” His voice thundered in the parking lot. “Were you hurt?”
“No. I’m okay.” Relief filled her brown eyes. He was happy his being there served to calm her. He drew her into his arms and buried his nose in her hair. Her scent immediately soothed the animal inside. He’d been pushing at the skin, restless. Her arms curled around his neck, and she slid her fingers into his hair. Pleasure filled him.
She sighed, her warm breath caressing his neck.
“What did they say about Kel?”
“He’ll need a few days to recover. He’s saying he’s fine. They’re bandaging him up and once they’re done I’m taking him home with me.”
She propelled back, meeting his gaze. “He’ll be fine, right? He won’t have some weird reaction to getting all scratched up, will he?”
“No, honey. Nothing strange should come from that.”
He hated scenting her fear and concern. He wanted to make things better now. But there wasn’t much anyone could do. Caleb’s few men weren’t enough to take down the army of rogues Rocco had amassed.
“I’ll take you both home, and you can tell me what happened.”
She nodded and leaned her head into the curve of his shoulder. He glanced up and caught Ellie motioning for Karla and Nate to join them.
“We were given the all clear.” She smiled. Thank God. He loved his sister to death and would go crazy if she were badly injured again.
“I have a crummy bite, but the medic said I just have to shift a few times, and I’ll be fine.” Jordan pouted. She scrunched her nose and wiggled her bandaged foot before looking up. “Anyone wanna volunteer to come over and cook for me?”
“How about you all come with us, and I’ll cook?” Nate offered.
Ellie grinned. “I accept for all of us. We need food.”
“And wine.” Jordan added with a wince. Her shoulders drooped on a sigh. “Most of us need wine, anyway.”
His cell phone rang. A peek at the screen showed it was exactly the person he wanted to talk to.
“Hey, Mom.”
“I just heard. Is everyone okay?” His mom asked in a rush.
“Yeah. Kelvin was the one with the nastiest cuts. We’re all heading to Karla’s house.” He toyed with a long dark strand of her hair as he spoke.
“I’ll be right there.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. They’re all hungry.”
His mother’s burst of laughter tugged at his heart. “I’ll bring food.”
“You’re the best, mom.”
“Oh, I know. Tell Jordan she better give Aric a call before he hears about it from someone else and decides to fly back tonight thinking she’s been badly injured.”
He glanced at Jordan and saw her on her cell phone. “I think she’s already on that.”
“Thanks. It will be a while before we get there. Jake is scenting the women’s clothing to see if he picks up anything familiar. He’s going to search the area with the other enforcers to see if he finds anything. We decided I’d stay with Karla, Ellie and Jordan for peace of mind. See you in a bit.”