Jezebel's Lion(30)

His sister gasped, and Brandon knew Carter would never hurt her. Besides, Britney could hold her own for a while. Brandon needed to find his mate.

Brandon clenched his fists and took deep calming breaths as he found Jess sitting next to Travis and Zeck stroking their hair. Travis was deathly white, and Zeck didn’t look much better. “Will they live?”

Kneeling next to her he pulled her into his hold. He didn’t care about his nudity. He just wanted to be close to her. Brandon could have lost her. Boogiemen may not be able to mind control her or suck the life out of her, but they could have done other things. He told himself not to think of the possibility and just hold her. “Yes. They’ll live once they have a shifter blood transfusion.”

Jess looked at him then. “You turn into a lion.”

Brandon nodded and tried to gauge for a reaction. Jezebel seemed dazed. “Yes, I did. I was going to tell you today. It was what I had to tell and show you.”

“Oh, I didn’t think it would be that.” She sounded so calm, but he could feel her body trembling.

“Jezebel, I think we should leave. Zeck and Travis are safe now. More can get done without hovering over them.”

She blinked a couple of times, glanced at her friends, leaned over and kissed each one on the cheek, then stood. “Okay. I’m ready to go.”

He didn’t bother finding the pants he had been wearing. He walked with Jezebel in front of him ushering her out. Out the front he saw the cleanup crew had arrived. Britney was standing by his parents’ car arguing with Carter, who was trying to get the keys out of her hand.

Walking towards his sister and Cater, Brandon snatched the keys out of Britney’s hand and growled, “Either you both get in the car, or I’m taking the car back to my place without you.”

They must have seen he’d had enough because as he walked around and put a stoic Jezebel in the passenger seat and walked around to the driver’s side Carter and Britney got in the back seat without argument.

Brandon got in, put the keys in the ignition, started the car, and whizzed out. The yelling in the back started up, and Brandon ignored it. A phone jingled to say it got a message, and Brandon glanced down swearing as he remembered he’d left his phone in Savron’s car.

“Britney, message Savron to drop my phone by my house. I left it in his car.”

“That was him messaging me. If you want I can bring it over later today. I want to go see Sasha today anyway, so I’ll get it off Savron.”

“No, I have reports to do. I don’t have time to drive you around,” Carter snarled.

“That’s good because I didn’t ask you to. This has nothing to do with you anyway. I can drive where I want. Savron is family.”

“They are not looking after you. Savron was the one who called you to go into a dangerous situation. Britney, you’re not going anywhere without an escort anymore.”

“What? No way.”

Brandon tuned out the arguing and glanced at Jezebel. She hadn’t moved an inch from when he put her in the car. Jezebel sat staring in a daze out the window.

The forty minute drive home felt like a lifetime. He pulled into his driveway, left the keys in the ignition, and got out. He thanked God he lived in a shifter neighborhood and didn’t have to worry about his nudity. Brandon went around the back and got his spare key from under the table. Walking back around he opened his front door and came back for Jezebel, who still hadn’t moved. He lifted her and took her into the house and shut the door with his foot.

Brandon didn’t worry about Britney and Carter. They could sort themselves out. Brandon had a mate to worry over.

He set Jezebel on the bed in his room and started the shower before coming and lifting her into his arms and taking her to the shower. Brandon gently placed her on the floor before the shower and stripped her of her torn and bloody clothes, and her boots. When she was naked he lifted her into the shower and put her under the warm water. Jezebel finally came out of her stoic state sputtering and wrapping her arms around him and holding on tight. Her body shuddered against him, and then sobs shook her.

Brandon let her get it all out. She cried into his chest, and he rubbed her back. When the water turned cold he turned the taps off and opened his bathroom cabinets, got a towel, and wrapped it around Jezebel, not bothering with his own. Picking her up so she was cradled in his arms he walked back to his bed and sat.

Brandon didn’t know how long he sat and waited for Jezebel to calm herself and be ready to talk. It felt like hours.

“You’re a lion.”

They had already established this, but he knew she was traumatized.