“Where’s my mate?”
Klax winked. “In the closet, safe as can be.” He pointed.
Brand yanked open the door and Charma nearly fell into his arms. She turned, staring up at him with wide eyes. He hugged her hard, hating the smell of fear rolling off her. Then another, scarier scent hit.
“I smell blood.” He jerked away, staring at her waist.
“It’s not mine.”
His relief was instant. “Your sister is safe. At least the female she-cat is.”
She clung to him. “Where is she?”
“Braden has her.”
She wiggled in his arms, trying to look around him. “Where is Bree?”
“Braden took her to town, away from the fighting.”
“Did she say her name was Bree? She’s got long dark hair and big green eyes. We kind of look alike too.”
“I never saw her.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice grew panicked. “You were with him and you said he has her.”
“Calm down,” he urged. “Braden found her first and he killed the male who was with her.”
She gasped.
“He wouldn’t hurt her.”
“How can you be sure?”
“She’s a pussy.” Klax snorted. “Killing is the last thing that pup would do to her.”
“What does that mean?” Charma glared at the enforcer.
Brand instructed Kane to retrieve the jacket he’d left in the yard.
Kane went outside and brought the jacket, sniffing it. “She-cat. Does this smell like your sister?”
Charma wiggled out of his arms and lunged, snatching the jacket out of the enforcer’s hand. She sniffed it and turned back to Brand. Tears filled her eyes as she clutched it against her chest. “I bought this for Breeanna.” She reached inside one of the pockets and withdrew a cell phone. She showed it to him. “This is hers.”
“Braden definitely has your sister then.” He tried to pull her back into his arms, needing assurance that she was really okay after all the aggression of fighting. She resisted, staring up at him with the beginnings of anger stamping her pretty features.
“Let’s go find her. I need to make sure she’s fine.”
Kane cleared his throat. “Um, if Braden has her, you might want to wait a few hours.”
Brand grimaced and shot the blond a dirty look to shut him up. Charma gaped at Kane and then spun, facing Brand. “Why? What will Braden do?”
He grabbed her waist, tugging her closer. “He won’t hurt her.”
“He’ll fuck her,” Klax muttered.
Charma stiffened in his arms. “No!”
“I’m sure he won’t,” Brand lied, hoping his cousin wouldn’t try to seduce his mate’s sister. He didn’t really believe that though. Braden was a horn dog. If Breeanna looked similar to Charma, his cousin would be attracted to her.
“We have to find them now!” Charma released the jacket with one hand and snagged his arm. “She’s a virgin.”
“Oh lord,” Klax chuckled. “Not for long.”
“Damn it,” Brand growled, glaring at the twins. “This isn’t amusing.”
“It depends.” Kane laughed. “It’s not my mate’s innocent sister who’s with Braden so it is kind of funny.”
“It is,” Klax agreed.
Charma growled. “Brand, take me to them now. He can’t touch her. She hasn’t even had her coming-out party yet. She’s got to be terrified of a werewolf.”
“How old is she again?” Brand was afraid to hear the answer.
“Eighteen. She just graduated from high school.”
“Old enough,” Kane announced.
“Damn it, you’re not helping!” Brand wanted to punch him.
“Brand!” Charma demanded his full attention. “Let’s go.”
“Not yet.” Klax shook his head. “There are pride still out there fleeing. It’s not safe.”
“What if they run right to where my sister and your cousin are staying? They could be in trouble.” Charma sounded frantic.
“He was taking her into town. That’s the last place the pride wants to go. They are injured and some of them are too hurt to shift back into skin. They will want to avoid humans.” Kane was the voice of reason. “Braden is a lot of things but he’s pussy friendly.” He didn’t bother to hide his smile. “No male is getting near your sister. He won’t allow it while he’s in heat.”
Anton strode into the house butt naked and Brand winced when Charma gaped at his cousin before turning her head away from the sight of so much skin. She buried her face against his chest.
“We kept four of them alive,” his cousin announced as he tore a curtain off the rod and wrapped it around his waist. “We’re going to send a message back to those prides through them. Rave is handling that and escorting them back to their vehicles with some of our wolves to make sure they survive that long.”