She had strength for one last thing, so she shifted, turning into her pissed off beast right as the man came closer. She released the sound of an angry lynx in heat that needed her mate. Even to her ears it was annoying, but it got the job done by causing the man to back up.
“I think she wants to be left alone, Talia.”
Talia pulled a gun from the back of her pants and turned it on, Dean. Dee’s cat was enraged that she was being held against her will and even more so that the man who showed her kindness was now being threatened.
Putting his hands in the air, palms out, he showed no signs of aggression. “And this is why I’m a lone wolf. If this is what a pack does, I want no part of it. Is it a prerequisite to be crazy to enter a pack?”
Talia held the gun in firm sure hands, keeping it trained on the innocent man whose only crime was to help a woman he thought was in need. “Mount her.”
Dropping his hands he sneered at Talia, “I will not. That’s disgusting, you’re disgusting. I don’t mount unwilling females, nor do I fuck women with mates,” he made eye contact with Dee, “Not to mention the fact that she is pregnant and stinks of her male and their most recent escapades.”
Keeping her cat’s head high, she stopped her mewling and trained her eyes on Dean. Her ears twitched and she watched him follow the movement. She looked deep within herself and didn’t feel any different. She couldn’t smell anything either except her own need, bacon, and the lingering scent of her mate.
His hard eyes softened and she felt comfortable enough to approach him. Her head butted his leg and he tickled the tufts of hair on her ears. How odd, strangers could feel safe sometimes, filling a gap. Dee knew that she’d always be grateful to this male for his kindness during her hour of need, he would be family from here on out; if they made it out of this place alive.
“Can you still feel the bond? Where do we go from here?”
Blake’s voice held the beginnings of fear. Justin had to sift through many different things, his fear, his mate’s need and fear, along with the thread of their mate bond that was pulling him to her. Fated mates were connected soul deep and often were the only ones to who could locate each other if the need arose. Justin was having a harder time of it because his mate’s emotions were all over the place and every time her feelings changed he was alerted.
“Justin, where is she?”
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and prevent him from attacking his brother he responded, “I’m trying, Blake, back the fuck off.”
There were gasps all throughout the van; his father, Kenneth, Blake, his other brother Paul. Justin wasn’t big on cursing, in fact he rarely let fly a bad word, unless it was in the heat of passion with his mate, he didn’t curse. They were all smart enough not to comment.
The van was utter silence for a full minute before Paul, who was driving, suggested, “Blake, you did all those blood bonds, was Dee one of the people you bonded?”
At his nod, Paul narrowed his eyes. “Help him; her emotions are probably overwhelming him. You can pick up on her thread as he filters her emotions.”
Their father clasped each of them on the shoulder, “I’m so darn proud of you all. Who would have thought all of that fighting as youngsters would see you here and now, working together as one.”
Blake nodded as he wasted no time searching out the link he had created with Dee upon meeting her. He pulled and tugged until her particular cord was the only one he focused on. He was briefly thrown for a loop when it was not only tied to his brother, her new mate, but something else. Something that was interwoven with her. It was tentative and new, but he suspected she was pregnant. His eyes popped open as he looked at the anguished eyes of Justin.
He clasped his hand to the back of Justin’s head and pulled him in for a brotherly hug, “We’ll find her, Bro. For those I love, I vow to sacrifice.”
Chapter 12
Dee placed her lynx body in front of Dean. She was confident that he wouldn’t attempt to mount her. He was on her side. Talia’s gun stayed trained on them and she appeared to be calm and collected but her scent betrayed her anxiety. Dee responded to her by hissing, teeth snapping in her direction.
Dean placed a hand on her head and stroked her fur. It wasn’t sexual in anyway, if anything it was for comfort. Shifters enjoyed comforting touches and she was grateful for it.
“Aww, look at your little pet, Dean, it’s a shame she has to die.”
Dean’s fingers stilled in her fur and she stood on all four legs using her head to try and push him towards the door, he needed to leave so Dee could focus on the immediate threat. As he reached the door he reached down to pet her fur again. She had no idea what he was going to do or she would have stopped him.