We got to the cabin, our frustration building until I thought we were going to implode. I wanted him so bad that I was shaking. I jumped out of the truck on my side and ran around to Matt, ready to start our night.
Matt was stock still, though, his nose lifted, taking in the night. I was about to ask him what he was doing when he shoved me to the side just as a mass flew into him, knocking him against the side of his truck.
CHAPTER 17: Leila
I screamed as I hit the ground hard. Matt shifted into a bear in seconds, his claws swiping at whatever was on him. I stared hard in the faint moonlight at the shifting form that was against him, slowly turning into an alligator.
I screamed again as I realized that it was Steven. Seeing his huge alligator form sent terror racing through my body. I watched in horror as his massive jaws snapped down on Matt’s leg.
He rolled and dragged Matt to the ground before opening his mouth to clamp higher up on his body. Matt ripped his claws up the soft underside of Steven’s massive body and blood spurted.
Steven rolled away and shifted back to his human form before taking off towards the woods. I watched as blood poured from his chest. Matt released a roar that felt like it shook the ground. He raced after Steven, his eyes glowing golden in the darkness.
I scrambled to my feet and chased after them. Nothing could happen to Matt. Please, please don’t let anything happen to Matt. I couldn’t breathe as fear clogged my throat.
Stumbling through the woods, I cried out Matt’s name. If I was too late and anything happened to him, I didn’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t be without him.
I heard another roar and followed it, tripping and catching my hand on a sharp stick. I cried out again but didn’t stop moving towards the sounds.
I found Matt’s bear hovering over Steven’s limp form. He snapped his head towards me, blood dripping from his mouth. I covered my mouth and turned away from the scene. I was glad with the outcome, but the dead body, mauled as it was, wasn’t something I needed to keep looking at. Steven was gone. It was over.
Warm arms wrapped around me. “I’m sorry.”
I leaned into him. “Don’t be. He found me and he attacked you. He would have killed us both if he’d been able to.”
Matt easily lifted me into his arms and carried me back to the cabin. “So, that was your ex? Nice guy.”
“That was him. It’s over, now, though. I don’t know how he found us, Matt. I thought…I thought I’d handled it. I thought I’d hidden my tracks well enough. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
He put me down on the steps and stared at me. Blood coated his naked body, but it didn’t matter. It was his badge of honor. He’d proven that he was willing to fight to the death for me. He was more than I deserved. I ducked my head and noticed that his leg was bleeding and that he was holding it off the ground slightly.
I gasped and dropped to my knees so I could look at it. “He bit you. You’re hurt, Matt.”
He grunted. “It’s not pleasant, but it’ll heal soon. Stop it, Leila. You look like you’re about to crumble. This wasn’t your fault.”
I shook my head. “It was. He was here because of me. You got hurt because of me. You had to do…that because of me. I’m so sorry, Matt. I’m so, so sorry.”
Three massive bears ran into the clearing beside Matt’s house. They roared and stood on their back legs before shifting into Matt’s brothers. Alex, Michael, and John hurried to their brother’s side, while also looking around.
“What happened?” Michael, the third oldest brother, asked with a wild look on his face. “It smells terrible. Like blood and… swamp.”
Matt turned to me. “Why don’t you go inside and get cleaned up? We have to take care of this, okay?”
I nodded and went inside, feeling worse than I could’ve imagined.
CHAPTER 18: Matt
Leila turned and disappeared inside the cabin with tears still in her eyes.
I swore and turned to my brothers. Lucas was out of town, on some trip across the states, but the rest had come running as soon as they heard my call. I held out my hand and clasped each of theirs in turn. “Thanks for coming.”
I told them what happened and led them to the body. I stared down at it, feeling angry all over again. He was the man who’d marked my mate. He came to try and hurt her again. He had to die. I felt no remorse for his life being lost. Shifters had their own law, and their own way of policing it. He was a sick animal and he’d been put down. Simple as that.
Michael stared down at the body with a scowl curling his scarred upper lip. “Piece of shit. He tried to mark her?”