“Don’t let her size fool you. She’s strong. I’ve seen her take men our size down before they knew her intentions.”
Angel nodded and leaned on his shovel, raising his head to the sky and taking a deep breath. “She was tied down when I walked in.”
“Already unconscious?” Zane asked.
Angel shook his head. “No. She was awake and mad as hell. I smelled her long before I reached her, but it wasn’t until she screamed that I realized exactly what she meant to me.”
“You should have left then,” Zane said.
“And what? Left only a fucked up shifter fighting fever and his mate who’s in heat to deal with a trained hunter team? Left my woman to whatever they had planned before they killed her?” He shook his head. “Never crossed my mind.”
“What you said… Your name… Are you who I think you are?” Zane finally asked.
Angel smiled sadly and nodded. “I am.”
“That explains your words, and why you won’t stay.”
“I can’t. As much as it will kill a piece of me to leave her behind. I can’t stay with her. I can’t,” Angel stated and Zane sensed both sorrow and anger in Angel’s voice.
“She won’t understand,” Zane warned.
“I know,” Angel agreed.
“You bit her anyway?” Zane finally asked. “Why would you do that knowing you couldn’t stay?”
Angel wouldn’t meet his eyes. “She didn’t give me a choice.”
“She’s going to hate you,” Zane warned.
“I hope so,” Angel said. “Better to hate me than to sit and wait for something that can never be.”
“It’s deep enough,” Zane said after they dug a few more minutes in silence. “You’ll go talk to Tah?”
“I was planning to when I headed this way,” Angel said. “It’s time for your pride to move on. They know where you are. Colorado is no longer safe for you.”
“Fuck,” Zane muttered. “Tah’s mate, Abby, is pregnant. Due any day. We won’t be able to travel until after the baby is born.”
“You’ve got some time,” Angel assured him. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I know a place you can head to. You’ll all be safe there. I’ll give Tah the information.”
“Will you be okay?” Zane asked him.
The emotions rolling off Angel were polluting the air around them. Sorrow, pain, anger bordering on rage, regret tinged with shame and something deeper that Zane felt intrusive for even sensing. But Angel wore his resolve around him like a cloak. His decision was made, and there was nothing Zane could say to change his mind.
“My life is not my own,” Angel stated softly. “I am the hand of justice. The executioner.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Zane promised. “As if she were my own mate. Diane and I, we won’t let anything happen to Kenzie. She’ll be loved and protected as fiercely as we can.”
He didn’t mention that it wouldn’t be the same as having her mate with her. Zane didn’t doubt Angel was well aware of that. It was hurting the other man enough. There was no need to voice the obvious.
Angel nodded, saying nothing as they got to work burying the dead. Not because the hunters deserved it, but because they had a better chance of being discovered if they were left out for the carrion to feed on as they deserved, as they would have done to a shifter.
“I put Diane and Kenzie’s gear on the side of the cabin. Came across them as I was searching around, making sure we didn’t miss anything or anyone.”
“I’ll get it,” Zane told him.
Angel’s glance fell toward the cabin again. “I need to go,” he said but his feet appeared rooted to the ground.
Zane knew how hard it was to walk away from a mate. He’d tried it for months and had already been ready to give in before he’d been hit with the needle of virus. And he hadn’t bitten Diane then. Now, with his mark on her and the link starting between them? There was no way he could walk away without ripping his soul to shreds. He didn’t envy Angel his role in their world.
Angel dug in his pocket and pulled a scrap of paper out, handing it to Zane. “Here. If she ever needs me, you can leave a message for me there. He’ll know how to get in touch with me.”
Zane nodded and bleak eyes met his gaze before Angel once again straightened his shoulders. He scooped up the gear he’d propped against a tree and opened it.
“Here, take this,” he offered and held a T-shirt out to Zane. “Thank you. Keep her safe for me.”
“I will,” Zane vowed.