His Packmates were desperately trying to get the other dogs off Sissy Mae so she could limp her way back to Shaw territory, but the dogs wouldn’t let her go. When two were knocked off, two more attacked.
When Jessie Ann tried to go around him again, he batted her back. She stared at him and he wondered if she’d run off. Lord, what if he made her cry?
Then, in a moment that he’d remember until the day he died, sweet, innocent Jessie Ann Ward charged him head-on.
They went up on hind legs and clawed at each other while biting at the most vulnerable areas. She bit into his muzzle and he clawed her throat.
Her Pack, hearing their Alpha’s fight, came running. Smitty let them. He let them go at him, tearing into him. He let them, but he didn’t back off Jessie Ann. Not until he knew his sister was safe.
And Jessie Ann never backed off him. Not once. She went after him like she would have any other predator. Coldly.
When Brendon Shaw roared again, Smitty knew his Pack had gotten Sissy over the boundary. He snapped at the dogs on his ass and shoulders, and backed up until he made it back into Shaw territory. The dogs came right up to that line, one long row of them. That’s how they attacked—in a line, until they slipped off to surround their prey, ran it down, and ripped it apart.
Smitty knew this was part message, part revenge. The message letting the Smith Pack know that, without an invite, traipsing onto wild-dog land would get them killed. But the revenge... Well, apparently eighteen years of resentment had just exploded way past that punch in the face.
Brendon stepped forward and stared at Jessie. Her eyes moved from Smitty to Brendon and back again. Finally, she gave a brief yip, turned, and trotted back into her territory. Bushy white, brown, black, and blond tail up and swishing proudly. With another yip, Jessie’s Pack followed.
With one last shake of his head, Smitty turned and followed after his Pack and wounded sister.
CHAPTER 24
With all those stitches covering a good portion of her body, Sissy looked sewn together. The dogs had done a lot of damage but none of it lethal. Just painful. She probably wouldn’t even get the fever, that important step their bodies took when fighting infection, but she would definitely have scars. A lot of them.
Yeah, Jessie Ann had known exactly what she’d been doing.
“I warned you,” Brendon said again to Ronnie Lee. “I warned you not to go into dog territory.”
“Yeah,” Ronnie said with a shrug, and a wince from her own pain, her own stitches, “but I thought you were being sarcastic. I mean... they’re dogs.”
“True. And they kicked your ass.”
“There were two thousand of them,” Sissy shot back.
“I told you they had their pups this weekend. It doesn’t matter if there’s one million or one, wild dogs will do whatever necessary to protect their pups. End of story.”
“Yeah, but—”
Shaw slammed his hand down on the metal kitchen table, nearly buckling it. “No buts! I don’t even have room to complain about this. Or demand retribution. Their attack was completely warranted. I told you I hadn’t gotten permission for you guys to go off my territory. And Marissa and I can only go within a mile of their den. Even Mitch doesn’t go over there and he’s a dumb-ass!”“I heard that!” Mitch yelled from the living room.
“Shut up!”
Sissy sighed. “Look, y’all, I’m sorry. Okay? I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Now I know.” She looked at him. “Sorry, Bobby Ray.”
“Don’t apologize, Sissy Mae. It’s something any of us might have done when we’re running down lunch.”
“I wouldn’t have done it,” Shaw muttered, but quieted down when Ronnie Lee glared at him.
“This changes everything, don’t it, Bobby Ray?” Sissy asked softly.
Smitty sipped his beer before speaking. He hoped the beer would deaden the pain around his stitches. He had far less than Sissy Mae but enough to cause discomfort. Yet, due to their biological makeup, in a few hours they’d have to remove the stitches or risk the skin healing over them.
“Yup,” he finally answered. “I reckon it does.”
“You’re a Smith male, Bobby Ray. It’s not like you can do any different.”
“I know.”
Sissy poured herself more orange juice. “Then I guess you better get on over there.”
“Yup.”
Shaw looked between them. “What are you two talking about?”
“Make it quick, Bobby Ray. Like Daddy would.”
Bobby Ray grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“Wait. What are you two planning?” Shaw demanded.
Ronnie sighed. “Mind your own, Brendon Shaw. This is Smith business.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
When they all stared at him, he threw his hands up. “Fine. But I gotta tell you, I praise the day I was born a cat.”
Jess literally tore the still-beating heart from her opponent’s chest and forced him to look at it.
Her twelve-year-old nephew glared at her. “You are mean,” he accused.
“Suck it up, Boy Scout.”
He threw down his controller and stormed off.
“Next!”
Sabina and Phil’s fourteen-year-old son jumped into the vacated seat on the couch.
“Nice facial lacerations there, by the way.” The boy had his father’s sarcasm, coupled with his mother’s brutal sense of humor. Smart-ass.
“Like these lacerations, do you?” she asked. “Good. You’ll look like this when I’m done.”
The bell for the next round rang, but before she could recover from an aerial kick to the head, Danny called for her from the front porch.
She paused the game. “Don’t even try and cheat, brat.”
“I don’t have to. I’ll destroy you without it.”
“Dreamer.”
Jess grinned and walked through the living room, her Pack involved in different forms of relaxing activities. From chess and checkers to role-playing games with pen, paper, dice, and their imaginations to video and computer games to yoga... which just seemed weird.
But her grin faded when she walked out onto the porch and found a human and clearly brutalized Smitty waiting for her. Okay, so maybe she’d done more damage than she’d given herself credit for.
He leaned against his truck, arms crossed over his chest. To the untrained eye, he looked relaxed. Composed. But she knew that look. She saw it once, years ago, seconds before Smitty beat the living hell out of his older and larger brother for sleeping with Smitty’s whore girlfriend at the time.
“What do you want, Smith?”
“We need to talk.”
If he thought she was getting off this porch, he was high.
“So talk.”
When he realized she wouldn’t come to him, he pushed himself off his truck and walked up the stairs. He stared down at her and she fought the urge to stroke his face, do whatever she could to help take away the pain she knew he suffered.
He didn’t say anything, and she quickly grew impatient with the long Smitty-silence. “Well? I’m waiting.”
Big arms crossed over his chest, Smitty gave a sad sigh. “I underestimated you all along, didn’t I?”
Jess shrugged. “Probably.” Everyone else had, why should he be different?
“What happened this morning... ” He gazed off into the woods, then shook his head. “I have to say, I never saw that coming.”
“Your sister was on my territory. I have pups here. What did she or you expect?”
“I expected you to let her get over territorial lines. I expected you to let her walk away. The Jessie Ann I thought you were would have done that. Because you didn’t, do you know what that makes you?”
Jess knew she didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want any more hurtful words or, even worse, hurtful silences between her and Smitty, but there was no avoiding it now. “What, Smitty? What does that make me?”
Amber wolf eyes locked on her and she saw fangs as he opened his mouth to speak. Her own claws slowly slid into place, prepared to tear and render as necessary.
“Mine, Jessie Ann,” he finally said. “That makes you mine.”
Jessie stared up at him like he’d grown a second head. Even her claws had receded. He’d seen them slide out, and that had only confirmed what he already knew. She would have ripped him apart if he’d made a move on her. Jessie Ann had a vicious streak a mile long and ten miles deep and nothing turned him on more.
“I’m sorry... ” she said softly. “What?”
“What did you think would happen, Jessie Ann?” Smitty asked calmly. “You attacked my She-wolves when they were trying to leave your territory. Mauled my sister after just apologizing to her the other day for punching her in the eye. And tore open my face with your teeth when I tried to protect her. And you did it without pity or remorse or a lick of conscience. Sorry, darlin’, but that makes you prime Smith-mate material.”
Looking away from that beautiful face and those big shocked eyes, Smitty examined the surrounding acres. He immediately spotted a big unused barn. Perfect.
“Come on, Jessie.” He took hold of her wrist and kissed her palm gently. “Let’s do this right, darlin’.”
Yeah. He’d do this right. Slow and easy. Just the way Jessie Ann deserved. No Smith mate-mauling for her. Even if that’s what he wanted to do, he’d give her what she needed.