Mating Brand: 3 (Mating Heat) (4 page)

“You’re not going to believe this if I tell you. Just get
your ass into town.”

“Where?”

“Oh, you can’t miss it. Just hurry. I’m trying to hold them
back but they are going to tear the damn car apart if they get past me.”

“What—”

“Just get here! This—” Howls drowned out anything else Jeff
may have said before the connection died.

Brand hung up and ran to the dresser, cursing a blue streak
as he tried to zip his jeans over his swollen cock. He grinned though. If he
couldn’t fuck, fighting would work. Excitement hit him.

Charma whimpered and climbed into the back of the car. She’d
hoped having the windows up would mask her scent when she’d driven into town
but she’d been wrong. The driver’s window hadn’t smashed in yet but it had
spider-webbed enough to terrify her. That had motivated her to scramble over
the seats.

The entire vehicle shook when someone jumped on the hood. A
terrifying howl hurt her ears and a boot slammed into the windshield. The
safety glass held but the window cracked in at least a two-foot diameter. Someone
else grabbed the passenger door and jerked hard enough to make the car sway.
The lock held but the male snarled, enraged that he could not get to her.

“Back off,” another male yelled. “That’s an order! Damn it,
get off the car. Back away.”

Bodies nearly blocked out the streetlights as they converged
and she knew she only had moments before they managed to tear through some part
of the car to reach her. They weren’t going to allow her to talk. She’d hoped
they’d just ask her why she’d trespassed into their territory. That had been
the plan that had gone terribly awry as soon as she’d turned off the engine. In
what seemed like mere seconds, men had rushed at her from all directions.

They rocked the car until it made her slip on the seat. She
fell over onto her side, drew her knees up to her chest and huddled into a
tight ball. Howls and snarls were nearly deafening. She covered her ears,
squeezed her eyes shut, and her heart raced.

She knew death would come soon. Still, it had to be a better
one than what her mate planned for her. He’d tried to destroy her soul a day at
a time. Now he’d told the enforcers they could take her body if they wanted.
She’d rather be killed by werewolves. They were brutal but swift
death-bringers.

Glass shattered and rained down over her. She screamed when
a hand fisted her hair and pulled. Her body slid closer to the destroyed window
and pain stabbed her. The one who held her howled, so close it was deafening,
and she screamed again. The hand released her hair though.

“Enough!” a horrifyingly deep voice roared. “Do you want to
die?” The male who spoke wasn’t human. His voice was so affected she could
barely understand the words. “That’s a female, damn it. Who said you could kill
her?”

“It’s a damn cat,” another deep voice snarled. “She asked
for it.”

Charma lifted her head and peeked up. She’d been pulled all
the way to the door until her head actually touched the armrest. She stared at
a broad-backed male wearing a gray sweater. He leaned against the opening,
covering it with his body to prevent anyone from grabbing her again.

“We kill stinking cats where I come from,” a werewolf
shouted.

The guy against the door emitted a vicious sound. “You’re in
Harris Pack territory now. You’re a visitor and you will follow our laws. We
don’t kill females, even she-cats. Leave if you don’t like it.”

The guy protecting the opening moved enough for Charma to
see more of him. He’d kept his human form but some hair covered the backs of
his hands. Fresh blood dripped from the spiky points of his extended claws.
They appeared to be razor sharp and deadly.

She inhaled but there were so many angry wolves surrounding
her car that she couldn’t smell anything other than overpowering werewolf
scent. It nearly overwhelmed her and her heart raced faster. She almost
screamed at the sheer horror of being surrounded by the enemy but another
whimper escaped instead.

“Go into the woods,” the man leaning against the car
demanded in a harsh growl. “Now. You’ll get worse than the ones on the ground
if you stay. My cousins are on their way. If I could take down seven of you,
think what they can do. They are stronger alpha-blooded than I am.”

Charma opened her mouth and panted. The smell of the many
werewolves had become so dense she could taste it. Her gaze locked on the gray
sweater of the male who had stopped the attack. She prayed he wasn’t sending
the rest of his pack away to slaughter her himself. She just needed a chance to
talk. She would warn them of the pride males who planned to declare war and
hopefully they’d be grateful enough for the warning that they might spare her
life.

Part of her longed to use Brand’s name but she didn’t want
his pack to turn on him. She’d rather they not know they’d ever met. She’d come
to save him, not put him in danger from his own kind. She’d let him down once
but she wanted to make it right, owing him that and so much more.

She wondered if he’d mated.
Of course he has.
The
image of his handsome face still haunted her.
Women would have chased him in
droves. Or in a pack
, she corrected. It still hurt to imagine some woman
curled against his side every night.
Kissing him. Running her hands through
his silky hair and— Stop! Don’t go there.

“I’m sorry,” a new voice panted. “I tried to hold them back
but there were too many. Thanks for coming so fast, man. Is she alive?”

The male against the door shook his hands, blood flying off
them, and his claws slowly retracted. “Yeah.” His voice still came out as a
snarl. “I hear her breathing. I need to calm down for a minute.”

“No shit. Wow. I thought only Rave could fight like that. It
was impressive.”

“Who do you think he learned to fight with growing up, Jeff?”
The voice lowered a little, changing from snarly to gruff. “We are damn close
and trained with each other as if we were brothers.”

Jeff cleared his throat. “Do you think that’s Shannon’s mom?
I figured that’s who’d come here when I smelled she-cat. She probably wants to
meet her son-by-mate. I tried to call Anton but he didn’t pick up.”

“Shannon’s mother is human. It was her father who was half
shifter. He’s dead and she’s estranged from his family.” The voice toned down
more. “How is my face? Still hairy? I don’t want to scare her.”

“You’re good. I doubt after what just happened that anything
is going to calm her.”

“Drag the injured away before any humans happen along. It’s
after nine. Most of the townspeople stay in after dark at this time of the year
but it would be our luck if someone happened to run out of milk or something. I
also heard we have some tourists parked outside of town. They tried to stay at
the hotel but Marcy told them it was booked.”

“Got it. Two of our enforcers just showed. We’ll clean up
this mess and tend to the wounded. They are lucky you allowed them to live.”

A loud sigh sounded. “Are my cousins on the way or did I
just lie?”

“Rave is coming. Von didn’t pick up but he’s patrolling the
woods. I figured he didn’t get cell service. Grady didn’t pick up so I’m sure
he’s having sex. Both he and Anton turn their phones off while they’re bonding
with their mates. I didn’t bother calling Braden. At his age, he’s probably out
of his head with the heat and I know he’s staying with you. I thought you’d
bring him, though, if you needed help.”

“It sounded urgent. I didn’t waste time to grab him. Go on.
I’ll deal with this.”

A rumbling sound fractured the evening and Charma swallowed
hard. The distinctive noise grew louder until the motorcycle engine cut off. “Shit.
Looks as though I missed some good times. Is any of that blood on the ground
yours?”

“Nope,” the guy in the sweater muttered.

“I smell blood, lust, anger, and is that a she-cat? That’s
not Shannon. I’ll never forget the scent of her in heat for as long as I live.”
The new guy chuckled. “I doubt any of us ever will. Damn. I envy my big bro.”

“Rave, not cool. He’d be seriously angry if he heard you say
that.”

“I don’t see him here, do you? Is she okay? Do you want to
move and allow me to check on her? I’m cool with kittens.”

“Go for it. I’m still trying to calm down.”

“I can see and hear. Your voice is all screwed up. Snarl
much lately to scare off the weaker?”

“Shut the hell up and deal with her before more of them
sniff her out. She probably took a wrong turn.”

The car swayed when the guy pushed off it to walk away.
Charma sat up on the seat to gaze out the busted window. Shattered glass slid
to the floor when she moved. A big, leather-jacketed werewolf strode forward
but paused a few feet away. He crouched down to peer back at her. His shaggy
black hair brushed his jacket collar and a pair of dark-brown eyes met hers.

“Hi, there. I’m Rave. I promise I’m not going to attack you.”
He glanced at the car and back at her. “They really did a number on your
wheels. I’m sorry about that but you’re in Harris Pack territory. It’s mating
heat time for us and aggression levels are off the charts. May I open the door
and check on you? Were you hurt?”

She shook her head.

“No, you’re not hurt or no, I can’t come closer? You’re
safe. My cousin and I are cat friendly. My older brother is mated to a
quarter-puma shifter.” He grinned. “For real. We’re cool with her.”

Charma relaxed, willing to believe him, considering she’d
fallen in love with a werewolf once. It was possible. “I came to warn you,” she
managed to get out. “The council accused your pack of attacking one of the
prides. They’ve sent out a joining call.”

The handsome guy’s smile faded. “They want to talk to us? Is
a joining some kind of meeting to ask why we did it? That pride took my brother’s
mate away from him and they were going to gang-rape her to force her to birth a
litter of kittens for them. They weren’t exactly willing to just hand her back.
We had to kill them to save her. Tell your council that.”

It didn’t shock her that a pride would attack a female
part-feline shifter. He’d said that Shannon was of mixed blood, a puma,
according to him. It also didn’t surprise her that pride males would try to use
her body that way. What did stun her was that werewolves would kill to retrieve
her. They’d obviously worked together. He’d said “we”, implying a group of
them. It was doubtful that a lone wolf could have taken out two pride leaders’
sons and multiple pride males.

“They wouldn’t listen to me or care why you did it. A
joining call is when—” Her voice broke and she had to clear her throat. “We
have a council that represents all the prides. They ordered all the larger
prides to send some of the best fighters from each one to declare war on a
common enemy. They plan to attack your pack tomorrow night. At least thirty
enforcers will show up.”

His eyes widened as he growled softly. She jerked back,
scooted on the seat and slid through broken glass. Pain made her cry out and
she jerked her hand up to her chest. The scent of her blood overpowered the
odor of her fear and that of werewolf.

“Shit. Why don’t you come out? I swear on my life nobody is
going to hurt you. I don’t want you to get cut again on the glass. I’m not
growling at you. I’m just irritated. Why would you warn us? I appreciate it but
I’m curious.”

She hesitated before inching toward the door. The guy slowly
put his hand inside, popped the lock and swung it open. He backed away to give
her room. Charma scooted out to stand. A slight breeze cooled her heated body.
She’d broken out in a sweat from her terror.

The guy in the sweater stood about ten feet away with his back
to her. He slowly turned around. “Me too,” the guy sighed. “Why would you…” His
voice died when his gaze met hers.

Shock staggered Charma as she stared into the beautiful,
sexy eyes that had haunted her for nine endlessly lonely years. Her knees buckled
and she knew she would hit the pavement. Someone stopped her before she
impacted. Strong arms lifted her, held her around her waist, but her gaze never
left Brand.

Brand couldn’t believe his eyes. He blinked a few times but
the image didn’t change. The tiny woman had striped hair—shades of blonde and
brown that fell to her hips. Her big exotic eyes widened. The yellow color
within the irises overtook the blue before her body slumped.

Rave grabbed her, tugged her body upward to save her from
hitting the street. Brand lunged forward too. He fisted Rave’s jacket with one
hand, felt his claws extend and wrapped his other arm around her too-thin
waist. He yanked her against him. A snarl tore from his throat as he realized
Charma was in his arms.

He feared it was a dream. It was possible he was still at
home in bed, suffering mating heat fever, delirious. He’d spent the first four
years after she’d left searching for her, hoping she’d return to him. It hadn’t
happened. Part of him had refused to completely let her go but as the years
wore on it had just left him feeling foolish. He’d loved her but she’d chosen
to abandon him.

She felt too real in his arms, though, to be a fantasy. He
buried his face against her hair, tugging her higher, trying to remember not to
crush her frail body. He breathed her in. Her scent was wrong and something
about it offended him. The reason behind it hit as hard as a hammer, nailing
him in the chest. He snarled loudly, pain tearing at his heart. He couldn’t
prevent his fangs from ripping through his gums.

“No!” he snarled. The scent of another male’s mark on her
nearly drove him insane. It was faint. Maybe he’d been wrong. He sniffed at her
again. He’d just been trying to fool his broken heart. The scent was there, she’d
really mated someone else. Of course, the truth wouldn’t be denied. Though
weak, the stranger’s odor lingered to warn off other males.

It doesn’t matter
, he decided.
She’s mine! I’ll
hunt the fucker down and tear him limb from limb. I’ll rip off his head. No. I’ll
tear out his heart and feed it to him for taking what is mine. Yeah. That’s a
good plan.

“Brand!” His cousin punched his shoulders. “Put her down!
Damn it,” Rave snarled. “Release. I know you’re horny but fuck! Control
yourself.”

Brand shook off Rave and stumbled, still holding Charma. He
nuzzled her neck, hoping to soothe her in case he’d frightened her, something
he didn’t want to do. Her weight was even wrong. She’d lost a lot of it. He
turned to lean heavily against the hood of the car and adjusted his grip on
her. He kept his nose buried against her hair in the crook of her neck, taking
deep breaths to pull more of her scent into his lungs.