Shifter's Revenge (Alpha Lineage) (11 page)

Maddox fell into a light sleep as he held Kera in his arms. Having her tucked so closely to him soothed him. His state of wakefulness allowed his mind to work out most of his thoughts. He had always been a man who worked a problem before reacting. The few moment in his life that he hadn’t had changed the direction of his future drastically. He wasn’t sure how his brutal force against his family would affect him moving forward. He already felt guilt and regret. He hadn’t lost Kera because of it
, but he also hadn’t heard the reaction of his pack.

He may have just furthered the war. Markus,
Matt and Heath all had mothers and fathers who would morn them. They each had sisters who would curse him and possibly take off from the pack when they were of age. In the years he spent secluded he hadn’t attended the socials his family had every few months. It was something his family did to make sure everyone felt part of the Alpha’s activities. They had extravagant events and auctions. Sometimes they settled for a simple barbeque. The males would cook the meat and the females would bring sides and desserts. He remembered playing with his younger cousins. The girls would hang on every word of their shifter brothers and cousins. They would make growling noises and pretend they could do the same thing.

Though most of the families were outwardly
normal the common knowledge that they were different usually spread through the events in subtle ways. He wondered why he was so oblivious at age seven that he didn’t connect the dots before he saw his father shift and his mother leave.

After that
, his thoughts turned to Kera. He muddled through the events of their meeting and time briefly spent together. His mind seemed to fast forward to the night he took her to his shop and asked her to mate with him. Her body had been so yielding to him. Every touch seemed to light every nerve in his body causing him to rush. He deeply regretted the state of mind she had been in when they made love for the first time. Though he could remember every blissful moment of it he couldn’t get the memory to last long enough. He let it play in his mind over and over while her scent filled his nose.

They should have been able to add onto the memories in the week
s that passed but she had left him. Maddox tightened his hold on her and opened his eyes. His body was no longer willing to relax into sleep.

He listened to her deep breathing for a while before the feel of her body against him caused his to overheat. Slowly
, so he didn’t wake her, he moved out of her grasp and stretched out in the room. He took a moment to go through the different weapons that were laid across the counters and wondered why she had been allowed free rein of them. Her scent was faint when they had entered the room. A fragrance left by anyone only lingered a certain amount of time. He couldn’t tell if she used any of the weapons. He angled his head to the bed and stared at his woman. His only instinct was to protect her. He didn’t want her to battle or deal with death like he did. She had seen what he did to those who touched her and just the thought caused intense anger to swell up inside of him.

Her purity was precious. The fact that his cousins had thought it ok to touch her against her will was unforgivable. He didn’t regret their death now. He wanted to kill them again. In no part of his mind had he ever thought about forcing a woman to do anything with him. He had many relationships when he was a teen. He had kissed and touched woman after woman but never once had he done so against her will. He didn’t think he had it in him. Even if he had been threatened with death he wouldn’t do such a thing. Shit
, he would die a virgin rather than take something that wasn’t freely offered.

Hell
, some of the girls he had been with offered, and he had refused.

The anger began to grow deep inside of him. He pictured Andrew’s face in his mind and painted a target on him. He hadn’t only made it possible for Kera to be
assaulted. He had beaten her and broke her mentally. None of this would have happened if she had come home right after Luke influenced her. Three days of her life and memories would have been completely different if she had just been able to come home.

Maddox ran his hands across his face to calm himself. He paced the room to rid himself of the pent up energy. On every turn he fixed his eyes on Kera’s beautify body resting on the bed.

Behind him the door cracked open. Maddox felt a growl of surprise escape from his throat. He rushed to the door and placed his hand on the frame.

Gavin stood right outside. He tried to look inside and Maddox blocked Kera’s view.

“What the hell do you want?” He ground out angrily.

Gavin narrowed his eyes. “What world do you live in Maddox Howell?” His mocking tone set Maddox on edge. “You take a girl like that from a small town and bring her into a world full of torture and murder.”

Maddox flushed with guilt, and hated every moment of it. He pushed the door open just enough to slip his large frame out into the hall and lock Kera up tight behind him. He hadn’t heard Gavin approach, so either the room was soundproof or this wasn’t a human. “What do you want with her?” He growled in frustration.

Gavin pondered this for a moment. “I think she is extraordinary. Did she tell you how we met or how she demonstrated her abilities?”

Maddox frowned and the man before him took that as a sign to continue.

“She obviously thought you wouldn’t protect her father. She didn’t flinch when I told her that we knew she was seeing you. The first time I heard about her fears being with you and your family was from Donavan.”

“What fears?” Maddox asked before he could catch himself. The smug look on Gavin’s face started to piss him off.

“Obviously from the state we found her in today she is being terrorized by your family. Strange that she acted like a completely different person in your presence than she did when I met her. Kera is a strong and courageous woman. She faced down automatic rifles with me, diffused armed gunmen and didn’t show any fear until she came back and started to train with Donavan.” Gavin shook his head in anger that was spilling off of him. “He said that Kera felt unworthy to be in your god-dammed presence. You must keep her so tight to your belt that she doesn’t know what’s up or down. The way she lit up like the fourth of July when you offered her your fucking hand was sickening.”

Every muscle across his back and chest was so tense he was afraid of bodily harm if he moved. Gavin portrayed him as a tyrant. He didn’t know what their relationship was like. Maddox ground his teeth to keep his wolf from taking over. He knew his eyes had changed slightly but he would be dammed if this
boy
made him lose control. Kera was his. Their relationship hadn’t been easy from the start, but what the hell did this sniveling army brat know about shifters.

“You don’t deserve her.” Gavin ground out in a low, threatening voice.

Maddox felt his emotions take over. He gripped Gavin’s neck in his palm and dug his fingers into the muscles.

“Murderer.” He croaked.

Maddox released him and felt his face shift partially. “You jealous fuck, have no idea what Kera means to me.” He hissed out a breath and pointed a clawed finger at Gavin. “I know who and what she is. I defended her in a primal way, but I wouldn’t expect
you
to understand why touching a female without their permission is punishable by death. If you don’t get thoughts about my mate out of your head then I will personally show you how we protect what is ours.”

“She’s not a possession.”

Maddox was shaking to the bone, his anger barely controlled. “No, she isn’t,” he murmured darkly. “But she is mine.” Gavin took his hand off his throat and exposed the angry imprint of Maddox’s hand. His scowl wasn’t promising he would give up. He wasn’t as afraid as Maddox would have liked. This human was going to be one to watch.

“I don’t care how much stronger than me you are. Next time she comes to me for help I will be there for her. Eventually she will realize that just because you both are different, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have options.
With me she wouldn’t feel unworthy of anything.” Gavin spun on his heels military stile and left Maddox standing by the door angry enough to hit something.

Maddox clenched his fists and took a deep breath before he opened the door. Kera’s scent washed over him, and he knew there was only one thing he had to do. He entered the room and shut the door behind him. He washed Gavin’s scent off of his hands before he curled up behind her again. When he took her into his arms, she sighed and tucked her body into his.

“Kera,” Maddox murmured into her ear, “Can you wake up for me baby?”

Her body suddenly tensed as she woke.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“You’re angry.” She whispered tentatively.

Maddox kissed the side of her face softly. “I want to talk to you.” His emotions tumbled though his system causing a physical reaction. He told himself to relax but nothing worked. His instinct warned him that maybe Gavin was right. Kera hadn’t always been honest with him. She hadn’t yet learned she could rely on him. Perhaps the mating bond hadn’t formed because they weren’t ready.

Kera turned over slowly and faced him. Her eyes darted to his but the fear in them made her retreat. It wasn’t because he was an Alpha. Her instincts had never been strong enough to react like an animal. Maddox and his family lived a different life. Daniel had tried to explain to Kera the hierarchy in the pack but Maddox knew she didn’t understand. Instead of realizing that certain responsibility
’s lay with different pack members, she had gone on her own to take care of it herself.

“
Do you remember when I told you about what I did on the anniversary of my accident?” He asked her tightly.

Kera frowned. “You de
stroyed your mustang so you could rebuild it again.”

“Yes,” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, “And I feel like I might be doing the same thing with you.”

Kera’s lips parted in understanding. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath before she spoke. “I want to be who you need me to be.”

“No.” Maddox growled. “You need to be you.” He told her fiercely.

She flinched but he refused to release the hold he had on the back of her neck.

“I pushed you away.” He whispered. “I asked you to talk about what you weren’t ready to talk about. I forced you to find what you needed somewhere else because you couldn’t rely on me. When you left I was so angry, but I was also scared. I realized something when you disappeared. You could be taken away from me and you could leave me. I chased after you when I should have let you just come home on your own.
”

When she tried to respond, he got to the point he was trying to make.

“I tore apart my car because it was a symbol of something I didn’t have control over. I left my family because I didn’t have authority to change the things I didn’t agree with. If anyone is to blame for what is happening right now, it’s me. You should hate everything about me. I accused you of conspiring against my family when I didn’t show any alliance with them. I took you to my father to be interrogated when you were honest about your ability. I told you about what your mother did, when I’m not even sure what happened other than speculation. I doubted you every step of the way.”

“You had to protect your family.” Kera retorted sweetly.

Maddox growled again, hating himself. “I wasn’t there for you when Andrew forced you to kiss him. I actually controlled you to get the truth and you forgave me.” He tilted her head so she had to look him in the eyes when he asked, “Who is supposed to protect you, Kera?”

Her eyes watered but she didn’t let the tears slip. “I want to be able to take care of myself.”

“I know.” He shut his eyes as waives of defeat washed over him. “I wish I could be enough for you.”

She was quiet for a few moments. Her hand moved from her side to his, and she ran her fingers
over the naked skin from his side, across his lower back and up to the point on his spine between his shoulder blades.

He filled his lungs with her scent as he relaxed into her touch. He shifted his head against the pillow to rest his forehead on hers. “
I want to share everything with you Kera.” He whispered. “So I have to tell you that Gavin came by a moment ago.”

The sweet hand on his back turned into a clinched fist.

Maddox scrambled to speak before she did. “Love, let me explain.” He begged in the softest voice. “I trust you completely. I know earlier it sounded like you may have grown close to him but I don’t believe that. You have every right to choose who you want to be with, but you haven’t given me any reason to doubt what you say to me. I love you with every ounce of my body and every thought in my mind.”

“Maddox, I
lo…”

He interrupted her, “When I tell you I love you, I want to see you accept it, not reciprocate.” He murmured before he kissed her.

Her breath quickened and the scent of her arousal caused him to turn his sweet kiss into a lip-bruising-frenzy. Kera met his ferocity with that of her own. Her tongue seemed to battle with him in a way that set his blood on fire but also warned him that she had her own demands to make. More than curious to find out what was on her mind; he broke the kiss and pushed himself up on his elbow to stare down at her.