Chapter 940 Chapter 940
Webb had to force the air in and out of his body. Devin and Calum were walking toward him. Rayne and Shaelan were right behind them. The cafeteria doors opened, and several of the team members filed out. He didn’t know if he wanted to do this in front of everyone or if he should go back into the room and do it behind a closed door.
Rhogue squeezed his hand. He looked down at her and could see the resolve in her eyes. Whatever was about to happen to him, she was with him.
Everyone stopped walking except Rayne. She came over and looked at him and then at Marie. She stopped close to them and leaned in.
“I would have done the same thing.” She whispered.
Webb looked down at her but didn’t know how to react to that. He bowed his head because what else was he supposed to do.
Devin nodded to Calum and then came over. “What you did is breaking the Shifter Alliance law.” He looked at Rayne. “Without the title to my name, I would have done the same, but…”
“I killed my brother,” Blair said loudly from beside the cafeteria doors. “A few shifters, too, that took Daisey.” He shrugged.
“We killed a shifter that got on the property and poisoned Jake,” Noah said in a voice that Webb had never heard him use before.
Amari snorted. “I don’t care if you shift or not, you cross me, you pay the price.” She looked at her mate. “I’m pretty sure Tripp can’t say he hasn’t killed one of ours.”
“Deacon as well,” Gia said loudly.
Devin held up his hand. “I know. I hear all of you, but the laws…”
“Say you can do anything to protect your mate.” Wynter looked at Amari and nodded. “And that’s what Webb did. He took out the one that hurt his mate and was coming back to finish the job.”
Devin looked at Rayne and then at Webb. “Rhogue is your mate?”
She squeezed his hand. “Yes.” He looked down at her. “She is.”
Devin turned around and looked at the others, lifting his hands away from his body. “None of you could have led with that when it happened?” He dropped his hands and turned back to Webb. “Go put some clothes on.”
“Actually, go shift and heal and then put some clothes on,” Rayne said softly.
Devin sighed, turned, and headed toward the cafeteria. “A heads-up would have been good, " he said to no one in particular. Now I have to call my father and Raymond back and tell them what really happened.” He went into the cafeteria.
Webb looked over at Amari, who winked at him and then went over to Tripp.
“What does this mean?”
He looked at Rhogue. “It means I’m in the clear.” He heaved a deep breath. “I forgot about that law.”
“There's a law that says you can do anything to protect your mate?”
“Close enough. It's against the law for another to touch your mate.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his chest. When she wrapped hers around him, she hit the cuts on his back. He stiffened and hissed out a breath.
She leaned back and moved her hands to his waist. “Go heal those.”
“You want to come?”
She gave him a confused look. “I don’t shift, remember?”
He shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t injured. “Doesn't mean you can’t come.” He grinned. “My bear doesn’t run like the feline shifters or anything, you could walk along and not have trouble keeping up.”
She looked down at her feet. “Let me go change back into my boots. They were too muddy to wear inside when we got back.”
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be out by the back gate, " she said, smiling at him. Then he walked away.
Blair came over to him. “You could have told everyone.”
Webb shook his head. “I forgot about that one.”
Blair laughed. “Try to remember things that will save your hide from now on.” He rubbed his hand over his chest. “I just confessed all my sins to everyone.”
Webb grinned. “Everyone who has anything to do with the alliance already knew you took out your brother and the others.”
Blair grinned. “Kinda famous, aren’t I?”
Webb laughed and started walking. “Guess I’m now on that list now too.” He didn’t feel like it was a prize-worthy thing that he’d done, but he got to keep his job and Rhogue, so that was something that deserved a bit of boasting.
“Damn jag wrestler,” Blair mumbled. “I can’t top that. I can wrangle a bunch of rabbits pretty good, though.”
Webb kept walking, but was never going to get the image of a white tiger chasing bunnies out of his head now. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his back. He’d still killed another shifter, and that would always haunt him, but he wasn’t facing judgment for it. Honestly, he didn’t know what he would have done if he’d been sent to a facility for it. He wouldn’t have let Rhogue sentence herself to the same, that he did know.
He walked by the interview room, and Grifter jumped up and tapped his hand on the glass. Stopping, Webb looked at the door. It didn’t lock. He knew that. He looked around, and no one was guarding the door, yet he was staying in the room they’d put him in. Opening it, he went in.
“I heard what you did.” He looked at Webb’s shoulder. “He deserved it a hundred times over. Why aren’t you locked up? I thought the Alliance had a rule about killing shifters.”
“I was protecting my mate.” It felt good to admit it out loud.
“Marie Rhogue is your mate?” Grifter grinned slowly. “Congrats on that.” He nodded. “That’s a hell of a thing.” He looked out the window into the hall for a second. “So it’s true? They got Pike and Clayton, and no one was hurt.”
Webb nodded. “They did. They’re good at their jobs.”
Grifter nodded. “Makes me feel all the regrets, you know—if I’d gone with Deacon, maybe I would be a part of the Alliance too.”
Webb looked in the hallway. “It’s not too late.” He shrugged and then remembered his injury. “You’re not in a cage now, so if you play your cards right, you might end up with the opportunity.”
Grifter nodded slowly. “Deacon said basically the same thing.” He sighed. “I can jump through hoops.” He grinned at him. “But seriously, congrats again and may Kiloh burn in hell for all eternity.” He moved around to the other side of the table and sat down. “Do you think I could get a book or something? I have a feeling I’m going to be waiting a while.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I need to go shift and heal these first.”
“Yeah, sure. Do what you have to do. I’ll be here.” He grinned again. “If you know any females from Arctic Fox clans, I wouldn’t say no to an intro.”
Webb smiled and went back into the hall. Closing the door, he looked at it for a second. He hoped it worked out for him. He seemed like an okay guy.
As soon as he stepped outside, he inhaled the fresh air. Maybe it was just him, but everything seemed clearer now that they weren’t under the threat of someone hunting them.
He went to the back gate and looked around. Should he wait for her and shift then, or would it be better to deal with the burns from his injuries healing without her watching?
His bear moved closer to the surface, reminding him that he’d denied him earlier when they were dealing with Kiloh. “Just be good.” He said out loud.
Kicking off his boots, he took off his jeans and hung them on the fence. He bent his knees, almost squatting. It was an odd position, he knew that, but they had a little thing his bear like to do after shifting. He liked to drop down onto the ground and feel the earth give way to his heavier animal. He’d been right about the burn. It wasn’t pleasant to feel the flesh changing from skin to hide.
When his bear was out, they shook off the feeling and then looked back at the gate. Rhogue stood there with a look of awe on her face.
“I’ve never actually watched someone shift before. Not completely.” She came through the gate. “That was pretty amazing.”
His bear prodded him to move. He went over to her and nuzzled her arm with his nose.
She smiled and touched his face gently. “Your fur doesn’t feel like I thought it would. Can I hug you?” She placed her other hand on the opposite side of his face. “I’m going to hug you.”
Webb couldn’t remember anyone in two-legged form ever touching him before, except his mother giving him a pat when he’d come at her playing when he first learned how to shift. But that wouldn’t compare to his mate hugging him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her face against his.
“I know fate makes the choices for us.” She said quietly. “But I’m so glad that it’s you, Webb. I feel lucky that the mate I’ve been given is such a good man.”
He realized once more that there was much he didn’t know about her life. He knew it wasn’t easy. How could it be when she had to move around so much, always looking over her shoulder?
He grunted softly and then lifted his head and looked at her. He planned to spend the rest of his life making sure she had anything she wanted or needed. He looked back at the factory. Once things were settled down, he could get her a house of her own somewhere. A quiet spot with lots of land where they could someday have a family. His bear shook his head and looked at the trees. HE was right. That was about a thousand steps into the future.
Turning, he started walking, checking the air for anyone else being out here.
She walked right beside him, her hand resting on his back. Tonight, when things were quieter inside, they’d have to sit down and talk about what was next. Did she want to stay at the house with Cassius and just come and see him for the time being? His bear let his thoughts be known. He didn’t like the idea of her not being closer.
“There are so many smells at this time of year. You would think it would be hard to pick out the smell of flowers trying to resurface from the smell of old ones rotting into the earth, but it’s not.”
He turned and looked at her. Inhaling slowly, his bear calmed. She didn’t realize it, but her bear wasn’t completely lost to her. If she were, Rhogue wouldn’t be able to separate the scents during the period when everything was thawing out.
“I can smell cold air.” She laughed softly. “I know that might sound ridiculous. How can someone smell cold?” She stopped and looked up at the sky. “I think the snow isn’t done with us yet.” She looked at him and started walking about. “I actually missed it, well, not the snow, but the clarity of the cooler air when we were down south.” She scoffed. “Trying to figure out the different smells is very difficult when it’s hot and sticky out.”
Webb paused and watched a squirrel dart between two trees and then run up one.
“Please don’t eat anything while I’m here. I’m not ready for that yet.”
Webb was surprised to realize that his bear was perfectly content to walk along and listen to her. He was going to enjoy having company and just being with someone.