Mila’s Passed Out

Julian

“I’m leaving.” Steven growls as he storms past me.

He’s been pacing around my apartment since dropping Mila and Isabella off.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I ask him.

He snaps his head in my direction and bares his teeth at me. I raise a brow at him and allow his outburst because I think I know what the issue is.

“That girl is under you skin.” It isn’t a question.

“She’s a brat.” He says as he paces again. “A brat that I want to bend over and punish.”

I snort. “I doubt she’ll allow that without a fight.” It’s the impression I got, anyway.

She isn’t as calm and collected as Mila always seems to be, except once in a while when I really piss her off she shows her little attitude. It’s cute more than anything else.

“She won’t have a say in the matter!” He yells. “That’s it.”

He storms toward the door and nearly breaks the thing off its hinges when he pulls it open.

“Hey asshole! Don’t ruin my house!” I yell after him, but he slams the door shut hard enough to make a mirror next to it falls and crashes onto the ground. “Dick head.”

It’s obvious that he’s feeling a pull to the girl. He’s never taken the mate part of our nature seriously since he’s never been with a woman that made him feel anything. Like me, we sought women for a release and nothing more. It isn’t exactly safe for us to get involved long term, given our work. Several times my father has sent us on an assignment and we barely made it back. It was my father’s way of getting us ready for more intense situations, but it doesn’t mean they were safe.

This is the first time Steven has ever been worked up over a woman. Although it's possible for our people to have destined mates, it’s mostly reserved for Alphas and more dominant wolves. It’s a survival thing that persevered through the generations. A strong Alpha means a strong pack. An Alpha’s mate strengthens the pack, and him, which means the whole pack benefits, and they also produce very strong children.

I can say for sure that Steven and Isabella aren’t detained mates given how calm he is around her. There is a strong enough pull, though, that it’s making him restless not to be near her, which explains why he stormed out. His self control is not as honed as mine. Speaking of mates…

I take my phone out and check Mila’s location. Yes, I set up a tracker for her when I bought her new phone. She’s with Roman and I front trust that fucker farther than I can throw him. There has to be a reason he’s trying so hard with her. At first I thought it was to get back at me because he could sense I was interested in her, but it has to be more. He might think he can get information out of her, but she doesn’t know shit about our pack or business.

There is a chance he senses how powerful she is and intends to take her as his mate. That thought makes me twitch with an urge to follow Steven’s example and storm off to find her. Instead, I’m sitting in my too big house watching a dot on my phone. I’m sure there’s a shit ton of other things I could be doing, but I can’t move. Leaving now would most likely end up with me following Mila and fighting the urge to grab her and snatch her away.

I end up sitting in that position for two hours. The address is familiar, and I asked a few of my guys to go over and monitor things. It’s been quiet on their end, so everything must be fine. I fucking hate that. All I want is a reason to storm into that pretentious restaurant and kick Roman’s ass. The map disappears when a call comes in from one of my guys.

“Talk.” I say as soon as I answer the call.

“They’re on the move. She looks unseated on her feet.” He says, and I’m on my feet in an instant.

“Follow them.” I tell him and end the call.

I don’t wait for them to tell me where she’s headed. It turns out I’m going to follow Steven’s plans as well. I’m going to go check on my girl. The restaurant is on the other side of town, so going by car isn’t an option. I’ll have to shift and run.

‘Good idea.’ My wolf says.

His voice is laced with menace, but I ignore it for now. If he decides Roman dies tonight, I won’t be able to stop him and I would be well in my rights to do so. Another male is not supposed to touch another true mate. I’ve allowed it, but my wolf doesn’t think like that. He sees Roman as a threat to what is his, and that can lead to a need to show dominance.

My phone goes off as I strip my clothes off. I can’t take my clothes with me when I shift, so I have to take everything off before I continue.

“What?” I snap.

“You need to get here fast, boss. She’s passed out, and he’s carrying her inside a hotel.” He says.

“Fuck! Do not let them out of your sight! I’m on my way. Kill him if you have to.” I add that last bit because if it’s an order from an Alpha, they won’t be held responsible for the kill.

I make quick work of my clothes and leave out of the exit I had made for me to go in and out in my wolf form. As soon as I take a step outside, I shift and take off.

‘I will kill him.’ My wolf says with a growl.

‘I might let you.’ I say back.

‘You do not give med permission. I will not give over the shift to you if you try to stop me from getting vengeance for the mistreatment of our mate.’ He warns.

I don’t fight him on this. I’ve pushed his instincts away and now he’s so riled up, it would be impossible for me to force him to shift now.

‘She does not know what we are. We will have to move forward slowly. Maybe keep the fact that she is our mate quiet for now. Exposing what she is to us will only put a target on her back until we can bond with her. That will take time.’ I explain to my animal.

Because he is an animal who runs on instinct. He might be intelligent, but he does not reason like a human would, which can make him very dangerous in a world where people don’t know that our kind exists. Humans did not react well when so many people developed abilities all those years ago. So many people died or were killed because of that human fear, so we have to be very careful. Mila’s ability must be be kept secret as well, or other packs will come for her. I need to tell her everything.

‘I smell her.’ My wolf says.

I stumble out of my thoughts and look round to see we have already arrived at the hotel. My wolf is big and we are naturally fast, so it’s no surprise how fast we got here, but this was fast, even for him.

‘Go around back so we can shift.’ I tell him. ‘The guys will have clothes for me there.’

He huffs but does as I say. We move to the meeting point and find three of my guys waiting for us.

“Alpha.” They say in unison and bow their heads to me.

I shift instantly, and one man steps closer to hand a pile of clothes to me. “Where are they?” I ask them.

“Third floor, room 1037. Alec is waiting there for instructions and is listening for any signs of trouble.” One explains.

I nod and walk around the building to the front doors. When I step inside, I walk toward the elevator without stopping to check in or pay for a room. I glance and tilt of the head toward the manager is all the permission I need. Roman doesn’t know it, but I know the owner of this hotel. My three men and I take the elevator up to the third floor and step off just as Alec kicks the door in of the room halfway- down the hall.

“Shit.” I hiss and take off, running in his direction.

There are some crashing sounds and growls. When I reach the room Alec has Roman pinned to the ground with one of his fingers half shifted and his claw resting on the pulse of his neck.

“What the fuck?” Roman shouts.

I ignore him and search the room for Mila. When I move further into the sitting room, I catch sight of an arm hanging off a bed in one room. I rush in and listen for the sound of her heart. It’s faint but there.

“Shit, baby.” I whisper before I carefully turn her over onto her back and lift her into my arms.

Roman won’t ever come near her again.