Angel looked him over from head to foot. He wasn’t human. She couldn’t be that wrong, and his voice didn’t sound it either. Only non-humans spoke that deep and gruff. It was still sunny outside. He also had tan skin. That left out Vampire, unless…
Her heart raced as the other alternative came to her.
“I’ve never met a VampLycan. I belong to a pack. I was raised with Lycans. We’re cool. Can you take him somewhere safe at least? Nobody can see him. We both know that.”
“You’re not pack.”
“I was adopted. I am pack. I know you’re reading me as human. Guilty. But I’m still pack. You don’t need to wipe my memories. I have a plane to catch. May I go now?”
“You’re not getting on that plane.”
Dread pitted in her stomach. VampLycans were law-keepers. Maybe they thought she had committed a crime. “I was sitting inside and he came right at me. He was about to shift so I hauled ass outside to make sure it didn’t happen in front of all those passengers. I tried to talk some sense into him but he wouldn’t listen. I had no choice but to knock him out. I swear!”
“We saw.”
It took her a second to recover. “You did?”
He gave a sharp nod.
That pissed her off. “You didn’t think to maybe help me? He wasn’t messing around.”
“I was curious how you’d handle yourself.”
She really didn’t like the guy. “And if I hadn’t been able to? Would you have allowed him to hurt me?”
“No.”
It didn’t make her any less mad. “Gee, thanks. That’s such a relief.” She lowered her arms and retrieved her backpacks. “I’m out of here.”
She turned away from him and walked toward the door. The second enforcer stepped into her path and shook his head.
She stopped. “Please move.”
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and spread his legs, making it clear she wasn’t getting around him.
She wasn’t sure what to do. There was no way she’d be able to fight her way out. She spun back to the first one. He had walked over to the downed Lycan and snapped on handcuffs. He lifted the man and threw him over his shoulder as easily as if he were a sack of laundry.
“You said you saw what happened. I didn’t start this. I just did the smart thing by getting him away from the humans. I didn’t break any laws. I also explained why I’m a human who knows about this stuff. You have no reason to detain me. I don’t want to press charges. It’s obvious the guy’s in heat and lost his mind. It happens. It was stupid for him to leave his territory at this time but I’m sure the headache he’s going to have when he wakes up will be punishment enough. No harm was done.”
What she didn’t say was she wouldn’t want to stick around even if he had hurt her. It was time to leave, and she didn’t want to miss her flight.
“You will come with us.” He carried the Lycan closer and jerked his head toward the other enforcer. “Go with him. We have an SUV around the corner.”
She didn’t budge. “Under pack regulations, you have no right to arrest me. Don’t make me call my alpha. I will.”
“You’re not pack and you don’t have an alpha.”
She really was beginning to hate this guy. He probably thought just because she was born human, it made her inferior enough to not have the right to be in a pack. “Listen. I am pack and my alpha will tell you that. I’m going to get my cell phone out and you can speak to him. Not everyone is a thick-skulled, prejudiced asshole like you.”
“I like her,” the second enforcer muttered. “You can be a bit of an asshole, Chaz.”
She turned her head, wishing she could see his eyes. The sunglasses they wore were too dark though. “Thank you.”
“He’s not in charge,” Chaz stated. “I am.”
She looked back at him.
“I’m not saying you aren’t pack because you’re human.” He stepped closer. “We’re also not VampLycans. We’re GarLycans. Creed mated you—and that makes you one of ours. Now turn your ass around and follow my brother Fray to the SUV. You’re in enough deep shit as it is, Angel.”
“I’m so fucked,” she muttered.
Fray grunted. “I wouldn’t mention anything with the word ‘fuck’ in it right now. Chaz and I aren’t mated. Didn’t you think it was strange that this Lycan would come after you and go almost feral? You smell like a bitch in heat, amplified by about ten. You fried the poor bastard’s brain. Be happy we’re able to control our urges more so than Lycans. But my dick is hard, and I’m betting Chaz’s is too. It’s why we just watched you fight instead of grabbing you to get you out of the way. You don’t want either of us getting too close to you right now. Understand?”
His words left her speechless.
“It’s a GarLycan new-mate thing,” Chaz added. “Creed didn’t know. Just walk, and try not to bump up against either of us. We’re taking you to your mate. He’s hopefully going to meet us soon. I don’t know how long I can take being around you.”
“You don’t do humans,” Fray stated.
“I might if I find one like her. You have to admit, even holding our breaths, her fighting skills made her hot.”
“So fucking hot.” The one named Fray grinned. “It’s a shame you’re already mated, Angel. I’d toss you over my shoulder otherwise and we’d both find heaven together.”
“Let’s go,” Chaz sighed. “Stop flirting, Fray. Move, Angel. Don’t run.”
Angel had to admit she was tempted to make a run for it, but they’d said they were taking her to Creed. Clearly his people were already aware of what they’d done. She nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
There was a black SUV parked on the other side of the small terminal. Chaz opened the back and dumped the Lycan inside. She noticed both men kept at least four feet from her. He pointed to the front.
“Take the passenger seat. Fray can drive. I’m going to sit in the back in case this guy wakes up and tries to get at you again. We’ll drop him off a few miles out in the woods and I’ll take off the cuffs. He’ll be able to walk back when he’s fit for that.”
She placed her backpacks on the floorboards at her feet and put on her belt. She noticed Fray didn’t bother as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He started the engine, kicked up the air conditioning, and pushed buttons to make all the windows go down.
“It’s going to get cold for you in here but it will stop you from sweating as much. Sorry.”
Fray seemed nicer than his brother, so she questioned him. “Is Creed okay?”
“I’d be worried about your own ass.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “It was all my fault. I want to officially state that. Creed shouldn’t be punished. I pushed him into mating me.”
He turned his head as he pulled away from the side of the building. “Are you sure you want to say that?”
“Yes.”
“You forced Creed into it, huh?”
“I did.”
He watched the road. “Last time I saw Creed, he was a bit bigger than you.”
“I was raised as a Lycan. I’m way tougher than I look.”
He grinned. “Did he try to chain you down, and you fought him off until he snapped?”
She sealed her lips.
“Damn. I was kidding.” Fray’s voice deepened. “Did he force you?”
“No!”
He turned his head and seemed to study her before he had to watch the road again. “You volunteered for his ravage?”
“Yes.”
“Did you change your mind at the last minute or something when you realized he had to chain you? Then put up a fight?”
She shook her head, staring out the window. “That’s not what happened. It’s complicated but it’s my fault.”
“I’ll call Kelzeb and tell him we have her.” Chaz sighed loudly from the back.
“Can you call Creed?” She twisted in the seat to look at Chaz.
“He’s with Kelzeb. He’ll know.”
“Can I talk to him?”
“No.”
“But—”
“No,” Chaz repeated. “It’s bad enough we were pulled off our assignment to go pick up a wayward mate before she got herself killed…or someone else. Just sit back and shut up.”
“You really are an asshole,” she muttered.
“He is,” Fray agreed. “Pity me. I’ve had to deal with him since conception.” He glanced back. “I should have punched you in the womb to make my exit first. Then you’d have been born second.”
“Shut up,” Chaz snorted.
She closed her eyes and relaxed in the seat while she could. She’d see Creed soon and they’d be taken to his Lord Aveoth. It seemed like things were going to get a lot worse.
* * * * *
Creed couldn’t relax. All he could think about was how Angel had been attacked by a Lycan, and now two GarLycans were enclosed inside a vehicle with her while she was putting out the calling.
What if they can’t resist and start fighting over her? What if…
Kelzeb cleared his throat. “They aren’t going to do anything to her. They’re twin brothers and they are very close to each other. One isn’t going to take out the other. She’s safe.”
It didn’t help. “How much longer?”
“Soon. Don’t annoy me. You’ve asked that four times already.”
Creed wiped his palms on his jean-clad thighs. He shouldn’t have listened to Angel and her plans. She could be irrational. He knew that. She had a free spirit and took that into her thought process.
“Don’t shut down, either.”
“I’m just thinking,” Creed admitted.
“Damn, I hope I don’t find my mate for centuries more. It turns intelligent men into lunatics.”
“I really didn’t know she’d suffer the calling.”
“Remind me to get you a copy of that video I made of our dads getting their asses verbally handed to them by Aveoth when you have your mate safely at your side, and before you see your father. You might really kill him otherwise.”
“He hates humans.”
“You rescued one. Was he aware that you had feelings for her?”
Creed shook his head. “I told my mother everything. She worried I had become antisocial after my assignments. I admitted that I spent time with Angel. It was before she said that she wanted to be my mate though.”
“What did your mother say about a human wanting to spend her life with you?”
“I never had the chance to ask. My mother died a week after Angel brought up becoming my mate. It was a conversation I planned to have with my mother face to face instead of over the phone.”
“Your father probably worried you’d consider a human for a mate after you saved one. It implied you didn’t hate them or believe they were beneath your notice. You know how full-bloods are about that. He wouldn’t have wanted you to form an attachment of some sort to the girl. And she was part of the pack you protect; even I could guess she might be the one to volunteer to help you during your time of need. They don’t call it the ravage for nothing. Look at what full-blood bastards did in the past.”
“I never heard why it was called that.”
Kelzeb hesitated. “Our forefathers were vicious. We’ve always had the issue of birthing more boys than girls. The desire to breed would come upon them and they’d hunt for a woman. They preferred Gargoyle ones but you know their birthrate is low. So they’d kidnap humans and take them to their lairs. No one volunteered for that. It was pretty violent. Those women would be chained and taken against their will. You’re young, so you don’t know how humans used to be. They would go insane after being exposed to one of us. Imagine being forced to drink something that made you actually want to have sex with your kidnapper who looked like a demon. Their lives were destroyed regardless of the outcome.”
“Outcome?”
“The ones who got pregnant where kept chained and locked inside the Gargoyle’s lair until they birthed for him. He couldn’t risk her throwing herself off the ledge before she delivered the child. It happened sometimes. The ones who were released afterward were usually murdered when they told their people what happened to them. Their families and neighbors believed they were exposed to evil, and it was safest to kill the women to keep the devil from coming back.
“It was named the ravage because any woman was destroyed if she was chosen to be a breeding vessel. Take your pick on what was worse. Being forced to birth a child for who they thought was the devil, or being killed by their own families and friends after being freed.”
“I’m glad we ask for volunteers now. I could never do that to a woman.”
“No shit. I’ve gone through the ravage, and it’s hell, but I would chain myself to a wall before I forced a woman into my bed. I would never be able to forgive myself.”
“Nor would I,” Creed agreed. “I’ve only experienced it twice but I’d have chained myself too if the women hadn’t been willing.”
“What was your first one like?”
He hesitated. “Cold.”
“How in the hell can you say that?”
“My father arranged it. It was with Winalin. He had an understanding with her brother. They wanted us to breed. I’d planned to unchain her and tell her to run away. I didn’t want to have a youngling that my father would take possession of. Winalin and I spoke once they put us together in guest quarters, and she wasn’t happy with the arrangement either. Unfortunately, they had locked us in and we were stuck together.”
Kelzeb shot him a horrified look but said nothing.
“We both felt resentment, being ordered to be together by our family members. The sex was pleasurable but it was nothing like with Angel. There is no comparison.”
“Because you have feelings for Angel.”
“It’s more than that. She’s very passionate.”
“Wasn’t Winalin?”
“No. She refused to drink my hormones for fear of being unable to prevent ovulation in her body. Neither of us wanted her pregnant. I mostly feared harming her, since she wasn’t as turned on as I was.”
“That does sound cold. We’ve reached the meeting point; they’re waiting.”
Creed sat up straighter, staring at the SUV parked on the side of the road. The Jeep had barely come to a stop when he’d shoved open the door and rushed forward. The scent of Angel almost took him to his knees. She opened the passenger door and he grabbed her around her middle, lifting her right off her feet.
He studied her face, throat, and arms with a quick glance. “Were you hurt?”
She gripped his shoulders. “I’m fine.”
“I heard you were attacked by a Lycan.”
“I’m okay.”
He pulled her closer, hugging her. His dick had become rock hard. His Angel smelled like pure sex. It made him want to rip off her clothes and take her right against the black vehicle. He was only able to resist because three GarLycans were in close proximity to his mate. His protective instincts were keeping his lust in check. Barely.
The two doors on the other side of the SUV opened and the twin enforcers climbed out.
Creed backed up with Angel in his arms. His body fluxed a little when his skin tightened, trying to shell to make him tougher to kill. Both men were reading as a danger to his mate, despite the fact that they’d brought her to him. It was difficult to reason with his mind with Angel in his arms.
“Creed.” Kelzeb used a soft tone. “Don’t. She’s in no danger. We are expected by Lord Aveoth. No one is going to touch her. Control your body now. Anyone could drive by and see you. That’s an order.”
He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Angel was with him and safe. He got a leash on his lust and instincts. It wasn’t easy, but he’d had sixty years to learn discipline. His skin stopped tingling and he lowered Angel to her feet. He opened his eyes and met Kelzeb’s stare. “I’m fine now.”
The other man sighed. “Good. Keep it that way. You and your mate ride with me.” He glanced at Fray and Chaz. “You two follow. We’re going home. The talks with the packs have been rescheduled.”
“Fantastic,” Chaz muttered. “I fucking hate them anyway.”
Fray chuckled. “Only because the women avoid us two and flirt with the others. We scare them with our eyes.”
“I don’t want a mate,” Chaz growled.
“Sure you don’t.” His twin snorted.