“Or how can I be your mate when I couldn’t protect you?”
“That’s not true. You had no idea.”
“Yes, and Nancy has been nothing but nice to you until now, so how could you have known? How could we have known?”
“She was obsessed with you. She wanted you to marry her. She heard us having sex in Daphne’s office.”
“Oh shit. Yes, she forgot something and came back. She was angry and then saw the chief.” Fuck, what makes me so damn appealing to the opposite sex? It’s insane.
“I’m so sorry, my love.” I say as I slip on my jeans. Maria watches with admiration. “We’ll make up for lost hours tonight. I’m still going to have to call my parents about this.”
We get in my truck, and I call Mark. “She’s getting stitched up. She’s good. It was a through and through. The doc gave her a meds script that I’ll put in for you.”
“We’re on our way now.”
“Okay. See you soon. We won’t leave until you get here.”
“I have to call my parents.”
My dad picks up on the first ring. “Please tell me everything’s okay.”
“It will be soon. We have a serious problem.” I explain what happened, and he says, “Save that bastard for me. He could have killed both my babies.”
“He wouldn’t have gotten the drop on me. I was careless with my mate.”
“No. You did the right thing, and if your mate had died, you would have died. You know that as much as I do.”
“True. I don’t want to even consider that.”
“I know. I’m sure you don’t.”
“What happened with Max?”
“Nothing. The bastards put him in jail for supposedly committing a homicide, but after records showed he’d just arrived in town, he was cleared. It made no sense, and I know it all has to do with that asshole chief. He wanted me out of town so you’d have less reinforcements.”
“I know. I’m glad, though, that you’re all safe.”
“We’re almost at the hospital to pick up Aria.”
“I need to talk to my daughter.”
“Call Mark. He’s waiting there with her.”
“Okay.” We end the call, and I squeeze Maria’s hand and bring it to my lips.
“Your wolf is beautiful, Maria. Just so you know. It’s fucking sexy as hell.”
“Sexy?”
“Yes. You pounced before she could figure out what was happening, and then you shifted back into your sexy human form like it’s natural to you, proving that you were meant for me.”
“Stop saying things like that. We have to get your sister, and now I’m horny.”
“I know. I can feel your pussy fluttering without even having to have my fingers sliding through your plump little lips.” Before she could say something with venom, we pull into the hospital parking lot.
We’re in the foyer when Aria pushes herself up out of the wheelchair. “I told them I don’t need it.”
I looked at the doctor who we all know because he’s one of our own. “Thank you,” I say.
“Just doing my job, Alpha,” he whispers that last bit. “Excuse me, but I have another patient coming in. Apparently there was someone shooting off guns like an idiot in the woods. Drunk teens not realizing what goes up must come down.” He shakes his head and walks away.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes. We never got to finish our ice cream, and I’m super hungry all of a sudden.” Ten minutes later, she’s asleep in the back seat.
“She’s exhausted. It’s been a day from hell, hasn’t it?”
“That’s for sure. I’m tired too.”
“I bet. It takes a while to get used to shifting. When we’re pups and first start shifting, we sleep a lot more.”
“I’ll take you both up to bed, and then we can get this all squared away.” Maria walks alongside me while I carry my sister into the house. As soon as I have my sister in her temporary room here, I scoop up my tired mate and take her to our room. Once I tuck her in, I give her a deep kiss. “I have a few things to deal with, but I’m not leaving this time. I’ll be downstairs and up to bed as soon as everything is settled.”
As soon as I’m downstairs, Mark, Merrick, and Elliot are on my steps. “So what’s going on, guys?”
“It’s too late. His house blew up. I don’t know if he accidentally set off the explosion, but we won’t know anything until the fire department is done.”
“I’m about to go there now and investigate,” Elliot says. He’s the chief of the fire department and the fire investigator.
“Good. Let us know what you find. I need to know if he’s dead or not.”
“Of course.” He nods and walks out of the house to his fire chief SUV.
“So what happened to the dumb bitch?”
“She’s food for the mountain lions.”
“Good. Should we put her vehicle on the road near the mountain pass without any gas?”