Chapter 88 by Cara Anderson

Ch. 88 Foreboding

Clay’s POV

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I snapped at the woman on the phone.

The Wolf Shifter Council’s secretary didn’t deserve my rudeness. She was just a messenger. But when it came to the safety of my mate, no one was exempt from my incivility.

“This is ludicrous! After what he did to my mate, he shouldn’t be allowed inside a courtroom. He should never see the outside of a cell again!” I snarled. “And you’re only giving us a week to find witnesses. You’re practically handing him his freedom on a silver platter!”

“My apologies, Alpha. The council has deemed him deserving of a trial and I was tasked with informing you of the date. If you’d like to file a complaint, there is a process for that. In the meantime, if you do not show up to the council hearing as scheduled, we’ll be forced to dismiss the case.” She rattled on, giving me the company line.

“Sure. What the fuck ever!” I cursed, hanging up on her as I entered the bedroom.

I’d been roaming the apartment during the entire conversation, looking for my brothers and the bedroom was the only place I hadn’t checked. But as soon as I strolled through the door, I completely lost my train of thought. What the hell did I miss?

The pheromones were the first to hit me. Mallory’s delicious arousal coated the air along with the musky scent of cum. My little wolf was naked, passed out on Colton’s chest. Did she let him fuck her? If so, that was more progress than any of us had hoped for. Hell, even if they just fooled around, it was progress.

My youngest brother looked like the cat that ate the canary while Colton just looked awestruck. I was about to ask what the fuck happened and why they hadn’t invited me to join when Cary reminded me of my recent phone call.

“Who was on the phone?” he asked.

I quickly filled them in on our latest predicament. A week was not enough time to search all Quade’s properties and find witnesses who were brave enough to testify against him. From what Mallory described, it wouldn’t surprise me if most were too terrified to even consider speaking out against him.

“Let’s take this conversation to the other room.” I suggested with a pointed look at our sleeping mate.

Cary slowly slid out of bed, careful not to wake her. But Colton just looked at Mallory longingly, as if she might disappear if he weren’t touching her. When he didn’t follow, Cary stopped to survey him.

“Tell me what you notice, Colt.” Cary urged. “What does it feel like where her body is touching yours?”

“Like fucking heaven.” he responded without missing a beat

“Yeah, I get that.” Cary laughed. “But what else?”

Colton’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. I watched as the two of them exchanged a knowing look but had no idea what was going on between them. Cotlon looked back at a sleeping Mallory, his eyes full of excitement and wonder.

“The sparks! They’re stronger!” He exclaimed, then held his breath when Mallory stirred before adding more quietly, “It feels like an electric current buzzing over my skin.”

“Best form of E-Stim on the planet.” Cary smirked. “See, your bond is healing. If I was a betting man, I’d say you’ll be sleeping with us from now on.”

Seemingly placated, Colton lifted Mallory gingerly and gave her his pillow to cuddle. He and Cary dressed quietly and followed me out of the room.

“So what’s our plan?” Colton got right to the point.

“Oh no! Somebody is telling me all about what happened in there before we discuss anything else!” I demanded.

Colton looked at the floor with great interest but Cary’s signature devilish grin broke across his face.

“Mal was stressed. Colton and I helped her relax.” He shrugged it off.

“You could have invited me to join. I’m very good at helping my little wolf relax.” I said with an irritated snarl.

“Did she not look sated to you, brother? Colton and I had it all under control.” He crowed. “Besides, she was giving us attitude. As moody as you’ve been lately, you probably would have tied her up and spanked her, the opposite of what we were going for.”

“Can we get back to discussing our plan to deal with Quade?” Colton interrupted, ending our stand-off.

“Right, a plan. Nathan has his own men guarding Quade. I can call him, see if he will question his guards. Maybe they’ve heard Quade admit something useful.” Cary offered.

“That’s definitely a good place to start. Meanwhile, we’ll keep looking for the two Omegas or the men who took Mallory. But I still think our best chance is to convince Darcy to testify.” Colton flinched almost imperceptibly when I mentioned her name.

I had my work cut out for me if I had any hope of convincing him to talk to her. His guilt surged through our bond. Though I wasn’t sure what he faulted himself the most for, turning his back on her and leaving her to Quade’s evil devices or getting involved with her in the first place. Probably both.

If he’d never brought her into our lives, Quade might never have learned of Mallory’s whereabouts before we had a chance to neutralize him. Darcy may never have met her depraved mate and maybe neither woman would have been traumatized by him. But there was no point in dwelling on maybes and ifs.

“I think Colton should talk to her.” I stated flatly.

“No! Absolutely not!” He refused point blank.

“Mallory said she stood up to Quade for her and even expressed a modicum of remorse for what she’d done. She might be convinced to overcome her fear and testify if she thought it might earn her your forgiveness.” I debated.

“I said no!” He barked. “I hurt Mallory enough because of her. I won’t disrespect my mate by spending another minute in Darcy’s presence. And I certainly won’t pretend to care about her feelings.

“What she suffered was degrading and cruel, a fate I never would have knowingly sentenced her to. They said they were mates. I never dreamed he could treat her so callously. But as much as I hate what happened, nothing

she could ever say or do would earn my forgiveness. I won’t lie and say it would. Not even to her.”

“Are you sure, Colt? Even if it meant protecting Mallory. Because I think Clay is right. It’s our best shot.” Cary backed me up.

Colton dropped his head in his hands with a pronounced sigh, then tugged at his hair with a frustrated groan. It wasn’t fair to use his need for penance against him but there was nothing I wouldn’t use if it meant Quade could never harm my mate again.

“Fucking Goddess!” Colton growled. ” This is my punishment, isn’t it? All I want is to be free of her. I want Mallory to be free of my past with her, for all of us to be able to move on. But that’s too much to ask, isn’t it?”

“Mallory will understand, Colt.” I softened my tone, trying to make him my ally rather than becoming his enemy.

We’d been at each other’s throats enough for a lifetime. We both loved Mallory and wanted the best for her. We just had two very different ideas of what that was.

“I won’t hide anything from Mallory again. I won’t do anything without talking to her first.” He insisted, but it sounded more like resignation.

“Talking to me about what?” Mallory stood in the doorway, watching us all warily.

Fuck! I didn’t want her to have to face this yet. But by the look on her face, she wasn’t going to be put off for long.

Colton was right anyway, no matter how badly we wanted to protect her, we shouldn’t hide anything from her. That hadn’t worked well for us so far.

I walked to Mallory and wrapped her in my arms, burying my face in her neck and inhaling her intoxicating scent, made even more alluring by the residual traces of arousal.

“You smell scrumptious, little wolf.” I murmured in her ear.

“Mmm, I missed you earlier.” She combed her fingers through my hair. ” You can make it up to me later but right now, you can stop trying to distract me.”

“Fuck! Fine, come sit down, love.”

“I’ll stand” She widened her stance and stubbornly put her hands on her hips, staring me down defiantly.

“Will you please come sit with me, Mal? I need to talk to you about something difficult and I’m not sure I can get through it without your calming touch.” Colton appealed to her.

“Of course I will, Colt.” She crossed the room and went directly to him, sitting in his lap.

How the fuck did he manage that? He was meant to be in the doghouse but one afternoon in the sack and she was putty in his hands. I noted the tiny lift to one corner of Colton’s lips and the way his eyes danced with happiness. He was so different to the brother I used to know, so careful and uncertain where he used to be self-assured.

I hoped he’d find his way back to the strong, confident Alpha he used to be. But maybe this new Colton was for the best, for now. Maybe it was who Mallory needed him to be, vulnerable and open. After denying her for so long, she needed to be needed by him.

“Tell me. No more secrets, remember.” Mallory prompted.

Colton explained that phone call I’d received and our request that he try convincing Darcy to testify.

“I won’t do it if you don’t want me to.” He told her. “I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t even want to see her, I swear.”

“I think you should talk to her, Colt. I think it might help.” Mallory agreed to everyone’s surprise. “In fact, I want to come with you. I’d like to talk to her again, thank her for trying to protect me.

“You don’t owe her thanks, Mallory.” Colton spoke more sternly to her than he had all week. “After what she tried to do to you, it was the least she could do!”

“I know that.” Mallory twisted her fingers in her lap the way she always did when she was trying to figure out what she wanted to say. “It’s just, she’d gotten what she wanted. I was out of the way, just like she’d plotted. The only difference is, she didn’t have you either.

“She could have been vindictive about it, stand back and watch him ruin me while she gloated about it. She didn’t have to stand up for me, but she did. Maybe that’s worth something.”

I sat down beside Colton and pulled Mallory into my lap, stealing her from him. My little wolf never ceased to amaze me, always seeing the best in people even when they didn’t deserve it. It was a blessing and a curse, one that made her vulnerable and triggered my protective instinct.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” I nuzzled her nose.

“I’m not. I just know what it’s like to be broken. I’m not making excuses for her but she went from being in love, thinking she would become your Luna to feeling she’d been discarded overnight. I can imagine she felt desperate and as some of us could testify, desperation breeds poor decisions.”

Colton winced beside her, taking it as a personal blow. Mallory caressed his arm, soothing the sting of her words. They obviously still had issues to work through.

After ironing out a few more details, it was agreed that we would be heading back to Hazelwood the next morning. It had to be done but I didn’t have to like it. I didn’t want our mate anywhere near the man who’d terrorized her. A chill ran down my spine, a foreboding feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong.