They were only two days into their mission, and Xavier was already going crazy. He had been hard as a fucking rock since Janie’s lips touched his, the need to claim her driving him insane. What the hell had he been thinking kissing her like that? The problem was, he hadn’t been thinking at all. Not with the right head anyway. If he had, he never would have done it. Sitting on a log close to the fire he’d built just the hour before, Xavier cursed in frustration.
“Could you be any louder, X?” Aiden asked sarcastically, as he tossed more wood on the slowly burning embers. “I don’t think they heard you in the next county over.”
Baring his teeth at his brother, Xavier stood and started pacing back and forth, raking his fingers through his hair. “What the hell are we doing here, Aiden?”
“Our jobs,” Aiden responded calmly.
“There’s no one out here,” Xavier growled in frustration, irritated that he was so far away from the one person he should be with right now. “No one except for us, freezing our balls off.”
“Xavier, sit down.”
Xavier turned to glare at his brother, “If I wanted to sit down, I would have fucking stayed where I was.”
“Sit your ass down, before I sit you down,” Aiden growled, his voice low and commanding.
Stiffening, his jaw set, Xavier stalked back over to the log and sat. If anyone else would have talked to him like that, he would have told them to go screw themselves, but not Aiden. Every day since that horrible night when their mother was killed, along with so many others, it had been him and Aiden against the world. They both felt as though they were unworthy of the White River Wolves’ loyalty after what their father had done, even though not one member of the pack ever blamed them personally, and they fought hard to prove that they deserved it. No matter what, they always had each other’s backs.
“Now,” Aiden said quietly, sitting down beside him, “tell me what’s going on. Is it Janie?” Xavier shrugged, looking into the fire. Of course, it was Janie. It was always Janie. “Talk to me, X.”
Xavier sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes and down his face. “I kissed her, man. I fucking kissed her, and I shouldn’t have.”
They sat in silence for a moment before Aiden asked, “And?”
“And what?” Xavier snapped back. “Isn’t that enough? The woman has been through hell, and instead of giving her the time she needs to heal, I forced myself on her.”
Aiden’s eyes narrowed, and he growled, “Are you telling me she told you to stop, and you didn’t?”
Xavier paused, “Well, no.”
“She didn’t tell you to stop? Didn’t push you away?”
“No,” Xavier said, thinking back, “she…”
“She what, Xavier?” Aiden demanded. “You either forced yourself on her, or you didn’t. But I will tell you right now, little brother, you better be prepared to get your ass kicked if you did.”
Xavier looked over at Aiden, his brother’s eyes glowing a bright yellow hue in the dark. “She kissed me back,” he whispered.
Aiden watched him closely, “Was she scared? Did you scent that anything was off?”
Xavier thought hard before shaking his head. “No, she wasn’t afraid,” he finally said.
A slow grin crossed Aiden’s lips as he asked, “So, if she wasn’t scared, then what was she?”
Xavier’s heartbeat accelerated, his dick becoming even harder if that was possible, as he remembered how Janie had taken over the kiss. There wasn’t an ounce of fear in her at the time. There was only pure lust. “Fuck,” Xavier snarled, shoving his hands through his hair.
Aiden clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing tightly, “I think it’s about time you claimed your mate, X. Sounds to me like she’s ready.”
Was his brother right? Was Janie ready? Xavier’s body heated at the thought, as excitement began to fill him. Maybe it was time to claim his mate.
Suddenly the wind shifted, and Xavier smelled the man at the same time he heard the loud click as a bullet left the gun chamber. “Aiden!” He dove for his brother, slamming into him hard and taking him to the ground as he felt the first bullet pierce the skin of his left arm. After they hit the ground, a second entered his back. Hell, no. This was not happening. He’d just been shot the month before, and had almost died. He had no desire to go through that again.
Aiden tried to push Xavier off of him, but the gun cracked loudly, the noise echoing in the quiet night, as another bullet hit Xavier in one of his legs. “Don’t move,” he whispered to his brother. “The stupid bastard is coming to us. Let him.”
Aiden stilled, and Xavier barely heard him breathe, “He’s a dead mother-fucker.”
“So, that bitch Janie is your mate, huh, mongrel? That’s too bad, because we have come to take her home.”
Home? A low growl began to build in Xavier’s throat. Janie was home, and no one was taking her anywhere. He felt Aiden shift ever so slightly, and knew he was reaching for one of his knives.
“She escaped last year, and even though the General doesn’t seem to give a shit about her anymore, my buddy Brent does. We are going to keep her somewhere neither you nor the General can find her, so that Brent can have her whenever he wants. You can keep her brat, though. Brent doesn’t want it, even if it is his kid.” The man laughed, moving even closer to them. “Of course, you would have to get to your village in time to save her. Brent should be there soon, and he plans on getting rid of her. He wants Janie’s undivided attention.”
Pure, raw anger filled Xavier. Alayna wasn’t Brent’s child. She was his! And no one was touching her or Janie. “Kill him,” he growled, using all of his strength to push himself off of his brother, hissing in pain when Aiden shoved him hard to help.
Xavier watched through bleary eyes as the knife left Aiden’s hand, embedding itself deeply in the bastard’s throat. The man stared at him in shock, dropping his gun to the ground, and grasping at the handle to try and pull it out. But it was too late. Staggering forward, he fell to his knees, then on his side, his eyes wide open in death. His buddy, who appeared out of nowhere to help him, didn’t stand a chance. Aiden was on him in an instant, and he was gone with a knife through his heart.
“Hurry up, Aiden,” Xavier rasped, fighting to stay awake. “Call Chase and warn him, and then get these fucking bullets out of me. I need to get to my family!”
He heard Aiden’s voice in the distance, but couldn’t make out the words. His head was swimming, pain racking his entire body. But all he could think about was Janie. His kind, gentle mate. “Aiden. Have to save her,” he rasped. They couldn’t have her, dammit! She was his! “Janie!” her name was a cry on his lips, before the darkness took him.