His only reply was to tear my ruined shirt from my body and shred my underwear. A tendril of fear unfurled inside me as he stripped me naked. He pressed his nose against my shoulder and inhaled, letting me know that he smelled my trepidation. His eyes glinted with malicious amusement. He wanted my fear. He liked it.
Just feet away, Lachlan fought the ropes holding him like a mad creature, snarls and nearly unintelligible threats falling from his lips, but Brayden ignored him. I didn’t dare look in his direction and draw Brayden’s attention away from me.
He brushed my hair aside, his hands nearly gentle, revealing the bite mark on my neck. The mark that Lachlan had left there just hours ago.
His body crowded mine and I swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat when I felt his erection grind against my ass. “You shouldn’t have let him bite you, Chloe,” he whispered in my ear.
I tensed and strained against the ropes when his hands moved around my thighs, his fingertips trailing up over my hipbones and belly to my breasts. He cupped them, stroking my nipples. I gagged and bucked, trying to dislodge him, but he merely pressed his weight more firmly against my back, pinning me to the bars. With his cheek brushing mine and his chin resting on the bite, Brayden stared at Lachlan.
“For marking what’s mine, you will die, Ian Lachlan,” he stated. “But first, I’m going to make you watch me claim my mate while you’re powerless to stop me.”
His hands released my breasts, one moving up to fist in my hair and angling my head to the side, his grip so tight that tears sprang into my eyes. With my neck bared to him, he struck, his teeth sinking deep into the muscle of my shoulder. Growling low in his throat, he shook his head, tearing into the flesh and destroying the mark that Lachlan had put on me.
I screamed in agony, my back arching hard in an attempt to escape the pain. Only then did Brayden release me.
“There,” he crooned as blood dripped down my chest and back. “That’s much better.”
I heard the telltale clink of his belt buckle and I knew what was coming. The constant thud of Lachlan’s body hitting the bars behind him as he fought to free himself pierced the haze that pain had cast over my mind. I looked at him, knowing even if we escaped with our lives, neither of us would be able to get past this. Even if I succeeded in killing Brayden, the ghosts of tonight would drive a permanent wedge between us.
Shrieking, I jerked my hands and feet inward, feeling the rope cutting in to my flesh as I strained. The anchors beneath my feet groaned in protest and I felt a flash of hope. The wall of bars holding me up quivered and squeaked as I pulled harder.
Brayden’s hands were on me, trying to hold me still, but I was possessed.
“I AM NOT YOUR MATE!” I roared, feeling the muscles and tendons in my arms stretch to their breaking point.
Suddenly, the ceiling above us caved in with an explosion of debris and dust, and Brayden was thrown away from me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lachlan
Acloud ofdust obscured Chloe and Brayden from my view. My wolf was howling inside me, fighting to get out. I held onto my control by the thinnest thread. If I shifted, trussed up as I was, my arms and legs would be pulled out of joint.
Instead, I focused on my fingers. If I could keep the change only in my hands, I might be able to shred the ropes enough to break them. Eager to join the fray and kill the male who attacked our she-wolf, the animal inside me cooperated. I’d never attempted a partial shift before. It was dangerous and difficult. Only the oldest, strongest wolves mastered the feat, but right now I was willing to try anything to help the woman I loved.
My fingernails lengthened and sharpened, becoming claws. It hurt like hell. The rest of my body wanted to follow, to shift into wolf form, but I couldn’t allow it.
I twisted my wrist until I managed to scrape at the rope stretched taut between the bars and my arm. I glanced at the other cell. The dust was settling and I could see Chloe’s shadow, still bound to the bars, and two forms battling behind her.
Someone had come to help us. As I cut at the ropes, I sniffed, sneezing when the dust hit my nostrils. I couldn’t smell our rescuer, but I had an idea who it might be. If my guess was correct, he would still be weak.
Finally, the rope snapped and my arm was free. Releasing my other arm and my feet was much quicker. I lunged across the cell. Chloe’s eyes met mine, hard and cold. She nodded to me as I split the ropes on her wrists. Crouching down, I reached through the bars and freed her feet.
Without a word, she whirled and jumped into the battle that raged behind her. The dust had settled enough for me to catch a glimpse of the wolf that had crashed through the ceiling. It was Carter Whelby.
The door that led out of the holding area flew open, crashing against the wall. Three of Darrell’s officers came in, heading toward the cells. Adrenaline cleared the last of the drugs from my system, my vision sharpening and the nausea fading. Leaping to my feet, I charged.
Rather than fight as shifters did, with fangs and fists, the first officer drew his sidearm, pointing it at me with trembling hands. The first shot grazed my shoulder, but I was on top of him before he could squeeze off another. I ripped the gun from his grasp and my hand sliced across his throat. He gaped at me, his hands clutching the torn flesh as he hit the ground.
The other two wolves reached for their weapons as well, their eyes wheeling wildly. I felt a surge of loathing as I lifted the weapon I still clutched and shot them both without hesitation. They were too weak to hold their position with their shifter abilities, so they would die without the respect of a fair fight.
I glanced out the door, found the police station empty, and turned to aid Carter and Chloe in their fight with Brayden. As I faced the group, a body flew at me from the cell, sending us both through the wall. A figure sprinted past us, his clothing torn and bloody.
Chloe ran after him, stopping only when she saw me sprawled beneath Carter. She stared after Brayden for only a moment before coming over and helping me shift Carter to the floor.
He groaned, clutching his ribs as his head lolled. “Did we get him?”
A smile tugged at my lips, but it was grim. “He got away.”
