When I start the engine of my truck, my breath catches in my lungs. Something foreign washes over me. My heart flutters unpleasantly in my chest before beginning to pound, fast.
Fear. I’m afraid of something.
No. I realize almost immediately these aren’t my feelings building inside me.
Adley.
My truck is in gear, my foot mashed to the pedal before I’m conscious of what I’m doing. The whole way home, I don’t look at the speedometer, just push harder to get back as fast as possible.
The driveway. I’m almost there.
When I pull in, my gaze shoots straight to the barn and find two people inside the fencing. One is Adley, and she’s just smashed a man in the head with that protection bat we bought after the news story aired. It isn’t until Gator lunges forward in a blink and clamps down on the guy’s nutsack that I realize who it is.
Tommy Granger. The woman-beating man I went to prison over.
I throw the truck in park so hard that I may have broken the gearshift. All I see is blood red as I jump out of my seat, roar as I leap over the hood like a madman, and make a mad dash for the fence.
Vaguely, I’m aware my clothes are ripping, my control so lost that my size is increasing with my fury.
The curse of a Capital Alpha.
I take the fence in a single leap, snarling as I land on top of that piece of shit, connect my balled fist with his jaw so hard his head snaps to the opposite side. I’m about to bash his face in with both fists, straight into the earth, when I hear a cry of dismay, feel arms around my shoulders, someone hanging from my back.
A voice, over and over, soothing. Then, I finally make out what’s being said.
“That’s enough, Ezra. He’s out and I’m safe. Don’t give in to what he wants.”
What… he wants…
“Ez!”
More shouting, comfort, and stability. I’m still growling, snarling, my muscles ache everywhere.
A hand on my shoulder, then another.
“Ez, you did it, brother. That’s enough.”
A pause, then a different voice, familiar and calm. “Please, comfort our Omega. Protect her.”
Those words ring inside my mind, and my head whips side to side until I see her. Our Omega. Our Adley. She’s moved herself from my back to my side, never releasing her embrace around my shoulders. No fear in her eyes, only love.
I wrap my arms around her middle and lift her with me as I stand, carry her to the barn as the commotion behind us increases. More people. Sirens in the distance.
“Ezra.” Adley’s hand caresses the side of my face, her big chocolate eyes imploring and worried. About me.
What about her?
“Ezra, baby, please breathe. I’m okay. You and Gator saved me.” She grins and looks to my side. I can feel Gator there, Pie behind me, all of us surrounding Adley to keep her safe.
“You saved yourself. One hell of a swing.” My voice is rough, rumbling, foreign.
It’s never happened quite like this. When I lost control the last time I pummeled that piece of shit Alpha, I didn’t physically grow. I just raged.
It must be my mated bond. That’s the only explanation.
“How did you know to come home?”
I blink at her. “I felt you.” My fist comes to my chest with a thump. In the back of my mind, I’m pretty sure I sound like a prehistoric man of some kind.
