Ffffffffuck!
Unsure what to do or say, Daemon reached for the woman only to jerk his hands back. Thrall had just said something about consent.
Consent?Right!
He was supposed to have asked.
Do I do it now?
Confused, he turned and looked to Thrall for guidance, but Thrall was just standing there with his hands planted on his hips, face all red, glaring at Daemon as he raged something about, “Why the fuck did I even agree to bring you? I fucking knew better! Why didn’t I bringblah, blah, blah!”
Turning his attention back to the woman, Daemon stared at her as his heart raced in his chest like a jackrabbit avoiding Demon. Sorry didn’t seem to cover what he’d done, soooo… Gently, Daemon reached for the woman and lifted her up to cradle her in his arms. He forced himself to be extra tender when she gasped. Unsure what to do now, he started rocking from foot to foot and inwardly raged at Demon to do something to help.Demon’s solution was to emit a noise that had never come from Daemon in his entire existence.
From behind him, Thrall gaped at Daemon before demanding, “Are you fucking…purring?”
It wasn’t a true purr; wolves lacked the specialized anatomy to make the sound. This was more of a contented rumbling sound. An attempt to comfort the female. And while he’d never made the noise before—honestly, he hadn’t thought he knew how to—he’d heard that it worked to make mates feel safe.
Inhaling, the scent of tears was still strong, so he rumbled a quiet, “I’m… I’m Daemon. Daemon Knight. Lead Enforcer of the Allegiance Pack under Alpha Koe Ontiveros.” Pinching his eyes closed, he silently prayed as he begged, “Please tell me you’re not Jury’s sister, Narae.” He knew he’d fucked up marking her the way he had, and Thrall was right. They’d been sent to start a war with an eventual plot to rescue Narae, and if he’d just claimed her, on sight, without her consent, Koe would want a pound of flesh, and he’d be justified in the asking. Eyes opening, Daemon looked down at the small female who refused to look up at him. “Are you Narae Warmont?”
Chapter 13
Narae didn’t know what to do. Her knee-jerk reaction was to lie to the behemoth rocking her back and forth, his chest rattling with a constant low rumble. Was he actually trying to soothe her after he’d just attacked her? Keeping her chin tucked low, she tried to ebb the flow of tears trickling from her eyes. Honestly, she didn’t even know why she was crying. The bite hadn’t been too painful; it was shocking more than anything. And really, this shifter had just done her a favor. Narae had worked hard to get Jury free of the Biter pack, and she’d paid dearly once Bragga had discovered her treachery. Now, bearing the mark of an outsider, Bragga was sure to exile her…right?! He’d have to. He couldn’t keep a female who bore the mark of a male outside his pack. Her belly dropped, and her mouth went dry when she realized Bragga would kill her before he let her walk away from his pack. He didn’t lose at anything. And having to give up a female who had been marked in his own territory by intruders would be a humiliation that couldn’t be tolerated, especially because it was her. She was dead. Unless…
Slowly, lifting her eyes, Narae chanced a glance at the male glaring at the one who’d introduced himself as Daemon. Her gaze then slid to Daemon. They knew Jury! Was Jury with their pack, the Allegiance Pack? She sifted through her brain, thinking about anything she’d heard of the Allegiance Pack. All she’d ever heard of them was that they were enemies. And if they were enemies of Bragga and his Biters, then that made them enemies ofherenemies. Were they then friends?
The guy glaring at Daemon lowered his hard eyes to her, and they softened immediately. “I am so fucking sorry, lady.” He motioned towards Daemon, “He’s kinda stupid and refuses to listen to anyone.”
“Hey!” Daemon barked, his rocking motion halting as his head whipped around to glare at the male.
Narae had the insane urge to laugh, but held it in. Maybe she was in shock. None of this should be funny. Bragga was going to murder her the second he saw the mark on her throat.
“I’m Thrall,” the guy introduced and shot Daemon a dark look. “I’m Beta of the Allegiance Pack, and this isnothow wetypically operate.” Turning his head, he glanced over his shoulder at the pile of bodies behind him. “I mean,” he turned back to Narae and shrugged nervously, “that’s kinda typical. But only bad guys!” His gaze shifted back up to Daemon as he snarled, “We only hurt bad guys!”
Daemon growled, “I didn’t hurt her. I claimed her. Iprotectedher.”
Thrall’s face blanked before his mouth fell open and he shook his head. “She’s fucking bleeding, my guy.”
Daemon’s response was a feral-sounding growl as his arms around her tightened a fraction.
Swallowing, Narae cleared her throat quietly and interrupted with a tremulous, “Y-you need to leave.” She glanced behind Thrall. “It’s too quiet. The others will be coming soon. The Enforcers.”
Thrall looked behind him, then back to Narae, “Enforcers?There are more than that?”
“Those weren’t Enforcers,” Narae whispered, drawing both Daemon and Thrall’s attention. “They were trainees. New recruits.”
“Huh!” Thrall’s brows shot up almost comically. “Well, good. I guess. I was pretty fucking disappointed, honestly.” He planted his hands on his hips and looked up at Daemon with a smirk to say more quietly, “I mean, not for nothing, man, but I was really starting to question Koe. He’s said these Biters are formidable, but those punks weren’t shit.”
Daemon’s brows speared down and had Thrall throwing his hands up. “I mean, I wasn’t questioning Koe like that, man. Calm the fuck down.”
“You need to leave,” Narae repeated. “They’ll be coming. Bragga has already promoted about a dozen new recruits to Enforcer status. That’s twenty altogether with the members we already had,” she glanced behind Thrall. “Even after the ones you just killed. There are too many for the two of you.”
Thrall muttered quietly, “You haven’t met Demon.”
But the information had Daemon tensing. “A dozen new Enforcers? Why the fuck would he do that?”
For the first time, Narae turned and lifted her head to stare up at Daemon. The second their gazes locked, her whole body jerked as something undefinable tightened every muscle in her body and spasmed her stomach almost painfully. Daemon tensed, too, as a muscle in his jaw twitched. His expression looked strained, like he was fighting against something, and then with a pained growl, he slowly dropped to his knees, arms shaking as he struggled to keep hold of her.
Narae struggled to climb from Daemon’s arms, but he tightened his hold and dropped back onto his ass, pulling her onto his lap as he lowered his head over her body and took deep, panting breaths.
