With a snarl, he stalked out of the river. The action instantly stilling Jury who was in the process of pulling her shirt down.
In a flash, he was on her, no hope of controlling himself. She was up over his shoulder before he could even reason. Hand on her ass, the other locked behind her calves, he couldn’t control the rolling growl that rattled from him. Bragga had hurt her…he’d killed her and then discarded her shamelessly. It was an affront that couldn’t go unchecked, but for now, Koe needed answers. He needed to know why Bragga had done this, and, more importantly, why Jury had hidden it. If she’d have said something…Fuck!
To her credit, Jury didn’t fight him, and it was a damn good thing. He was too riled up. Too feral. He’d never hurt Jury; he’d never hurt any female ever, but he wanted to pin her down and mark her. He wanted to fuck her and bite her, so she wore his mark and his scent. A guarantee of protection, a means of keeping anyone from ever hurting her again, a shield she’d never lose. But just the thought of adding another bite to her already damaged body had his stomach twisting. How would a male ever claim her fully after what she’d endured? How could anyone add another mark to her?
Chapter 7
Jury kept her mouth clamped shut. Internally, she scolded herself for being stupid enough to challenge Koe the way she just had. And in front of Thrall and Daemon, no less. It was an affront to an Alpha that couldn’t go unpunished. She got it. She knew better. Angry tears flooded her eyes at her own stupidity. A flash of anguish hit hard for what was going to happen to her poor, abused body. She felt guilty now knowing her damaged skin couldn’t endure much more trauma, but because of her big mouth, it’d have to.
With a snarl, Koe slammed to a halt. Then, with movement so fast that it made her belly dip, he hefted her off his shoulder. In a blink, he had her lying flat on the soft grass, his big body over hers, his arms braced on either side of her head, his knees caging her lower half. Nose to nose with her, he snarled, “Stop! Just fucking stop, Jury.”
Confused, she said nothing.
“My wolf can’t take the scents coming from you right now. Not with what we’ve just seen.”
She assumed he meant the scent of her sorrow. Funny, self-pity had never affected Bragga this way. In fact, it only increased the intensity of her punishments. The sadistic fuck enjoyed her suffering. Did Koe expect her to believe he didn’t?
Looking down at her now, Koe’s typically hard eyes were soft, almost pleading.
Swallowing hard, Jury wanted to give him what he was asking for. She’d never wanted to acquiesce to a male before. But the tortured expression on Koe’s face had her stomach feeling funny.
Pinching his eyes closed, his expression going pained, Koe breathed, “Please!”
The word had Jury tensing, her heart rate doubling.Please? It was a word she rarely heard. And a word she’d never heard from the lips of any male.
“I…I’m sorry,” she offered tremulously.
“Don’t,” Koe snarled, his eyes snapping open. “Don’t fucking apologize, Jury. Not to me, not to anyone.”
Shoving up off her, he shot to his feet and held out a hand. Unsure what else to do, Jury lifted a quaking hand and inhaled softly when Koe grabbed it and gently pulled her up. Once she was up, he didn’t release her hand as she’d expected. Instead, he kept his large hand wrapped around hers as he led her back toward the manor.
Jury had to walk fast to keep pace with Koe’s long strides. All the walk, she fought not to think about what was coming once he got her inside the manor. She didn’t want him stalling them out again. Best to get it over with.
They hit the manor yard, and Koe bellowed, “Hiro!”
In moments, the Enforcer came running, “Alpha?”
Koe hadn’t stopped walking, and they’d made it across the yard and were just about to enter the manor when he snarled at Hiro, “Get me Oliver! Now!”
Warm hand still encompassing hers, Koe led Jury into the manor and through the foyer. He escorted her to the secret door that led to the cells, as she expected, but instead of opening it, Koe opened the large wooden door beside it. Jury had never enteredthis room and was trepidatious, but once the door was open, Koe led her in with what she assumed was an intended reassuring, “It’s fine, Jury.”
But things didn’t feel fine. Where was he taking her? What was he going to do? Why did he need Oliver? Jury knew Oliver was the pack medic. It had her heart racing.
Inside the room, Koe finally released her hand and turned to face her. Jury took in the room. It was pristine white with stainless-steel counters and carts. There were stainless-steel cupboards with clear glass fronts built into the walls above the counters. Inside the cupboards were vials, bottles, and all manner of what appeared to be medicines and drugs. In the center of the room was a patient bed, like in a doctor’s office. She was in the compound’s medical unit.
“Take off your shirt and jeans and get on the bed.”
Giving her attention to Koe, Jury froze. She waited for the oppressive mass of his authority to crash over her, but it never came. The directive was a request, not an Alpha command. And while she should respect that he wasn’t using his Alpha status toforce her to do his bidding, her fear over what was to come had her remaining still.
Koe held her gaze before looking away and taking several breaths before he closed his eyes. His jaw ticked a few times before he drew in another long breath and then slowly un-fisted his hands. Eyes opening, he drew in a few more breaths before finally looking back at her. “I’m not going to hurt you. No one here is going to hurt you. No pain, Jury, never again!”
Jury nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her hands fisting and un-fisting.
“I’ve summoned Oliver to look you over. If he can help, he will.”
Confused, Jury’s brows furrowed. “Th-they’re scars. There’s nothing to be done.”
Just as Oliver entered, Koe muttered, “We’ll see.”
