“
He couldn’t spot them, and the minor foot traffic on the sidewalk was not enough to hide. They must have entered a building or alley.
Rather than searching all of them, he let his nose do its job.
Big breath in. Filter the smells. Aha. There, up the sidewalk a few more storefronts then into an arcade.
The wolves that dragged her probably hoped to hide their scent and sneak out the back.
Except Hayder knew this place. He knew where the door to the alley was, thus, when the steel door swung open, he stood there, arms crossed waiting for them.
“Shit, he’s here. Get back inside,” the chubby one grunted.
“Oh, don’t leave on my account. I insist you stay.” And to make sure they did, he kicked the door shut.
The two thugs backed away from him, the one who needed to invest in a treadmill holding Arabella, who hung limp in his grasp, before him as a shield. She was alive. However, her eyes bore a resigned expression Hayder didn’t like at all.
“Baby, are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
The answer was moot. At this point, he was going to punish them no matter what, violently. They’d done the unforgivable when they’d taken Arabella and scared her. However, if they’d actually hurt her, or if she cried…
We’ll make them wish their mother had a headache the night they were conceived.
Rawr.
Her reply emerged so soft he almost missed it. “I told you this would happen. They’ll never let me be free.”
How utterly convinced she seemed and miserable.
Totally unacceptable. “Don’t you dare take this without a fight,” he growled.
The chubby one should have spent more time on expanding his mind instead of his waistline because he showed no sense at all when he said, “Bella here knows her place, and after the next full moon, it will be on her knees, serving the new alpha of the pack.”
Hell no.
Hayder didn’t even think twice about it. His fist shot out, and it connected to the idiot’s nose with a satisfying crunch, and that left one wolf.
An even dumber wolf that seemed to think the switchblade he’d pulled out of a pocket and waved around would really make a difference.
“Are you stupid enough to think you can take me with that puny knife?” Hayder couldn’t stem the incredulity in his query.
“Stay back, cat, or else. It’s silver.”
Silver, which meant painful if he got sliced with it. Harder to heal, too. But a three-inch blade wasn’t going to keep Hayder away from his woman.
As beta, though, he did try to give the idiot a chance. Show patience before acting, or so he’d been taught as part of those anger management courses Leo made him take.
Hayder employed one of the tricks to control impulsive acts. He counted. “Three.”
“I’ll cut you.” Slash. Slash. The knifeman sketched lines in the air.
“Two.”
“I mean it.”
“One. You’re dead.”
Hayder took a step forward even as the last dumb wolf took a step back, one hand clamped around Arabella’s arm. Lightning fast, Hayder shot a hand out to grab the wrist of the guy wielding the knife.
This fellow had slightly faster reflexes than his pack brothers and actually managed to score a line of red across his palm.
The blood didn’t bother Hayder. ’Twas but a scratch.
However, the coppery scent did something to Arabella.
Up snapped her head. Her nostrils flared. Her brown eyes took on a wildness. Her lips pulled back in a snarl. “Don’t. Touch. Him!”
With a screech, she turned on her captor and then proceeded to go rabid on his ass.
How cool.
”
”