She’d never killed, never done something so violent in all her life. I couldn’t imagine the thoughts that were swirling in her head.
But as her guardian, her mate, I would take care of her, bring her back from the darkest parts of her mind, and lead her to the light. Because she was my light, and I would not have her feeling guilty for taking such an evil soul.
After a few moments, she trotted alongside me as we jumped over the beams, chairs, and bodies. We burst through the open doors to be greeted by the members—our family.
Journey stayed beside me, her body leaning against mine. Leif purred appreciatively, loving the show of affection from her wolf.
My mate was a survivor, a damned warrior. Journey had taken everything thrown at her and flourished. She was made for this world.
She didn’t fear me when I nearly shifted; she didn’t fear me when I told her what we all were. She accepted, embraced, and now had been rewarded with a gift that would bring redemption to the entire club.
Gods, she was strong. And now she was the strongest in the club.
My mate. She was mine.
We both came forward, Locke with his arms crossed, along with the rest of the crew. Locke looked her up and down, and I bolted in front of her. He looked too long.
She was mine, and his unmated soul was enough to piss Leif off.
I snarled, snapping my maw at my friend.
“She saved our asses today,” Locke announced, turning to the crowd. “A human turned wolf shifter and fucking survived.” He wiped away the blood that dripped from his hairline. “I never thought I would see it.”
Beretta shuffled to the front of the crowd. Her top torn, a scratch crossing over her eye and down her neck. “Does this mean all she said was true? We must believe? Open our broken souls again?” Beretta gripped her handgun on her hip.
The crowd stayed silent, waiting for Locke to respond.
“Because, I do,” Beretta said. “I will open my soul again.”
“Tajah,”Journey said tiredly. “Tajah is her mate, I feel it.”All four of my mate’s legs gave way, and she fell to the ground. Her pants turned to a small whine.
Leif circled her until we rested around her body and licked the side of her head.
“It’s alright, just rest.” I buried my nose in her scruff.
I needed to get her home. Clean her, bathe her, heal her from any magical wounds. Hell, she needed to sleep, I couldn’t understand how she was still moving. Any normal shifter would have shifted back by now.
Her wolf growled.
Right, she was no normal wolf.
The crowd stayed silent as the warehouse continued to burn. The sirens in the distance, becoming increasingly loud.
Locke shook his head, tapping the comm in his ear. “We will talk about this in debriefing. Now we need to leave. Grim?” He nodded his head to me and then to Journey. “Priestess,” he winked.
Chapter Forty Five
Grim
ShortlyafterLocke’sannouncementto leave, Journey’s wolf laid her head on the gravel, her eyes closed, and her transformation back into a human was instant. We were all shocked that she made it this far, holding her form for well over an hour as well as fighting an enemy she knew nothing about.
I wrapped her in a blanket and took her home on my bike, cradling her in my arms. Luckily for me, I had at least a spare pair of jeans, so a human didn’t get an eye full.
Locke stayed behind to talk to the police. They were more than happy to know that the secret sex-trafficking ring was shut down, and no news of it would spread. Humans preferred living by the adage “no news is good news.” It was abhorrent that humans would rather not save their own.
But the police looked at it in an unusual way.
Job security.
