“Would Madison have told him about the bite?” Emily checked.
“No.” Artie and I spoke at the same time.
Our eyes met briefly.
I knew her better than he did after my week with her, but we’d both grown up with her. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was disclosing something like that to the bastard unless she was forced to.
She’d ask forgiveness later, if she had to. And she was probably still trying to figure out a way out of the mate bond, hoping that she could make another escape and avoiding admitting the bite existed at all.
“That makes it easier,” Hudson said. “We can show up there tonight. We’ll bring enough guys to break through their security in case they don’t just let us in, and tell the alpha she’s already yours.”
“You’re not getting through their security tonight,” Artie said. “They have all hands on deck right now. I’m sure they’reexpecting you to go after Madison. Grizzlies aren’t known for being laid-back about their territory, and they took her right out of yours. Even if you weren’t interested in her romantically, you’d feel obligated to try to help her.”
“So?” I growled.
“So we’re better off striking tomorrow morning,” Hudson stated. “How accurate is your intel about the time of the ceremony? And what are the odds they seal the bond before, just to make sure things go smoothly?”
“Striking? No one’s going to get hurt, right?” Emily checked.
Everyone looked at her.
Then each other.
Artie cleared his throat. “They’ll try not to hurt anyone, but a fox who puts themselves in the path of a pissed-off grizzly knows what he’s getting himself into.”
“We probably won’t kill them,” Reed said. “That’s good enough.”
“Is it, though?” Emily asked.
“They stole their alpha’s unwilling bride right out of his house.” Hudson gestured toward me. I clenched my jaw to stop myself from roaring again. I was losing my fucking mind. “What else do you want us to do in this situation? Start a dance-off?”
Emily grimaced. “That does sound more peaceful, but I get it. They were assholes, now they deal with the consequences. Which potentially includes physical injuries.”
“Or mental ones,” Reed said.
He grunted. I was pretty sure Hudson had kicked him beneath the table.
Artie changed the subject. “My intel is accurate. I’m the bride’s brother. I was invited to the ceremony. It won’t happen early—the alpha is too prideful. He’ll get more of a kick out of watching her give up her freedom in front of a crowd, too.”
“You told me that fucker would take care of her.” I couldn’t suppress another snarl. “For years, Artie. Fuckingyears.”
“He would take care of her. Just not in the way you apparently would,” Artie growled back.
“I don’t want to fuckingmatewith her.”
“Sounds like you already did,” Reed said. “Did you use a condom?”
I blinked.
The blood drained from my face.
“She may not be mated to you, but there’s a damn good chance you’re mated to her. Which means she could be pregnant. Right now.”
“Notright now. Pregnancy isn’t instantaneous,” Emily corrected.
“Well he can’t get the jizz out of her. It could very well be working its magic as we speak,” Eric tossed out.
Emily’s whole face wrinkled with disgust. “Gross. Don’t say that.”
