Safe House

"I thought you just broke up with me." Briton stayed in the doorway. "What's all this?"

Leanora poured whiskey and set the glass on the table. "Does it matter? We need to talk about Jamie."

"Who are you really? Because I'm sure you're not just some corporate lawyer I met at a merger negotiation, are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Leanora said, dropping the whiskey bottle. "I just happen to know a few things about your ex mate that you don't."

"You called me here because you knew about the people who attacked her." Briton stood up working towards the door. "Why does it seem like you're just trying to delay me?"

"I'm trying to help you understand what you're walking into." Leanora moved to the window overlooking the city. "Jamie isn't who you think she is."

"Then tell me who she is."

"She's dangerous. She's been acquiring companies across the Northwest, but it's not about business..."

Briton's phone rang, cutting off Leanora. Jai was the one calling.

"They're at the Iron Wolves compound," Jai said. "I'm downstairs. You coming or what?"

"I'm coming." Briton headed for the door.

Leanora grabbed his arm. "Wait. You need to understand that Kade Giordan isn't just some biker. He's been protecting Jamie for months. He knows what she is."

"What is she?"

"Something that's been hunted for generations." Leanora's grip tightened on Briton. "And if you go charging in there without knowing the truth, you'll get her killed."

Briton pulled free. "Then you should have led with that instead of playing games."

He left before she could respond. The elevator took forever. By the time he reached the lobby, his wolf was clawing at his insides, desperate to get to Jamie.

Jai had the car running. "You look like hell."

"Drive to the compound." Briton got in, his shoulder throbbing where the bullet had grazed him earlier.

"What did Leanora want?"

"To waste my time." Briton pulled up the security footage Jai had sent earlier, freezing on Kade's face.

"Six months ago is when Jamie started buying companies."

"Yeah. I noticed that too." Jai pulled onto the highway. "You think they're working together?"

Briton's wolf snarled at the thought. "I think we're about to find out."

Minutes later they were at the Iron Wolves compound.

"They look like they are expecting trouble," Jai said. "We're not getting in through the front."

"Yes, we are." Briton got out of the car and walked straight toward the main gate.

Two guards stepped forward. "This is private property."

"Tell Kade Giordan that Briton Bravery wants to see him."

The guards exchanged looks. One pulled out a radio. "Boss, we got Briton Bravery at the gate."

The static crackled, before Kade's voice came through. "Let him in."

"I'm coming with you," Jai said.

"No. Stay with the car." Briton didn't wait for an argument. He walked through the gate as it opened.

The compound was bigger inside than it looked from the street.

Kade waited at the entrance. Up close, he was bigger than Briton expected. His eyes were amber, wolf eyes, even in human form.

"You've got balls showing up here alone."

"Where's Jamie?"

"Inside. And she's not happy." Kade didn't move from the doorway. "You shouldn't be here."

"She's my mate."

"Was your mate. Past tense." Kade's expression didn't change. "You threw her away five years ago. You don't get to claim her now because it's convenient."

Briton's wolf surged forward but he forced it down. "I didn't throw her away."

"No? Then what do you call choosing another woman over your mate?" Kade smiled. "Jamie told me everything. How you rejected the bond. How you said she was a mistake. How you picked your first love and left her with nothing."

"It wasn't like that." Briton muttered.

"Then how was it?"

"That's between me and Jamie."

"Wrong. It's between you, Jamie, and me." Kade stepped closer. "Because I feel a bond with her too, so technically she's mine."

"She can't be yours. She's already mine."

"Tell that to the Moon Goddess." Kade's eyes flashed gold. "Now get off my property before I make you leave."

"I'm not leaving without seeing her."

The door behind Kade opens. Jamie stood there in jeans and a t-shirt someone had given her, her hair pulled back, fury radiating from every line of her body.

"Both of you shut up." She looked at Briton. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're safe."

"I don't need you to keep me safe. I've been doing fine on my own for five years." She turned to Kade. "And you don't get to speak for me. I don't belong to either of you."

"Jamie…" both men started.

"No. I don't want to hear it." She grabbed her phone from her pocket. "I need to get home. My kids are alone except for Beta Lucas and after tonight…"

"You can't go home," Kade interrupted. "Those shooters will be watching your house."

"I don't care. My children need me."

"Then let us come with you," Briton said. "Extra protection."

"I don't want your protection. I don't want anything from you." Jamie pushed past both of them. "Move or I'll move you."

Kade caught her arm. "Jamie, be reasonable."

She spun and threw her elbow into his ribs. Kade grunted but didn't let go. "Stop fighting me on this."

"Let go of me right now or…"

Her phone rang, the sound cutting off the argument. Jamie looked at the screen and her entire body went still.

"Lucas?" She answered on speaker. "What's wrong?"

"Alpha." Beta Lucas's voice was frantic. "I went to check on the twins. And the window was broken. There's blood on the floor. They're gone. Herston and Hemston are gone."

The phone slipped from Jamie's hand and shattered on the concrete.

She didn't make a sound. She just stood there, completely still, as if moving would make it real.

Then she shifted. One second she was human. The next, a massive white wolf stood where she'd been, her clothes torn and scattered.

She threw her head back and howled, a sound so full of anguish that even Briton's wolf whimpered in response.

Jamie started running towards her house. She was past the gates before either man could react.

"We need to go after her," Briton said.

For once, Kade didn't argue. "My bike's faster. Can you keep up?"

Briton was already shifting. He turns to wolf, his was bigger and darker than Jamie's but not as fast.

And they both ran, Briton running in his wolf's form, Kade in his bike and immediately they came out. Jai followed suit with the car.

They race through the city streets, following Jamie's scent as she raced toward her home and her missing children.

And somewhere in the darkness, someone was was waiting.