Read Online Layla Nash - A Valentine's Chase (City Shifters: the Pride) by Unknown - Free Book Online

throat.
    I couldn't breathe. Mate? I lurched to my feet and almost fell as the cast tangled with my good leg. "What the hell are you two talking about?"
    "Everyone take a deep breath," someone said from the doorway, and when I looked up, Ruby stood there with her arms folded and the giant blonde guy behind her. Ruby frowned as she edged past Smith, though she gave him plenty of room, and held out her hand to me. "Come on. Let's go sit in the living room before we both drown in all the testosterone."
    Rafe growled as he kept a tight grip on my hand and my breath caught as Ruby's eyes got a dangerous glint. I suddenly knew what a chew toy felt like, caught between two dogs. Smith's eyes darkened and a sudden static filled the room. I braced for the lightning strike.

Chapter 9
    R afe waited for Smith to strike him dead, but Carter cleared his throat and eased around Ruby to smile at Meadow. "Rafe, I'm sure Meadow's leg hurts, doesn't it? Yes? Well, we can't have you laying down here, the sheets are a mess. Ruby and Rafe will let go of your arms," and the lion paused, frowning at the siblings, then his easy smile returned as his gold eyes turned to Meadow. "There we go. Come with me and we'll put your foot up while these three sort things out."
    And by the significant look Carter gave them, he expected them to sort everything out like adults. Meadow took a shaky breath, eyes wide with fear, and hobbled after Carter into the living room. Rafe caught a glimpse of the lion helping her sit on the couch with her cast elevated, but then Ruby kicked the door shut and rounded on him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
    "She's my mate ," Rafe said, clenching his fists in the sheets. His favorite Egyptian cotton sheets, ruined with blood and crap. Those fucking wolves. "I'll protect her."
    "You'll try," Ruby said. "But right now you're not in any condition to protect yourself, much less her. So suck back the ego, hero, and consider the best thing for your mate right now."
    "The best thing is being with me," he snapped. The wolf wanted to charge into the other room and curl up next to her, regardless of what Smith and Ruby said. The investigator stood with folded arms near the door, gray eyes oddly more yellow with flashes of silver. It still felt like lightning would strike him dead, but Rafe didn't care.
    Ruby ran her hands through her hair and scowled at him. "You're being a stubborn dick, Rafe. The girl has no idea what's going on. She just saw an attack by wolves, and she didn't even know shifters existed. Mr. Sparkle over here says she might be in danger, and I'm inclined to agree. BadCreek has zero qualms about kidnapping shifter kids, so they damn well won't have any issues with torturing or killing your mate to get you to surrender yourself. Take a breath and think about it, jackass."
    Mr. Sparkle. Smith did not appreciate that, sliding Ruby a look that should have sent sparks off all of her piercings. But she ignored him and instead leveled an impervious look at Rafe.
    The wolf didn't want to think rationally. The wolf wanted their mate. He wanted her in bed with Rafe, safe and comfortable and warm. Rafe's teeth ached as he clenched his jaw. Pain throbbed through his chest as the wounds continued to bleed. "I have to explain to her. I don't want her to leave unless I can explain everything to her."
    "I will explain," Smith said. "I will take her home and make sure she understands. Staying here is not an option."
    "We have a guest room." Ruby held up her hands when Smith glared at her, and she retreated a bit closer to the door. "I'm just saying. Does she live alone? Can she stay with you, Smith? If they catch her alone, I don't see it ending well for her — not with a cast and being unable to shift." Ruby eyed the fae, and her words came out slow and even, as if she didn't want to piss him off by asking a question they all wanted to know the answer to. "Unless she's some kind of non-human who would be able to defend herself? By