her human mind locked down on the thought of any type of sexual need.
But it was Taze…the male who’d taken care of her when she had wanted to learn to fight…the male who’d been so patient with her after he’d finally let go of the old world thinking of the males in the pride.
It was Taze.
The male who was her true mate.
Tears poured out of her eyes, but she didn’t make a sound. He’d backed off when she gave up, but he wasn’t happy about it. His support in the training facility ended that day, but he never wavered. She’d pushed him away more times than not whenever he would actually stop to check on her. Her past kept her from seeing what was right in front of her, and her hidden fear would destroy her future if she didn’t get control over it.
“Only my brother knows what really happened to me,” she mumbled as she fell fast asleep.
What she didn’t see was Luna dropping to her knees and silently weeping.
Chapter Nine
Taze parked his truck at the usual spot downtown, locking the doors once Evie and Noah were out. He didn’t want to fucking be there, and his mood was getting more sour by the hour since Calla wasn’t back at the pride.
“Agent Tabor sent over surveillance showing some activity close to Fourth and Vance behind an abandoned gas station,” Noah read from the group text he’d received. Taze didn’t even care to look at his phone. He was more focused on taking down as many rogues as he could.
They needed to get to the bottom of this Khat problem and find Holden Manzelli. The leads had run dry on the Amburo family when the brother was reported boarding a flight back to Somalia, and Agent Murdock was heading up bogus stakeouts with Storm and Lucky. Taze had to give the males credit. He didn’t think he could fake it long enough to catch the crooked agent in the act. He’d have just beat the crap out of him until he confessed.
Evie froze as the sounds of a woman screaming filled the night. The female pulled her bandana up over her face and began to run toward the woman. They were two blocks away from the location, and when they arrived, there was movement in a small wooded area behind the building.
“Evie, wait,” Taze called out, feeling a shiver roll down his spine. “Something’s not right.”
“Yeah, wait,” Noah barked, holding his hand out for everyone to slow down.
There was the scent of deceit on the air so thick it was like sticking your nose in a bucket of vinegar. Taze crinkled his nose as he shifted his eyes. Inside the tree line, there was nothing but the sound of the woman’s voice closer than it should be.
“Watch out!” Noah yelled as six males darted from behind the building. The female’s voice was getting closer. She was begging for help, screaming uncontrollably.
Evie cursed as a male wrapped his arms around her body. Taze made a move to assist her, but one of them stepped in his way. He dodged the fist aimed at his face. He took pleasure in returning the favor, knocking him out cold.
When Taze looked up, Evie had flipped the male over her shoulder and slapped a collar around his throat. She was just starting to restrain him with the handcuffs when another male came at him. He tried to keep his eye on the female, but there was no time. There were four males coming at them.
Taze and Noah went back-to-back as they advanced. Noah was the first one to make a move to knock the tall, dark-haired one on his ass. The next guy ran at Taze, breaking him away from his fellow Guardian. Holy fuck, they were strong. The Khat gave them a boost in their already supernatural abilities, but it made them sloppy fighters.
As Noah and Taze dropped them, Evie was there to restrain them. By the time they were on the ground, the screaming female had come crawling out of the woods, blood covering her mouth.
“Please, god, help me,” she cried.
“Call for the van,” Evie yelled. “I’ve got her.”
The female fell into Evie’s arms and screamed as her body convulsed. Their Protector reached into her vest and retrieved the syringe Harold had provided them for when they found females in the midst of their transitions.
“I promise this will help,” Evie cooed as she stuck the woman in the back of the arm. Taze