Havoc's Mate (Badlands Territory #2) - Lila Rose Page 0,22

you guys wouldn’t be long. Where’s Alton?”

“Outside. Where’s Cora?”

“You just missed her. She had to go home to do something for her mom.” She ran her hands down her thighs.

“What?” I demanded.

“How did you know I was going to say something?”

“Because you get nervous and run your hands down your thighs.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell Alton that telltale move. Anyway, I, shit, okay, I have good news, which is Cora knows you two are mates.”

“What?” I snarled, fisting my hands at my sides.

Her hands came up and pressed at the air in front of her. “Don’t get angry. We were talking and, I don’t know how it came about, but she got upset thinking she would have to leave you when your mate came along. I mean upset, Havoc, tears in her eyes and all. It broke my heart seeing her that way, so I told her she was yours.”

I ground my teeth together and bit out, “And?”

She beamed. “She’s over-the-moon happy.”

Christ.

My chest expanded when my heart warmed.

“She was?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I grunted, my lips twitching. “Good.”

“Ah… now for the confusing and maybe bad thing.”

I glared at her. “What?” I barked.

“Before she left, I scented fear and maybe confusion. I’m not sure what it was about, but it happened when she was on the phone to her mom and then after it.” I turned and walked out the door. “Where are you going?”

“To check on my mate.”

Kathy raced after me. “Wait, she was going to call when she got home.”

“When did she leave?”

“Maybe ten minutes ago.”

I pulled the front door open with a bang. King, who was one of our enforcers, and Alton looked up.

“What’s wrong?” Alton asked.

“Cora went home. Something happened.”

“No, I didn’t say something happened. I’m just not sure if Cora was worried over something or not.”

“Go,” Alton said. “We’ll follow you.”

He knew I would need to be by Cora’s side. I would need to make sure that nothing had upset her. Kathy was second-guessing herself, but she wouldn’t have brought up her concern if she thought it was nothing, and that scared me.

My wolf howled inside me.

Yes, we had to make sure our mate was fine.

The drive was quick. I made sure of it. I stopped out the front of the house and saw Cora and Evelyn’s car, but there was another as well. Climbing out of the car, I sniffed at the air. If I had been in wolf form, my hackles would have risen. Instead, a low growl dropped from my mouth.

Someone I didn’t know was in their house.

Someone different.

Someone who would pay because I could also scent that Cora and Evelyn were scared.

I stalked to the front door and went to open it, but found it locked. I knocked. When no one answered, I pounded on the door.

“Who is it?” Evelyn called out.

“Havoc.”

“Sorry, Havoc, but I can’t see you right now.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Alton, Kathy, and King slip from the surrounding woods and make their way toward the house. I motioned to King and Alton to go around the back. I held up my hand to Kathy, stilling her movements. I’d keep her from any danger.

“Evelyn, I need that book you said I could borrow.”

Movement and soft voices sounded from within, only I couldn’t make out what was being said. Fury seared into me, especially when I took another deep breath and scented my mate was even more scared.

“Just a moment, Havoc,” Evelyn called.

More movement, and then the front door was unlocked. A hand shoved the book out, and if I hadn’t taken it so fast, it would have dropped to the ground. The door slammed shut and locked again.

“Sorry, I have to go,” Evelyn said, her voice shaking. It was worse than I thought.

Dread blistered inside me.

It was then I noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the book. I pulled it free and unfolded the note. My body hummed, my wolf howled, and I sneered down at the paper.

Apparently, Cora’s ex thought he’d had a claim on my mate.

I crumbled the paper in my fist and rolled my shoulders back. I would do anything, fucking anything to keep my mate safe.

With a raised foot, I kicked the door in and stepped through, a low rumble coming from within. I trained my eyes on the man sitting on the couch next to my mate with a hand around her throat. Evelyn stood close to the couch. Her gaze flicked to them, me, and someone else she saw but no one