The animal snarled.
The enraged, primal sound that tore from his throat, directed at Dane, would shock him later. For now, he could only let the animal reign.
Dane actually flinched at the sound.
That reaction, as small and involuntary as it was, was all he needed.
Bounding back, Rule fought the savagery mounting inside him until slowly he felt the claws retract once again, just as the lobby doors swooshed open and Jonas, along with six hard-eyed enforcers, stepped into the predawn night.
“Do we have a problem?” Jonas made no move to give a show of strength. He didn’t cross his arms over his broad chest, prop his hands on his hips or glare.
He voiced the question evenly while the silver in his eyes swirled like thunderclouds preparing to burst.
“Ah, little brother.” Dane was back on his feet, relighting that damned cigar. “Did you come to rescue me?”
Dane was seriously amused now. And that was dangerous. Even the animal inside Rule stepped back a safe distance until it could ascertain the hybrid’s next move.
Jonas grunted at the question. “Actually, Dane, I think whatever sliced your throat should have gone for your tongue.” He turned to Rule then. “What the f**k is your problem?”
“Goddamned nosy-assed Breeds,” Rule growled, refusing to back down. “Get the f**k out of my business.”
“He ran his little mate off,” Dane drawled, though he kept a wary eye on Rule now. “In tears. I scented them even as she rushed from the lobby earlier. Newly mated, hurting and frightened. Shamed.” He turned to Lawe. “Sorry, Justice, but that jacket of yours that you placed over her shoulders did nothing to dilute the scent of the Breed that marked her.”
“There’s no f**king mark,” Rule snarled.
Dane gave a mocking little sneer, but it was Lawe’s reaction that held Rule. His brother frowned back at him as though disappointed.
“I didn’t mark her.” Rule shook his head. “I would know if I bit her, dammit.”
“You did something,” Lawe assured him then, and Rule knew if there was one thing his brother wouldn’t do, he would never lie to him. “It was weak, Rule, but the mating scent was there. And the Breed who drove her home reported that the scent only grew stronger after she left. Whatever you did, she’s in Mating Heat.”
She would be in pain.
He hadn’t fully satisfied her. Not enough to still the fires that would begin burning in her.
He rubbed his tongue against his teeth to still that faint irritation—
And he froze.
The glands weren’t swollen, they weren’t really sensitive, yet it was there. A faint taste of sweet heat he couldn’t quite identify. An unfamiliar sensitivity.
He shook his head sharply.
What the f**k was going on?
“He doesn’t believe he marked his little mate when she was no more than a child,” Dane drawled then, directing the comment to Jonas.
Rule watched as Jonas’s gaze flicked to Dane before he shook his head warily, warning the hybrid from saying more. The truth was in the director’s eyes, though, as they met Rule’s once again.
“I didn’t touch her,” Rule snapped as he turned on Dane again. “What the f**k kind of monster do you take me for? To suggest I’d touch a child in such a way?”
Surprise flickered in the icy green eyes. “I don’t believe you mated her. I said you marked her. You found a way to have your scent placed on her, and it stuck. Just as nature intended it to.”
“The hell—”
“You gave the female enforcer present there your shirt to put on her as we pulled those Coyotes off her body. You collected her blanket and handed it to the enforcer who brought it in to her,” Jonas broke in. “He’s not lying, Rule. Even I sensed your claim on her that night.”
Rule shook his head in confusion. “I only saw her for a moment.”