Mating Brand Read online

  “Don’t sweat it,” he interrupted. “We have a sense of humor. Luckily we only lost two of the pack. How are you holding up?”

  “Good.”

  He studied her shirt. “You fought?”

  “One of your enforcers touched me and his hands were bloody.”

  “Brand is going to kill him.”

  “It wasn’t in a bad way. He kind of put me in a closet to keep me safe.”

  His phone beeped again and he removed it, read the screen. He typed a response. “That’s good. We don’t need any more deaths today. Sorry. It’s my brother.”

  “Braden?” She hoped he’d say yes.

  “Yeah.”

  “Ask him how my sister is.”

  His head snapped up. “What?”

  “He has my sister.”

  “Why?”

  She sighed, telling him the facts she knew. Rave appeared grim as he typed. He paused, reading the response. “She’s fine. Her ankle was twisted but that’s about it. She said to tell you hi and she’s okay.”

  Charma resisted the urge to lunge and tear the phone out of his hands. “May I talk to her?”

  “Hang on.” He texted something else and then the phone rang. He held it out. “Here you go.”

  Her hands trembled as she accepted it. “Bree?”

  “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Fear and worry raged at hearing her sister’s voice.

  “I thought the pride was tracking you. Garrett said you ran away. Did he hurt you again?”

  “No. It’s a long story. Are you hurt? Randy said his brother had you.”

  Her sister paused. “He’s dead. Braden saved me.” Her voice lowered. “He’s a werewolf.”

  “I know. He’s treating you okay?”

  “Yeah. He packed my ankle with ice and we’re hanging out in a basement. He said you mated his cousin. How is that possible? Is he lying to me?”

  “No.” Charma glanced at Rave. His gaze kept darting up at the ceiling. “Listen, now isn’t the time to talk all this out. You stay with Braden and I’ll be there as soon as it’s safe.”

  “Okay.”

  “May I talk to him?”

  “Sure. Love you.”

  “I love you too,” Charma said, and waited for Braden to take the phone.

  “Yes?”

  “Please protect my sister.”

  “I will.”

  “And Braden?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t touch her. Do you hear me?”

  “I do.”

  “We’ll be there as soon as it’s safe to travel. Bye.” She hung up and handed the phone to Rave. “Thank you. I was really worried. He’ll keep her safe, won’t he?”

  “Yeah.” He darted another glance at the ceiling.

  “Go. I’m fine. You’re worried about the woman upstairs. That’s obvious.”

  He seemed unsure.

  “I’m fine. Brand is right outside.”

  He strode away toward the living room. Charma watched him go and leaned against the counter. She closed her eyes. Things could have gone so much worse. Bree could have gotten hurt, or had a werewolf who hated cats find her instead of Braden. Brand could have died. Randy could have taken her away.

  “Hey, cat.”

  The male voice drew her attention as she opened her eyes to stare at an unfamiliar werewolf. “What, wolf? You hungry? We only have bologna left to make sandwiches but I saw a box of corndogs in the freezer. They’d only take about a minute or two in the microwave.”

  He looked scary as his eyes narrowed. She guessed him to be in his sixties but shifters looked a lot younger than they really were. He directed an unfriendly glare her way and a sense of danger stabbed at her.

  “I’m Charma, Brand’s mate.”

  “I know who you are.”

  “Do you want a sandwich or corndogs?”

  His nose flared. “Corndogs. I want six. I’m hungry.”

  She spun around. “I’m on it. Keep your pants on.” She was grateful he wasn’t naked. “Ketchup?”

  The silence caused a chill to run up her spine and she realized she probably shouldn’t have turned her back on him. It was too late though. She jerked open the freezer and removed the box then faced him. He hadn’t moved any closer, but he didn’t appear any friendlier either.

  “Mustard,” he finally answered. “I’m Raymond Borl—and I don’t trust your kind.”

  He got points with her for blunt honesty. “I don’t blame you.” She tore open the box and counted out the corndogs. “I’m not real fond of prides myself. I’m half human.” She held his gaze. “Chips? There are some bags in that cupboard behind you if you want some.”

  He hesitated. “Just that.” Long seconds ticked by. “Thank you.”

  “Thanks for not attacking me when you seemed to want to. Brand would be furious, and he’s got a temper.”

  “No shit.” The older man sat on a barstool at the counter. “All those boys are hotheads but they run a fair pack. I came from one that wasn’t so hot.”

  She microwaved the corndogs. “Everyone deserves a fresh start somewhere.”

  “I guess they do.”

  They appraised each other and the older werewolf hunched in his chair. “Don’t repeat this…but my joints are killing me.” He flexed his fingers. “Is there any booze to be found? I could use a shot of whiskey or something to ease some of the pain.”

  Brand was prepared to tear Raymond’s head off when he walked into the kitchen. He was too close to Charma, and he didn’t like that one bit. He was glad he hadn’t instantly reacted instead of waiting to hear some of their exchange. “There’s a full bar downstairs. Hit it up when she hands you that food. I’m curious why you’re here.”

  “I told you I didn’t want to hear my son-by-mate nailing my daughter. He filled my basement with some of his friends to protect the house, so I came to fight.”

  “We appreciate that.” Brand stood next to Charma, feeling better that she was within reach in case the cagey bastard decided to attack her.

  “We’re pack. I don’t always agree with the decisions made but in the end, that’s what it comes down to.”

  Brand removed the paper plate from the microwave and held it while he added mustard. “Here you go. You can’t miss the bar. I suggest the whiskey.”

  Charma remained silent until they were alone. She stepped in front of him and lifted her chin. “How are you holding up?”

  “Good.” He didn’t want to think about the tasks he’d just performed, one of them being cleaning up the mess in the attic. The carpet would need to be replaced. “Where’s the pup?”

  “Rave had a chore for him. I was fine. He heard from Braden and I got to talk to my sister. She’s okay.”

  He was grateful. “I’m glad, hon. I hated you being so worried about her and stuck here. We’ll be able to go home in a few hours. The carnage outside is mostly dealt with and the families of the deceased in our pack have been notified. Just don’t go downstairs and open the big chest freezer. Both bodies were put in there until their families can collect them. We were lucky we didn’t lose more.”

  Her expression almost made him laugh. “Their kin will want to bury them in the pack cemetery. It’s not safe to travel yet until we make certain our territory is cleared of all pride. Some of them are severely injured and probably in hiding. The enforcers and a few of my cousins are tracking them. We only burned the pride members who died. I hope that doesn’t offend you.”

  “No. Of course I hurt for their families, but only enforcers were sent for the joining. They know the risks. It’s a sad fact of life that most of them don’t have a long lifespan.” She bit her lip, staring up at him.

  “What is it?”

  “Do you have to keep being an enforcer for your pack? I mean,” she rushed on, “I know you’d always want to fight to defend your family but could you step down from the other duties?”

  He liked that she worried a