Page 53 of Broken By Her Mate
“Stay close,” he said.
The bloody scene that Laila expected to unfold didn’t happen. Two wolves that rivaled the size of their attackers leaped out of the darkness. One was dark as midnight, its glossy black fur blending seamlessly into the shadows. It swung its head to look at Tolliver and Laila. Laila immediately recognized who it was. She’d only met Benny once, but she swore his wolf had the same teasing glint in its eyes as the man always had. The other wolf had to be Francisco. His coat was a striking mixture of gray and black. His eyes, an icy blue, were piercing and cold, exuding a sense of calculated precision—just like Tolliver’s.
“The calvary has arrived,” Tolliver said. “Thank the gods because I’m getting too old for this shit.”
His murmured words sent amusement surging through her, even in their dire situation. As quickly as she blinked, his body shuddered and grew into a massive wolf. She stepped back as Tolliver and his friends formed a protective line in front of her. The three attackers seemed to reconsider the fight since it was now equal. She noticed that Tolliver and his team moved in a coordinated way, which suggested they trained together.
The black wolf lunged first, a blur of shadow as it collided with one of the attackers, its massive jaws snapping with deadly precision. The black and gray wolf darted in next, its speed blinding as it circled the second enemy, herding it away from Tolliver and Laila with sharp, controlled bites.
Tolliver stood his ground as the third attacker charged him. He thwarted the attack with a calmer, more calculatedtechnique than his two younger teammates. As the chaos erupted around her, Laila took cover behind a tree trunk. She was no coward, but she was starting to realize that she had to put her child’s well-being above all else, wanting to prove how tough she was.
Laila could barely keep track of the fight, her senses overloaded by the clash of snarls, snapping jaws, and thundering paws. She clutched her stomach, wondering if she’d made a mistake in keeping the baby a secret from Tolliver. What if he got seriously injured or… No, she wouldn’t even think it.
When things quieted down, she peeked around the tree. A huge sigh of relief escaped her. Her three wolves stood undefeated while two of the attackers lay lifeless. The third was missing. She darted out from her hiding spot and sprinted toward Tolliver. Without thinking, she flung her arms around the animal’s neck and burrowed her nose into its fur.
“Thank the gods you’re okay.” She pulled back to look at Benny and Francisco. “You guys, too.”
Benny licked her arm in response. Tolliver let out a growl and snapped at him with lethal fangs. Benny narrowly escaped the attack, and his eyes gleamed as if he was laughing inside his animal. Francisco huffed and shook his head.
“Tolliver, don’t be mean,” Laila reprimanded. “Benny helped us.” She couldn’t believe he was being jealous at a time like this.
Tolliver shifted back to human form, and the first thing he did was glare daggers at Benny. “Watch yourself with my mate, Benny.”
Laila rolled her eyes. Even stark naked, he managed to be intimidating. “It was an innocent lick,” she said.
Tolliver snorted derisively but dropped the subject. “Laila, you have to shift. We don’t have a car to get home. We’ll move faster in wolf form.”
She swallowed. “Oh… uh… I can’t…”
“You can’t shift?” Tolliver stared at her with a bemused expression. “Why not?”
Her mind worked overtime to come up with a lie that didn’t sound too ridiculous. “Well…”
The hum of a car engine caught their attention. A small white car pulled up close to the blood and carnage from the fight. Cora stepped out, eying the two lifeless wolves with a frown. “Good grief, what a mess,” she said with a slight shudder.
Laila’s eyes bulged. “Cora? What are you doing here?”
Cora reached into the back seat and took out a bag. As she approached, she kept her head turned away from Tolliver, Francisco, and Benny, who had shifted back to their human bodies.
“You shifters sure are comfortable with nudity,” she grumbled. She tossed the bag at Tolliver. “I thought you guys might need some extra clothes. Aren’t you all glad I’m a plan-ahead type of girl?”
“Thanks, Cora.” Tolliver rummaged in the bag and began to dress.
“Laila,” Cora said with a smile. “Don’t be mad, but I’m sort of like an honorary Black Ops member.”
“Excuse me?” Laila screeched. “How the hell did that happen?”
“You are most definitely not a Black Ops member, young lady,” Tolliver said, pointing a reprimanding finger at her.
Cora waved him off. “It’s a long story… well, not that long. It all started when Tolliver asked me to help his team with some video of a shifter and vampire fight that was about to go viral. It was so much fun. I think I’ve found my calling,” she said excitedly. “Helping the supernatural community.”
“For the love of the gods,” Laila groaned. “Tolliver, how could you get her involved?”
“I didn’t. I asked her to help withonemission. Blame those two,” he hiked a thumb at Benny and Francisco.
“She came in handy the first time, so we’ve been enlisting her to help with other stuff,” Francisco said with a shrug. “Don’t worry, we keep her safe, and the little witch can hold her own.”
“Yeah. I’ve been working with the two stooges ever since,” Cora said. “They brought me in on the whole safe-date mission… which turned out not to be so safe after all.”