“Is she okay?” Fell asks.
Cadoc moves back and runs his hands over my body.
“She’s good.”
I gulp down air, struggling to process. Head spinning, I close my eyes to reorient myself and slow my breathing. I clear my throat. “What happened?”
“Someone signed their death warrant.” Bo snarls.
Cadoc helps me sit up and I cling to him. I peer around his broad frame. A short, emaciated man with pale skin caked with dirt is pinned to the wall as Bo chokes him.
His dingy clothes hang off his emaciated friends. His skeletal face is turning a deep purple. He kicks out weakly.
I wave wildly. If he doesn’t stop, I’m going to be witness to a murder. My throat tightens. “Don’t kill him,” I squeak.
Bo glances over his shoulder. “Are you insane?”
“We need information,” I appeal to his logical side.
Bo scowls, and slams the man’s head against the wall. Grunting, he goes limp and slides to the floor in a heap.
“Who the fuck is that?” Fell gestures with a hand.
“I have no idea, but he reeks of the woods, earth, and unwashed body.” Cadoc studies the man with squinted eyes. He helps me to my feet.
People rush into the room. Bo backs away from the man as my clan closes in around me.
“What is going on in here?”
I peer around Cadoc. A well-dressed man stands behind him.
“You tell us. This man tried to attack our mate.” Cadoc’s voice echoes through the restaurant.
“How did he even make it inside?” Bo’s voice is ice cold.
“I. I don’t know. I-I’ve never seen him,” the man sputters.
“You couldn’t have missed his stench,” Fell adds.
I look down and balk at the dart on the ground. That was meant for me. The chemical scent coming from the tip of the dart sends my stomach rolling. I clutch the back of Cadoc’s sweater.
Enforcers step through the doorway. I shrink down. Royal Roast is a popular restaurant, but their presence makes me uneasy. I don’t trust Alpha anymore. Too many coincidences have me paranoid.
“What’s going on here?” A tall lanky man with a square jaw asks.
The man I think is the manager explains. “This vagrant tried to harm their mate.”
“Show us,” The burly older man with a graying beard and thick brown hair commands tersely.
The men hustle me into the far corner.
The enforcer crouches down and sniffs the dart. “I’m not sure he was trying to kill her. From the smell of it, he wanted to paralyze. I think he was trying to take her.”
“That’s worse,” Fell roars.
He growls in the back of his throat. The room grows thick with the musky scent of men ready to defend me.
Kirk walks up. “I leave to use the bathroom and come back to—?”
“We’re still figuring that out,” Bo answers.
“Close the place down.” The lanky light-brown-haired enforcer calls out.
“Looks like one of those wild ones from the woods. Must’ve gotten desperate for a mate,” the older man mumbles.
“Be convenient if that was it, wouldn’t it?” Fell asks.
The man flashes him an angry look. I can sense Fell’s rage bubbling up to the surface.
I pinch Fell’s side and he jumps.
“Let me check her over.” Kirk steps forward.
“Thought you were done botching healing jobs,” the older man’s voice is full of accusation.
“Mind your business, Jones, this is my mate,” Kirk’s voice is pure ice.
“It shouldn’t be.” Jones menacing tone concerns me.
