She looked over her shoulder and was clearly surprised to find four men behind her and no sign of her cousin. Unease and fear crossed her face, two emotions he was growing accustomed to seeing from her, and that irritated the hell out of Jonas. She should know by now he'd never touch her, much less hurt her.
Her brother stepped forward and held his hand out. Jonas took it with a touch of hesitation. Not because the kid was a wizard, but because he was family who mattered to Harper, and Jonas had no way of knowing yet if he could be trusted, if his presence was part of a plan to steal Harper back. “I'm Dane. Harper's brother.”
“Nice to meet you.” He gave the polite answer. Dane's grip was firm, dry, and brief. He showed no signs of nervousness. Jonas didn't scent any deceit, but he couldn't let his guard down yet.
Dane grinned. “Under these circumstances? Not really.” He switched his grin and his handshake to Mick. “I can trust you to take care of her?” he asked softly.
Jonas looked over to where she stood a few feet away. Head down, arms crossed over her stomach, she looked so dejected. It hurt his heart to see her that way. He'd gotten used to sparks of temper, to wary interest.
“You can,” he answered just as softly, mostly convinced by Dane's voice and expression he meant his sister no harm.
Dane nodded. “Good.” Then he walked over to her and took her shoulders in his hands until she looked up with a shaky smile. “I have to go.”
“No!”
She looked at Caleb and Zach and then at Jonas when they didn't say a word.
Perhaps he should have interfered, but he wasn't thrilled with the idea of her brother hanging around over the next few weeks. Later, when he and Mick and Harper were sure of each other, maybe.
Dane gave her a shake that made Mick step forward aggressively. “You belong here, Harper. I have a different destiny.”
He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
“Here. Father can't track this phone. My number is programmed in.” She put the slim phone in her back pocket. He kissed her forehead and hurried through the gate to the final vehicle left behind by the other wizards. Waving one last time, he was gone.
Harper turned and gave Jonas a look full of accusation, but she hurried off without saying a word. Caleb and Zach blocked him before he could follow her. His sigh was heavy with exasperation.
“What?”
“She's important to Liza,” Caleb said.
“I know that.” He didn't hide his irritation. Did they think he was a blind idiot?
Caleb shrugged. “We just don't want to see her hurt.” He turned narrowed, angry eyes on his alpha. “I don't tell you how to take care of your mate.”
Caleb showed almost no reaction to his aggression. “She's unclaimed. That's a hurt of its own.”
Jonas fisted his hands. Like he didn't fucking know that? Every day the separation was more painful. If he left the pack, it might become bearable, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.
“I can take care of my own,” he ground out between clenched teeth.
After several long seconds, Zach nodded. “See that you do.”
Then both alpha and beta turned and melted into the growing darkness.
Mick's gaze was just as hard and unforgiving when Jonas turned to face him.
“Come on,” Jonas said, resigned to the inevitable. “Let's go deal with our mate.”
Chapter Four
Harper ran, cutting off the well- worn path to save time through the woods.
Unfortunately, it was dark, and she missed the brambles until she was thigh high in them. They tore at her jeans as she pushed through, cutting into her skin. It stung, but finally she was free, and she saw her back-porch light.
She went straight through the house to her bathroom, where she shimmied out of her pants and looked at her legs, fighting back a sob. Bad enough to have faced her father, bad enough to have lost her brother again. For some reason the blood streaking her calves and thighs made her want to bawl. She blamed it on the delayed effects of adrenaline. Her hands were shaking, her heart racing. At least her body and mind had waited to freak out until after the confrontation with her father.
After several deep breaths and feeling a little more in control, she turned the shower on and stepped in, ignoring the knock on her front door. It was probably Jonas checking up on her, even though he hated the job. Or maybe Mick, who would look at her with desire and compassion but not make a move to comfort her.
Under the scalding water, she washed and conditioned her hair fast, then used the cloth and soap to gently clean her legs. She'd dab on some antibiotic cream when she got out. She'd seen some in the kitchen cabinet where Liza apparently kept all her first-aid supplies. Harper supposed it was the sensible place to store them if you were often giving aid to others. From what she'd seen, Liza wasn't the one likely to need assistance after a fight or injury. Harper had never seen her fight, hoped she never would, but she'd heard the stories, and there was no denying the strength Liza radiated.
She turned the water off. She dried off with one towel and wrapped a big, fluffy one around her body before stepping into the hall. Her scrapes stung. The cream would make them sting more, but there was also a bottle of rum in kitchen. A shot sounded like just the thing to soothe her aching heart.
Without turning on the hall light or even glancing into the living room as she passed, she went straight for a glass and the bottle. There was enough moonlight streaming in to see, so she poured a finger and downed it before pouring another.
Then she rummaged in the cabinet where the first-aid supplies were, but had to reach over to flick on the light when she couldn't see inside the dim space. She found the antibiotic cream, a box of Band-Aids, and carried both to the table before going to retrieve her drink.
