Page 26 of Brock’s Mate

Dammit. He was doing it again. Falling for the broken ones. Only… she didn’t feel broken to him, somehow, despite the situation she was in.

There was a warm blanket on a shelf, and he tucked it around her. There was nothing more he could do for her until whatever drugs DiSantos had given her wore off. He might as well go upstairs and get some sleep himself. Judging by today, tomorrow was going to be a long fucking day.

But then he thought of Desi waking up down here alone, locked in a cage, not knowing where she was or what had happened to her.

She was tough, and strong, and she’d probably deal with it the way she dealt with everything else. Hell, she’d probably figure a way out before he could even bring her coffee.

But he still couldn’t do that to her.

Sighing, he got up and pulled the cage door shut, reaching through the floor-to-ceiling bars to set the lock with his fingerprint. Then he sat down on the mattress next to her, back against the wall, wondering how the hell he’d managed to leave his entire life behind, and still end up in a cell with a problem shifter.

When he left the Shifter Council Special Projects Unit, he’d sworn he was done. No more rogue shifters, no more criminals, no more delving into the minds of sick, damaged shifters and swimming in the darkness of their souls.

His wolf couldn’t handle it any more—he was way closer to going rogue than anyone knew, except maybe Titan and Brandon.

Certainly not the Shifter Council.

But Desi—Desi had been thrown into his path by fate. He couldn’t turn his back on her. One night, and one day, he promised himself. Then we’ll see.

He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, his hand barely touching Desi’s.

Sleep, she-wolf, he said in his mind. Everything will be all right.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Brock slipped into dark dreams.

There was something chasing him—a shadow creature, dark and twisted, that lurked in the depths of his mind. He didn’t know what would happen if it caught him; he just knew he had to stay out of its grasp.

He ran and ran until his heart was pounding out of his chest, but he couldn’t outdistance it. He could hear it breathing behind him, the soft pad of its paws. He ran down stone corridors in the darkness, turning this way and that, but he knew he was in a maze, spiraling in toward the center, and when he got there, he would be trapped.

No way out.

Suddenly the wall to his right dipped down, waist height, and he vaulted over it, trying to lose his pursuer. He felt himself falling, falling, and then with a splash he landed in some kind of pool or pond. Liquid closed over his head—not water, but dark oily sludge. It burned his skin, his eyes, his mouth as he gasped for air.

He couldn’t breathe. He was choking, and he felt death coming for him.

Then above him, far above, he glimpsed a light, getting brighter.

He swam desperately upwards until his head broke the surface, and saw a wolf at the edge of the pool, glowing with an unearthly light.

She dipped her head towards the pool and drank from it, drank it in and somehow the pool grew smaller and smaller until he was standing on dry land.

He staggered toward her, falling to his knees beside her, his forehead resting on her fur.

She Changed then, to the form of a woman, but he was too exhausted even to lift his head to see what she looked like. All he could feel was warm arms around him, and he heard her saying, You’re okay, everything is okay. You can sleep now.

Everything will be all right.

Desi woke up, suddenly alert. A beam of sunlight shone through a high window, and there was a weight across her torso. She also needed to pee in a big way.

She kept still, knowing she wasn’t in her bed at the cabin, and not wanting anyone who might be watching to know she was awake.

Then she felt warm breath on her neck, and realized that the weight across her torso was a guy’s arm.

Oh, hell. Jered?

No. She could tell by his scent. Familiar, but not Jered. The scene was deep and complex, with nuances she’d never noticed before.

Because she was a wolf now.