Under Sean’s Protection by Lisa Oliver

Chapter Thirteen

Kyle was up from the bed and staring out the window. There wasn’t a lot of time until the sun would go down. As he watched the tree line, his mind kept playing tricks on him, sending him phantom sensations of sharp pain, as if the knife Janelle promised was cutting into the base of his cock.

Shit! Control your thoughts, Kyle. Don’t panic. Not now.

But it was hard to think of anything else. Kyle had no doubts Janelle would do exactly what she claimed, and while he thought he might be able to live without his cock and balls, she’d probably let him bleed out in spite. Closing his eyes, Kyle imagined Sean arriving, imagined being held in his arms, safe and secure, all the while breathing in and out with every image of Sean that he could remember.

Which is why he didn’t hear Janelle slip back into the room.

“Sunsets are so beautiful out here, don’t you think? You just don’t get that kind of pinky glow in town.”

Kyle spun around. She was standing in the door and she was holding a gun.

“Are you going to shoot me now?” Kyle asked.

“Only if you get some stupid idea to attack me,” she said. “Strictly for self-defense, you understand.”

Yep, and my mom’s the tooth fairy. Just seeing her, Kyle thought of the knife on his balls and winced.

“Having troubling thoughts, are we?” Janelle grinned. “If it’s any consolation, a penis and its accompanying nut sack are outrageously overrated. Look at me. I’ve lived without either all my life, and turned out just fine. When you think about it, men spend an exorbitant amount of energy fussing about their cocks. Wake up in the morning, it’s hard. Lay down on your tummy, it’s hard. Get up in school to answer a question at the chalk board, it’s hard. You’re either looking for a hole to stick it into, or beating it back down into a soft, compliant state. And then there’s all that messy come to deal with. That shit stains sheets and clothes and is a royal pain in the ass to get out of your hair.”

She teased her own blond hair with her hands as if preparing for a photo shoot.

“Maybe that’s why Sean is bald on top?” she said.

Kyle felt his fear turn to anger now. She had no right to mention Sean’s name.

This was better. Keep talking, bitch. You’re doing me a favor.

“Come to think of it, Sean was bald as a cue ball way back when I knew him. Not that I came all over his hair, mind you. I wish I could say the same in reverse.”

Kyle found that if he kept breathing while she spoke, he could feel himself getting stronger. It was like he was using the anger to fuel his resolve somehow. He wondered if that was how Sean and the others did it when faced with the enemy… It’s working for me.

“There was this one time…” Janelle started to say but was interrupted by a light knock at the door.

It opened a crack and Kyle pulled on his wolf so he could hear the exchange being whispered between Janelle and her enforcer.

“Someone is approaching the compound, ma’am,” Kyle heard the goon outside the door whisper.

“Is it Sean?” She asked, also in a whisper. Neither of them suspected Kyle could hear what was being said.

“Identity unconfirmed, but we did find a motorcycle stashed off the main road.”

“That’s likely him,” she said. “How far away is he?”

“About two miles. He should discover the compound soon, and then plan his approach.”

“Excellent,” Janelle whispered, turning back to look at Kyle.

Kyle, for his part, turned his face back to the window, making it look like as though he couldn’t hear a thing and was watching the setting sun.

“When he arrives, sedate him and bring him back inside here.”

“Understood.”

“Be careful.”

“Of course.”

“No, you aren’t hearing me,” she hissed urgently. “He’s dangerous, unpredictable, and driven by his animal’s need to be with his mate. He’ll be extremely difficult to bring down. Use extra precaution.”

“Not to worry, ma’am,” the enforcer said. “We have the advantage.”

“Well, make sure you don’t fuck this up, or it’s your prick I’ll be slicing off.”

Kyle smiled with his back to the door.

Sean is here, and Kyle could smell Janelle’s fear.

“Open the window if you want,” she said, “you’re entitled to a little fresh air before your shit hits the fan.”

/~/~/~/~/

Sean picked up the scent of the compound before he could see it. Diesel fumes from multiple generators, exhaust, people. And, of course, pigs. At least they’re not lawyers.

Every cell in his body, and hair on his wolf, wanted to charge into the compound and take back his mate. He could kill anyone who got in his way – he was beyond caring about that. But his training kicked in and he made a wide berth around the perimeter, checking out the access points.

The dying sun wasn’t a problem, except as a nagging reminder Sean was on a deadline. Thanks to his wolf, he could see through trees, negotiating fallen branches and the uneven ground without missing a step. He could see the building easily now. One level. Bars on the windows. About two thousand square feet, give or take. Enough space for a meeting room, an apartment of some kind, maybe two if they were small, and a kitchen.

Janelle was a foodie, Sean remembered, never wanting to be more than a few yards away from her beloved high end gas range and sous vide, whatever the fuck that was.

As Sean was plotting how he was going to get into the building, a familiar scent came wafting on the air. His groin sprung to life automatically, and Sean’s mind fritzed out knowing he was in the right place. I was right. Kyle’s here.

That distraction was enough for Sean to drop his guard for a mili-second, and clearly that was enough for anyone watching him. He felt the prick of two sharp electrodes penetrate his back and jolts of electricity shot through his body. His entire nervous system went into stasis as he fell to the ground.

Two men approached him from where they’d been hiding in the woods. Sean could pick up the scent of the enforcer who had been at Kyle’s house – one of the ones who’d taken his mate.

“Grab his legs,” one of them said. “And use yours to lift. This fucker’s gonna be heavy.”

Sean felt the grip of two hands on his ankles as another pair of hands went under his shoulders and he was lifted off the ground. Idiots should have knocked me out as well, first.

As he was being carried towards the compound, Sean focused his energy onto his right hand. He tapped it once against his leg, found the side pocket, and quickly fingered the shuriken hidden there.

The throwing star was released quickly, before the poor bastard holding Sean’s feet knew what hit him. The blade protruded from the enforcer’s neck as the blood gushed out, and Sean fell with a thud to the ground as the one holding his shoulders dropped him.

He wasn’t at full strength yet, but Sean didn’t care. He planned to fuck up the other guy in any manner he could. But it was too late. Sean caught the last ray of the day’s sun reflect off the syringe as the needle was jabbed into his neck. His eyes went dark as he lost consciousness in a matter of seconds.