issues.”
“Yeah, like who he is and how you know him,” a familiar voice growled behind him.
“Back off, mother fucker. I may look down for the count, but you haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Shut up, Brody.” And of course he didn’t listen.
“You touch one hair on my sister’s head and I’ll kill you twice just for the fun of it.” Her brother’s threat seemed menacing until he gave her one last look and promptly passed out.
“So… Aren’t we the little secret keeper?” Diego appeared in her peripheral vision as naked as her brother. She kept her eyes forward doing her damndest not to take a peek.
“Knew it was something.” He bent down and picked up the gun, nudging Brody with his foot. “Clever girl keeping this hidden.”
“Leave him alone. You’ve done enough, don’t you think?”
“Me?” he asked. “I was fighting to save you.”
Allison guffawed. “I don’t need your saving. I just needed to find my brother and keep him alive.”
“Alive for what? What are you planning to do with him now that you have him? It’s time for some answers, Allison.”
Maybe it was, but she still wasn’t sure whether she could trust him or not. Her gut said yes, and her head played devil’s advocate. Either way it was driving her crazy.
“I barely know you, so how can I trust you with anything, let alone this?” She waved her hand over her brother. “I’ve spent my entire life believing one thing.” She looked up at him. “One thing. Don’t you get that? I have to either do what I’m told and kill you both or…”
“Or what?” he asked, crouching down next to her.
Tears she would never shed pooled in her eyes. “Become the hunted,” she whispered.
Chapter Six
Diego grabbed an extra pair of pants from a nearby backpack he found as part of Brody’s camp and slid them over his legs and fastened them at his hips. They were a little big, making the fabric ride low. Not that he cared. His body vibrated with fury over the situation between Allison and her brother. It pissed him off more than the fact the hunters and their distorted ways had managed to infect his island. Two of them on Devils Point felt like overkill. Even if one of them was now a wolf.
They were in a Catch 22 situation here and they all knew it. If she left, she’d come back eventually with more of her kind.
He also had the situation with the brother. He looked and acted like a newly turned wolf on the verge of losing his mind. There was a high probability the pack would have to put him down for the safety of himself and others.
This was the danger of turning humans. It didn’t always take. Especially without a mate bond.
And then there was his third problem. Allison was his fated mate. The hokey bullshit that he’d “just know” was true and that annoyed him to no end. That meant the wolf inside him would literally do anything to keep her close.
Anything.
The man on the other hand… Diego held his head in his hands and took a long, slow breath. Years ago he’d tried to bond with a shifter female. It didn’t take. She’d turned her back on him and left town leaving him with nothing but a Dear John letter to show for his time.
His jaw hardened. That betrayal to him and the pack still burned deep. And it served a purpose. Reminding him that some bonds made him weak. Something he refused to be again.
Diego back tracked to the mouth of the clearing and searched through the brush until he found remnants of his pants. He dug into the pocket and pulled out his still intact cell phone. He turned it on and checked for signal. Weak. But maybe just enough to get a text message through.
He began tapping out a message to Creed.
“What are you doing?” Allison asked.
“Calling for a pick up.”
“Why? You and I can handle this. I don’t think it’s a good idea for others to know what’s happening.”
He frowned at her. “That’s where you’re wrong. Your brother