04

Brenton

Fucking hell, someone had laid hands on my mate. My girl. They had broken her spirit to the point she didn’t believe she deserved to be happy. That she didn’t deserve to have her mate. She didn’t believe that she was the best thing that could ever happen to me. My wolf was growling in my mind the further I walked away from her.

I wanted to grab her and take her to the penthouse apartment I had started renting this last week since finding Aria, and deciding to donate all the inheritance from my dad to this shelter. Seeing what she had created, the love and passion she put into place here, I wanted to be a part of it. Somehow. 

I told my wolf to cut it out as I walked through the door to Aria’s office and took a seat across from her.

She tilted her head back and laughed, “Ah, so you finally figured out I wasn’t standing around while you hit on my friend.”

“She’s my mate.” I growl, crossing my arms.

She starts laughing even harder.

“You are going to have to work your ass off to get her to agree to that.” she says, wiping her eyes.

My leg bounces and I look to the side, “I told her I was taking her case on, I’m going to take this fucker down. Just give me a name. I’ll start as soon as I walk out the door.”

Aria locks eyes with me, “Brent, it’s more than that. She has been through hell and back before she ever came to us two years ago. He just got out of prison for the last time he went after her. She may never trust someone again.”

I crack my neck and smile, “I will show her every single day with every action I take that she can trust me. That I will be the mate she deserves.”

I rub my hands together and lean forward, “A, I have never felt the way I feel for her already. This is just our second meeting, you know what it is like to meet your true mate. You and Jasper have that, Lori and Asher are on their way to that. I’ve never had this. Everyone around me has always wanted what I could give them. They’ve wanted the money, the parties, the jewels, the cars, never me. My wolf wants to take this fucker down, fuck the law, and protect her from anything that could ever hurt her.”

She looks at me and nods before saying, “What if that someone is you?”

I take a deep breath and tilt my head back before dropping it back down, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

She nods, “His name is Jacob Conley.” She pulls a file out and lays it on the desk, I grab it and open it. “He has a history of assault and battery, obviously. He also is well known in the local drug scene in the area. He met Katie when she aged out of the system and rented a room in a rundown apartment complex in the rough side of town.”

She coughs and takes a deep breath, “Over the next four years, Katie is taken to the E.R. over twenty times. Broken arms, legs, wrists.” She wipes at her eyes, “Also for three miscarriages.”

I close my eyes and try not to cry out. My poor mate. After everything she had been through that was the worst. Losing a child at any stage is the most unimaginable pain someone could go through.

Aria then looks down at her hands, “Two years ago, he started beating her while they were out at a local bar. It took five people to pull him off of her. She was unconscious and taken to the hospital where she spent the next week. She then came to us.”

“Thank fuck she did.” I whispered.

I stood up and started pacing, “what happened today?”

Aria shook her head, “No, I’ve already betrayed her trust enough, if she wants you to know, she can tell you herself. But I’ve already said way more than I should have.”

“Aria, I get that you want to protect her privacy but if I’m going to get the book thrown at this guy I need to know everything.”

Aria nodded and wiped her eyes before telling me everything that had happened today. I wanted to go find my girl. I wanted to pull her close and refuse to let her go. This guy hadn’t done half what he had done before, but what if he got out again. What if he decided he wanted to go after her again. What if he decided that he was going to force claim her. It would kill her. It would kill me. I needed to convince her to come stay with me.

I pace the office, “You need to tell her she needs to stay with me. If he knows she works here, he will get her. We can’t let that happen. If he gets her, he will kill her. Motherfuckers like that don’t care that she’s a woman. He preys on her. He sees her as property. I need to take her home. I need to convince her to give into our bond. I need to mate her, mark her as my own.”

Aria stands up and waves her hands, “No, you are acting like a crazy person.”

I turn to her and growl, “He could take her and she would have no control over it all!” I snarl.

“You need to step back and stop growling at your Luna.” Alpha Jasper's voice said from the doorway. I immediately tilt my head to the side and apologize.

“I’m sorry, I’m just scared for my mate, I should have never snarled.”

“It’s okay, but we will have to find a different way to protect her.”

I nod and push my hands through my hair.

“All I want is to keep her safe.”

“Well you can’t do that by talking behind my back.” Her voice snarks from the doorway.

I turned to her, “We were trying to think of ways to keep you safe.”

“And let me guess,” she puts her hands on her hips and glares at me, “you want to take me off to your secret fancy lair and mate me so he can’t take me away from you.” she rolls her eyes.

“You didn’t have to sound so enthused.” I laugh, she got me in one.

“Let me also guess, you wish you didn’t have to follow the law, and want to tear him to pieces for me.”

I nod and Jasper laughs as he holds Aria in his arms. I was jealous of the obvious love and ease between them.

“Were you even going to consult me, or were you just going to pull a caveman act and throw me over your shoulder and do whatever you want.”

“I mean it sounds like a damn good plan. I’d get to be the hero for my mate, and I’d get to spend time with her.”

She coughs a laugh, wincing in pain. She then rolls her one good eye. “Right, I’m sure it's a win win for you pretty boy.”

I laugh, “baby you’re going to have to do better than pretty boy if you are going to insult me.”

“Don’t worry, I have more coming.”

I look down and laugh, “Well hopefully something will be coming soon.”