Matenapped

Chapter Thirty-Three.

Chapter Thirty-Three.

The Rogue

She collapsed in my arms after I kissed her.

She'd lost too much blood. That much was clear, judging by the puddle of red at my feet.

I sighed, then gestured at one of my men to come over.

I handed him her limp body.

"Hold her for now. Let me take care of the rest of them."

One of the women growled at me. "If you take our Luna--"

"She's mine," I snapped.

"SHE'S MINE!"

The most ferocious growl I'd ever heard ripped through the air. I didn't have time to turn around before I was knocked violently to the ground.

My head smacked against the floor. I felt blood seep out.

An angry growl rumbled through my chest. "Michel, how lovely of you to finally show up."

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my head back down onto the ground.

"I am going to rip you apart limb by limb!" he growled darkly.

"I sincerely doubt that," I said, smirking.

Sure enough, he was suddenly kicked off me. Two of my men began fighting him, keeping him occupied for the moment.

I climbed quickly to my feet and grabbed the Luna, slinging her limp body over my shoulder.

My men wouldn't be able to hold Michel off for long. He was a pissed off Alpha male--not much could stand in his way.

I made my way over to the front door calmly but quickly, sliding outside and closing the door behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I turned to see three very large, very murderous looking men standing in my path.

I sighed. "Well, this is quite an unfortunate turn of events. I was hoping to simply take what's mine and leave quietly, but if you truly want a fight--"

"What's yours?" One of them took a step forward, growling. "She's our Luna! She is nothing to you!"

My eyes narrowed. "On the contrary. She's mine now."

"LIKE HELL!"

In a flash, all three were on top of me.

It was a flash of fangs and growling, a mess of pain and blood as we fought violently, snapping our jaws and sinking our teeth into each other's throats.

The most painful blow came from the strongest wolf--he smelled like a Beta.

He grabbed my throat with his teeth, sinking his fangs deep into my flesh, and then thrashed his head violently side to side. I felt like my skin was shredding apart.

I was tossed aside, blood pouring out of my many wounds.

The last thing I saw was all four men standing above my body, growling.

Then everything went dark.

***

Jem

I woke up and immediately regretted it.

"Mm, oh wow. Okay. Fuck. That hurts. Shit. Ow."

I mumbled to myself, cursing angrily under my breath. Every fiber of my body was burning with pain.

I was in a hospital room, that much was obvious. My upper torso and legs were covered in bandages and I had a cast on one arm, as well as a huge bandage around my head.

When I looked up, the first thing I noticed was Michel--slumped in a chair beside my bed, deep asleep.

I smiled.

"Michel," I murmured.

He snored softly.

Laughing, I nudged him with my foot. "Michel!"

He jerked awake. "Huh? What?" His looked around in panic.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," I snorted.

His eyes widened as he looked at me. "Jem? You're awake!"

Without warning, he threw his arms around me in a bone crushing hug, peppering kisses all over my face and neck.

"Wow, this would be so very sweet if it wasn't so extremely painful," I cringed.

He immediately pulled away, concern flashing across his features. "Oh, shit. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? What hurts? Should I call a doctor in?"

"No," I said, fidgeting into a position where I was sitting up. "I'm sure it's normal. Just aches and bumps and stuff."

He frowned, brushing the hair out of my eyes. "I didn't get to kill that bastard, but Richard and the guys took care of it for me. He suffered for what he did."

"Two murders in one day. They must be exhausted," I joked lamely.

He grinned. "Yeah, they're all pretty much knocked out. They're at home resting right now with the kids. Nobody thought you'd be up this soon, otherwise they would have been here."

"It's okay, they don't have to come see me the second I wake up," I chuckled.

He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips. I melted into it, feeling my toes curl with pleasure.

"Cynthia and the girls told everyone how brave you were," he whispered. "You saved their lives. Saved them from any torture."

"It really wasn't anything like that," I muttered, blushing.

He shook his head. "They were crying hysterically. They said you saved the kids. Richard and the guys want to thank you personally, too."

I scowled. "Michel, that's so embarrassing. They don't have to thank me."

"You're an amazing Luna, Jem," he said, looking at me with warmth shining in his eyes. "I have no idea why I doubted you."

His statement made me feel butterflies in my stomach. I grinned wide.

"Guess I'll be a great werewolf Mafia leader after all," I said airily, flipping my hair.

He chuckled and pecked me on the nose. "You'll be absolutely perfect. Everyone thinks so."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who's everyone?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, the entire pack heard about the attack...and they want to meet you. I was supposed to introduce you the day we met, but something was always going on."

"The entire pack?" I squeaked. "Like, all 200?"

"More like 150," he corrected. "And you're not going to have to shake hands with everyone. Just a general introduction. We'll have a big backyard barbecue or something afterwards. It'll be completely relaxed."

I swallowed, feeling my palms break out  into a sweat. "150 people. That's a lot of people."

"Jem, you'll be fine," he murmured, stroking my hair gently. "I'll be right by your side the entire time."

"Why do they have to meet me now?" I whined. "I'm literally so hideous right now. I have bruises on top of my fucking bruises."

Michel growled lightly. "You're gorgeous, be quiet. Your bruises are symbols of your strength. You fought bravely for the safety of your pack. You should be proud of them. I am."

I kissed him softly on the mouth. "That's sweet, Romeo. Also, stop growling at me. Next time you do it I'm smacking you and saying 'Bad doggy."

He growled. "Do it. It turns me on."

I blushed. "You fucking freak, ew! Get away from me!"

We laughed and he kissed me, and even though I couldn't feel half my body (and the half that I could feel hurt like hell) I felt happier than I had in a really, really long time.