Taken by my mate
Chapter twenty-one

Evadiene

Covyn woke me up with gentle attention to the throbbing bite on my neck from Navi. I wanted to take buprofen or something for it, but I was too tired to get out of bed.

I was quite content just laying in bed, holding his pillow close to my face, and each time I woke up his scent lulled me back to sleep. I could hear Sequoia growling at one point and the distant sound of the door opening, and then her growling stopped.

I figured Covyn’s meeting must have been done, and I hid my smile into the pillow. I was still mad at Navi for what happened last night, but after he bit me I could feel their love for me like it was tangible; like something I could hold in my hand.

I rolled over in the bed, knowingly revealing my bare ass to him, but keeping my face hidden. His footsteps came towards me and I felt a hand run from my ankle under the blankets up to greet the bare skin of my thigh and then my ass.

The sensation ran a shiver up my spine, but not the way it normally did. I almost wanted to cringe away from it, and I couldn’t help my confusion enter my face as my brows pulled together.

“Are you ready to replace out if every inch of me is delicious?” I cooed, rolling over to greet him as his hand grabbed my ass.

The face that met mine wasn’t Covyn. His hair was long, he had a goatee, and his lip curled up at me, even as horror burn it’s mark into my face, to reveal perfect white teeth.

“Absolutely, Nova,” he groaned and his hand pressed over my mouth before I could scream.

I kicked my legs and dug my nails into his forearm, scratching and clawing, digging them into his skin so roughly the press-ons started to pop off. His other hand was trailing up my leg, looking for the bottom of my shirt.

“I saw your show in town before I came here for training. Must be fate that I should run into you again, so willing to offer me your body.” His eyes were full of lust and aggression, his hand now under my shirt and working it’s way to grab my breast.

My eyes burned with his comment. Like hell would I ever replace this back alley, porn director-looking mother fucker attractive enough to let him get with me.

I turned my head and as he moved his hand I turned back and got one of his fingers in my mouth. I bit down with all the force I had, aiming to severe the finger, and he wasn’t expecting me to try.

He pulled his bloody hand away from me, trying to muffle his sounds of pain as he cradled the four-fingered appendage. I spat his finger in the bed and screamed as loudly as I could.

“You stupid bitch!” He yelled, diving for me, pain forgotten, and I put my legs up to my chest to get them between us.

He was heavy, and stronger than me, but at least he couldn’t press his body against mine, even as he pulled my hands up into one of his, pinning them out of his way. He stuffed a bit of fabric from his pocket into my mouth when I tried to bite him again, and then disgust flooded my body as he moved his hand down my side towards the very place I wanted his touch the least.

The bedroom door flew open and both of our head swung towards it. There was Spencer, growling with such menace that I was grateful he never showed such disdain for me.

His eyes burnt through the man on top of me and he charged, claws out and teeth gnashing. The man tried to grab me, to use me as a shield, but the second his grip changed from his surprise I wrenched one of my hands free and slammed the heel into his nose.

Then Spencer was on him and I scrambled back off the bed. I was inching towards the bathroom, but was caught off guard by the sheer skill Spencer exhibited in disabling the man despite him having probably fifty pounds and a foot on him.

A minute later Covyn, Ellion, and a bunch of men I had seen at our table the night before burst through the broken door. I could see his eyes gleaming the situation, taking in Spencer and the man before replaceing me in the corner.

Ellion and another man moved to help Spencer drag the intruder off the bed and forced him to kneel on the floor while Covyn was running towards me. His eyes were frantic and the looked me up and down but it took me a minute to realize he was speaking because his touch brought back the sparks that were missing before.

His touch relaxed me and a smile pulled my lips upward.

“…. Blood! Evadiene, are you alright? Why are you covered in blood?” He was saying, but I was now watching the man on his knees snarling and lunging for me.

“It’s his,” I jutted my chin towards him before I remembered he could probably smell that fact and I didn’t need to.

“You’re just a stupid bitch Nova, and you’re going to pay for this,” he snarled and I stuck my tongue out, remembering as I did that that blood ran over my chin and into my shirt.

“Get in line,” I spat, literally spat because his blood tasted disgusting on my tongue.

Guards were coming in now, handing over cuffs to Spencer and forcing the man to stand.

“He’s missing a finger,” Spencer noted, locking the second cuff.

“That wasn’t you?” Ellion questioned and they both turned to me after he shook his head.

I pointed to the bed. “It’s somewhere on the covers, did I get a good one?”

“Ring finger,” Spencer muttered, observing the bloody hand.

I nodded my head. “Noice.

“You bit off his finger?” Covyn asked, wrapping his arm around me.

Again I nodded.

I reached for the short sleeve of the Tshirt and started wiping at my face, starting with the area closest to my mouth. There was more than I would have guessed and I found myself wishing for something strong to wash the taste out.

“Take him to the cells, I’ll deal with him later,” Covyn growled and six guards took over for the hands holding him down and led him from the room.

I started pushing my hair back from my face and Covyn grabbed my hand, looking at my fingers. “What happened to your nails?”

I looked at my hands, blood and skin under the nails from scratching at the man. “They popped off when I was clawing him,” I muttered. “They were only press-ons, I’ll just take the rest off.”

When all the guards were gone only my mate, his betas and commanders remained and they surveyed the room. The bed was a mess of tangled sheets and a spattering of blood.

I leaned over to rest my head on Covyn, not wanting to get whatever blood I was wearing on his nice dress clothes, while I watched one of the commanders collect the finger.

“It’s a clean cut, no hesitation,” he gasped, looking at me.

I nodded shortly. “Enough force to break a carrot.” It was one of the craziest facts I had ever heard but had never thought it was true.

Covyn brought me into his arms holding me tightly. Before picking me up, tucking the shirt under my ass, and walking to the bed.

“Weren’t you terrified?” He asked, more concern and worry in his eyes than I expected considering how this played out.

I laughed and it caught him off guard. “When I realized it wasn’t you coming to bed me, of course I was, but letting myself feel that wasn’t going to help what was happening…” I continued more quietly, “after what happened with Sal I’m not about to fight for half-assed for my life anytime soon.”

He pulled me into him, apparently okay with ruining his clothes and I wasn’t about to complain. I needed a good hug, needed to erase the feeling of that man’s hands touching me, and nothing could do that quite like the fireworks Covyn’s hands lit me up with. I could feel the love and worry radiating from him, even though he knew there were still other people in the room.

I could hear the others talking about the intruder, what pack he was from, how large he was, how I had managed to hold him off. Covyn pulled back from slightly looking in to my eyes.

“Did he touch you?”

I knew what he meant. “He didn’t get that far, thanks to Spencer.”

“And you’re only human?” One of the commanders was saying as they again started to discuss things.

I opened my mouth to reply but Covyn interrupted me. “Of course she is, what a question right now.”

The man shook his head and bowed. “My apologies. We will need to send word to his pack of this dishonour and see how they are going to handle this. They will likely offer a sum of money, as I believe he is the Beta’s son…”

—-

Covyn

“Demand double their first offer and then accept it,” Evadiene interrupted, looking at me, not McLain.

I brushed her short hair back. “He deserves to have his canines ripped out for what he did to you,” I replied lowly. “No sum of money is worth your pain.”

Her eyes looked glossy and I wondered if she would cry. “Is his Alpha a good man?”

I looked to my commanders and Blake stepped forward. “I’ve fought with him, he is strong and honourable.”

“Then go on that, let his own pack deal the punishment,” she pleaded. “This is not the time to be making enemies.”

She didn’t know what it meant to be wolven, to let this slide would be to appear weak to other packs. Not punishing him for attempting to rape my mate in my own house… his actions deserved death.

“We’ll discuss this later,” I growled. “Commanders you are excused, Betas stay, we will pick up our meeting after lunch.”

The appropriate parties bowed and left, and that’s when I noticed Sequoia rubbing against Spencer.

“Coy, such a good girl. Come here darling. I’m going to shower,” Evadiene informed me, climbing off my lap and picking up Sequoia along the way, allowing me a quick peak at her ass.

I began to follow after her. “Hold on Evadiene..”

“I’ve told you my bit and I’ve already gathered Spencer’s story. Why should I stick around to hear you figure it out. Or maybe better yet-,“ she turned around and held Sequoia out to me, “-I can leave her in my place, she knows me better than anyone and you’ll trust her thoughts just as much. Go ahead tell him Coy…”

“Is this because of his punishment?” I demanded and she pulled Sequoia into herself.

She grit her teeth. “You’ll see when you want to.”

I reached for her hand but she jerked or from my grasp without even looking. “You don’t have to bring me new clothes, but I’ll come out in my birthday suit whether they’re here, whether that door is fixed, or not.”

She slammed the door behind her and I felt the gust of wind before I heard it lock. When I turned around Ellion and Spencer had their cheeks puffed out and were trying to look away like they hadn’t heard everything.

“Spencer why were you in her room?” I demanded but he didn’t look at all concerned.

“When I went to pee I heard the cat hissing and then she came running down to replace me. I mean, this isn’t Lassie, she wasn’t locked in your room with the Luna and I knew you were in the meeting, so something was wrong.

“I followed her back and I heard the Luna scream, kicked in the door and saw that asshole on top of her. She bust his face when I distracted him and I got him under control while she got out of the way.

“Then you got here. He called her Nova, so he must have gone to the club, probably on his way through town from his pack lands.” Spencer had walked over to the bed by the end, something catching his eye.

When he turned he was holding up a pair of lace underwear and it took me a minute longer than him to realize. “Didn’t she say she didn’t have underwear?”

I nodded taking them from him and smelling them.

A snarl racked my lips. “They’re definitely hers.”

I heard the shower turn off and a second later she was opening the door in her towel. Evadiene looked at me, and the underwear in my hand, before moving to my closet.

“Where did you replace my underwear?”

She dropped her towel without warning and I snarled for my betas to turn around.

“It was in the bed,” I returned, following her into my closet.

She looked sideways at it again. “So that’s what he put in my mouth. I wore those two weeks ago, he must have snuck into the staff room and taken them from my locker.”

She pulled a shirt from one of the drawers and slipped it over her head.

“How are you so calm?” Spencer asked as she walked past to the bed.

“Do you guys need photos or something?” She asked instead.

Ellion shook his head. “Already done.”

So she began pulling the bloody blankets off one by one.

“Leave it, the staff will do it,” I informed but she ignored me.

“First of all, you saw where I worked and that was one of my best jobs. Second, it’s probably shock.” She groaned when she found blood on my pillow, adding it to the dirty pile.

“I felt safe sleeping here, and now I’ve had a severed finger in my mouth.” She shrugged. “Not exactly Folgers in my cup is it. Third…-“ she grabbed the only good pillow and laid on a bare bed with a throw blanket from the chair, “- I am barely awake, so I’m probably going to cry about this later. Coffee, then, would be good, and… garlic toast.”

“How can you bare to sleep in this room again?” I would have burned the bed before asking her to ever do that, thinking back to her face with blood over her chin and eyes wide in shock.

“You made a mistake,” she shrugged again, closing her eyes, “and you won’t do it again. I trust you.”

The words came out level, but I felt the emphasis on every single word. It made me furious

Why is there such calm in her heart? Where is the disdain, I wondered, staring at her falling asleep so easily.

I couldn’t even bare to see her in the bed that had just been spattered with a man’s blood, with a severed finger just laying near our pillows. I sighed deeply, and looked at my betas.

“Help me do a quick sweep of the room, and then we’ll talk outside so she can sleep.”