Chapter 122: Chapter 16

COLE

Bristol tosses her bag into the back seat, then kisses her mate and her son. ~Fuck, I want that so bad.~ I can picture Lexi, big-bellied with my pup, most likely a girl. I wave to Bristol’s mate, Hugh Abbott.

He’s a nice guy, albeit with a dry personality. We hightail it out of their territory.

“Hey, cuz, how is little Carter?” I ask as she waves while I pull away.

I look to my most rebellious cousin. Bristol is a few years older than me. She’s wild and likes to stir up trouble. She was a blast in high school and she always got me and Emmett into trouble.

She has natural, thick, golden blond hair and the perfect body that makes men hard and women hate her on principle. However, she hates looking like a Barbie doll—her words—so she’s tatted with a sleeve on her right arm and an entire back piece.

My favorite tattoo is the word ~cunt~ written in elegant script on the inside of her right middle finger. Right now, her hair is lilac purple and pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head.

Bristol is also the daughter of Uncle Ryan and Aunt Realta, so she has all of the powers of the Starlight Sisters, just like Natalie. Her teal eyes sparkle with pride at the mention of her pup.

“He’s perfectly chubby and every ounce an alpha. How’s the mate search? Still not marked, I see.”

I grunt. “Well, I was working on that until this crept up. I found her.”

Bristol’s mouth drops open. “It’s about fucking time! I thought you were going to turn into some creepy old hermit; smelly with dreadlocks down to your ass.”

I snort a laugh. “You’re telling me. Her name is Lexi Richardson. She’s twenty-one and fresh out of college.”

“Ah, no wonder you couldn’t find her at a pack. If she went to college straight out of high school, she would’ve been seventeen. I assume she lived in the dorms with the humans?”

“Yeah.” I agree, even though there’s much more to it. “…I need to make a quick stop in Princeton. She was pissed at me this afternoon, so she doesn’t know I’m leaving.”

“Whatever. Don’t blame me if we’re late for the flight.”

“Takeoff is at 1:30 p.m. We have time.”

“What did you do to piss her off?” Bristol can’t hold back her curiosity, and she loves a good story.

“I stuck my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Her ass crack?”

I snort a laugh. “Fuck, Bristol.”

She shrugs her shoulder. “Hey, not everyone is into backdoor play.”

“We haven’t mated yet,” I inform her, ignoring her playful quip.

“Why the fuck not? You’ve been waiting for her since you were old enough to wake up with morning wood. I’m surprised you didn’t pounce on her the second you sniffed her out.”

I roll my eyes. “She’s still a virgin.”

“And…?”

“And I only found her a week ago.”

“Goddess, you’re slower than a one-legged dog on tranquilizers. Break her in already.” She kicks off her shoes then climbs into the back seat. “I’m going to take a nap since we’re in for a nice boring ride.”

She steals a shirt from my spare clothes bag to use as a blanket. In no time at all, I hear her soft snores.

It’s after midnight when I pull up to Lexi’s apartment. Loud music is playing, and I smell a male wolf. That better be Janine’s date. I slam my fist on the door to make sure the bastard can hear me.

“Open up now!” I throw out some alpha vibes to let him know I’m not playing around. The jackass from the Smith Pack that swung on me opens the door. His eyes are glazed over, and he’s wearing nothing but some nasty old boxer shorts.

I shove him out of the way and step inside. Lexi is sprawled out on her couch in nothing but her underwear. Her hair is draped over her face. I grab the piece of shit male by the throat and pull him in front of me.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

“It’s not your business. We’re just having a little fun.”

I growl into his face then punch him twice just for the hell of it. The pussy falls to the ground, whining and carrying on about his face. I lift Lexi’s eyelids. She’s passed out with her eyes also glazed over.

I look over her body, but I don’t see any marks. “Bristol! I need you.” I know she’ll hear me over the music. I grab the male that’s trying to slither away from me.

“What did you give her?”

His face is already bloody, but I punch him again.

“I didn’t give her nothing, man. She was all over me at the club, she was practically begging for it. She’s just a human, why do you care?”

I growl as Bristol begins to check Lexi over. “Did you fuck her?”

“Your sorry ass busted in before we could.”

I see red and start punching. “You drugged my mate then you try to rape her!” I continue hitting the guy’s face until it’s indiscernible, then I switch to kicking and stomping on his worthless body.

“Cole, your mate. You need to take her to bed.” Bristol distracts me enough to keep me from killing the guy. He’s curled into a bloody heap on the ground. The word ~mate~ stops me in my tracks.

I turn to check on Lexi. She’s still asleep on the couch but with her head in Bristol’s lap. I pick her up and carry her to her room to lay her in her bed. I grab a T-shirt from my duffel bag that’s still stored in her closet and slip it on her.

I tuck her in then call Janine. She answers with a tired voice.

“Lexi was drugged and I have an emergency that I’m leaving town to take care of. Can you watch her for me?”

“Of course, but I’m leaving tomorrow night.”

I close my eyes and grunt. “Move your flight back until Wednesday. I’ll cover all of the expenses and pay for anything else you need. Just don’t leave her side for any reason.”

“I can be there in 10.”

Bristol finally cuts the music. I walk out to find her relaxing on the couch, reading a magazine. The asshole is still on the floor, breathing, unfortunately.

“I’m not cleaning that up. It looks like a damned crime scene in here. You got a little on your shirt there.”

I look down at my blood-covered shirt. I snort a laugh, then begin mopping up the mess. I wash up and change just as Bristol lets Janine in.

“Janine. This is my cousin, Bristol. We’ll be in California. Call or text me if you need anything. I might not answer immediately. I’ll be back Monday night, Tuesday morning at the latest.”

“Lexi is just sleeping off the GHB that punk slipped her. I’m a nurse, I already checked her over. Pain relievers in the morning, lots of water,” Bristol tells Janine as she gets to her feet.

“Come on, Cole. Let’s get this guy to the authorities.”

I cock my brow at Bristol. She’s not a nurse and I have no intention of leaving this guy anywhere but six feet under.

“Don’t be a fucking idiot. We gotta go,” she whispers so Janine can’t hear her.

Janine shakes her head as she looks at the knocked-out guy. Bristol pretty much healed his face, which is too bad.

I think he looked better covered in his own blood.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left her at that club with him. Kyle has been chasing after her for years.”

“Don’t worry your pretty head. Alpha male Cole got here in time. He rescued the princess, now they can ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after in his castle,” Bristol comments as I throw the male over my shoulder.

“Oh look, Cole, you missed a spot.”

I roll my eyes as Bristol points out a small puddle of blood.

“I’ll get it in a minute.”

I toss the male into the back of my truck, none too gently.

“I punched him a few times,” I inform Janine when I walk back in the apartment and she gives me a questioning look.

She seems pleased to hear it.

I finish cleaning up then check in on Lexi, giving her a kiss to her soft, but tangled hair.

“I’ll be back, my mate. I promise.”

I kiss her head once more then Janine locks the door behind me.

Bristol is already buckled in, still reading the magazine she swiped from Lexi’s apartment.

“That was exciting. But I’m confused, your mate’s wolf is repressed? How the fuck did that happen?” she asks, still reading.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it after I drop this asshole to his pack.”

“He had a lot on him. I found it in his pocket.”

She hands over a snack-sized bag filled with pills.

“Fuck! Why does he need so much?”

“My guess is he’s a distributor. You might want to check into his alpha. He’s a lackey. Either his alpha is in on it or he’s a fucking idiot. Either way, bad alpha. You almost killed him by the way. I healed the visible injuries since you had the human coming over. He still has some extensive internal damage. He should be able to heal within a month or so. I healed anything life-threatening. I didn’t want you to have to beat him again.”

I turn to glance at her, then look back to the road.

“Oops.”

Bristol laughs and finally tosses the magazine into the back seat.

“Thanks for healing my mate. You felt her wolf, huh?”

“Barely. I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s like the wolf is in there, but not part of her. The wolf recognized my power but went back into hiding. I couldn’t communicate with her. She sure is a beauty. I think I’ll dye my hair that color, although it’s really hard to get that blue shade in black hair. She’s clearly a natural.”

I smile as I look toward my beautiful cousin.

I think over Bristol’s description of Lexi and her wolf until we pull into the Smith territory.

Beta Kevin is manning the gate.

“Cole.” He reaches out an arm to shake.

I look him over, then shake his hand.

“What brings you by?”

I drop my tailgate, then hop into the back of the truck.

I kick the battered body so he spills out of my truck, landing roughly on the dirt and gravel road.

I latch my tailgate, then cross my arms as I talk to Beta Kevin.

“This fucker drugged my mate and was close to raping her. He’s lucky I got there in time, or I would be handing over a corpse. I want him locked up. Alpha Redd will be paying your pack a visit. He’ll decide what to do with him.”

He’ll also be looking into the pack, but I’m not going to tell him that. He can figure it out on his own.

I get back into my truck but roll the window down.

“I gave him a pretty good beating. He may need a doctor for some internal injuries, not that I care if he lives after what he tried to do to my mate.”

“Understood, Cole. I’m glad you found her and that you were able to get to her in time.”

Kevin lugs the body over his shoulders, then carries him to a truck a ways up the road.

I don’t even wait a second longer to get back on the road.

Bristol curls back up in the back seat and falls asleep.

I’m still pumped with adrenaline, and I’m wide awake for the drive back home.