Operation: Marauder

Chapter 23

Rowan left the meeting feeling like he had personally escorted Zoey to the executioner. Just by looking at Jack's pale face, he knew he felt the same.

His chest felt tight, heavy, making it nearly impossible to breathe, at the thought of Zoey behind bars, lumped in with a bunch of criminals. The more he thought about it, seeing her terrified expression whenever he visited her, made his rage burn hotter.

Jack glanced down at Rowan's claws warily. "Hey, man. . ."

Rowan growled. Couldn't help it. His control was slipping. His instincts demanded he protect his mate and, after seeing how willing the humans were to throw Zoey's life away so they could continue to use his men and his craft freely, he was reaching the point where he didn't care about anything else as long as Zoey was safe and with him.

"Rowan-"

"She is your sister, your blood, and you did nothing to defend her," he seethed, wheeling around to shove him into the wall. His claws tore through his shirt as he held him against the wall. "You sat there and told them exactly what they wanted to hear!"

Even had them thinking it was Zoey's idea to have Mave teach her how to fly when Rowan tried to convince them that Mave didn't understand the repercussions of his actions.

A pair of soldier stepped towards them to interfere. Fine by Rowan. He was rearing for a fight. All he needed was an excuse.

Except Jack waved them away. Once they were alone, he looked up to Rowan, emotion swirling inside his eyes he hadn't seen in the human before. "I know it sucks, Rowan, and trust me, it doesn't sit right with me, but we're low on options. My dad said he would take care of Zoey as long as I focused on staying on your team and ensuring you come out of this scott free."

A snarl ripped out of his throat. The savage, primal need to tear out his throat rose to the surface; he felt his canines grow into fangs meant for tearing as he growled in his face. "And you believed him? You said so yourself that your father was out to get Zoey. If anything happens to her, I'm coming for your head and we're leaving."

Later, he would remember the logistics of leaving weren't as simple as him wanting to get off this fucking planet. Right now, all he saw was red. He wanted to find Zoey, and if they kept her from him, there will be blood.

Jack gaped at him, disbelieving of the transformation before him, that Rowan would threaten him. Pain took over in his eyes, but he clamped it down in the rest of his features and held a blank mask. "What the hell has gotten into you, Rowan?"

Rowan plucked him off the wall, gripping his shirt furiously to hold himself back from ripping the human apart. It was more difficult than it should have been. "You don't threaten an Arthonian's mate, Jack. Ever. I will kill anyone before they hurt her."

He watched as Jack slowly pieced it all together. Then the shock settled in. "My sister. . . is your mate? Like, the 'you only get one' kind of mate? The one you can only find during your Fever? Rowan-"

He wouldn't know what Jack thought about this new development. The alarm went off. It was so loud to his sensitive ears, he dropped Jack to cover them. The infuriating red light blinded him for a second with every flash and it took him way too long to adjust to it.

When his senses finally acclimated to the sensory overload, Rowan stood straight and saw Jack on the phone. Even with the stupid alarm wailing, he could hear the gunfire on the other end of the line.

"Three vehicles broke through the front gate!" the man on the phone answered Jack's question. "Two vehicles passed us for the compound. One stayed in the parking lot. They're killing everyone! We can't stop them. Our bullets don't do anything. We-" He was cut off by a distant cry and then the line went dead.