Alpha Province_Precious Angel Read online

  The breath whooshed from her lungs with relief and she sucked in another deep gulp of air. Blood filled her mouth when she bit into her lip, quelling the moan of pain when her ribs expanded.

  Once outside, she quietly closed the door behind her and gazed about. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but the street was deserted. She had no idea what time it was, but guessed it was well into the early hours of the morning, maybe close to dawn.

  Kenzie had to get away. If she didn’t, her life would be over one way or another. She hurried toward the empty vehicles as much as she could and pulled at each door, hoping to find one of them unlocked. She was in tears as she moved quickly to the last car. Please, let it be unlocked. Please, someone help me? God, are you listening to me. Help me!

  She nearly fell back on her ass when she tried the door to the last car and it opened. A low moan emitted from between her bloody lips and she prayed no one would realize she was missing. When she saw the key still in the ignition, hope started to replace the fear and dejection.

  Kenzie tried to ease herself in the driver’s seat, but ended up falling in. She was in too much of a hurry to worry about putting on her seatbelt, but she didn’t think she’d be able to reach it with her ribs screaming at her anyway.

  She kept her gaze on the warehouse as she turned the key and started the car. After putting it in gear, she drove from the parking lot out onto the road without the illumination of headlights to aid her vision. She was going to drive as far as she could without them. When and if she found a main road and she figured out her location, she would turn the lights on. She needed to get as far away from Bismarck, North Dakota, her father, and the men he’d sold her to as quickly as she could.

  Chapter One

  Jayson Cannon sang along with the radio as he drove his truck toward his hometown of Ambrose, North Dakota. His brothers had been bitching and moaning about not having a couple ingredients for the dish they’d wanted to make for the day’s special, but instead of one of them deciding to drive to Crosby to the store, since the own store didn’t have what they wanted, they’d continued arguing.

  He’d had enough of their shit and without a word had left the kitchen of the Ambrose Hotel, gotten into his truck, and taken off. Normally he and his brothers got on, but lately they’d all been quick with their tempers. Him included.

  Jayson had a feeling it was going to get worse before it got better, but what pissed him off was he had no idea why they were all so antsy. Usually, him, Jenson, and Jordan were levelheaded and even-tempered.

  He’d just turned his truck from 103rd St NW onto 127th Ave NW when he spotted the car on the side of the road a few hundred yards in front of him. He wondered if the car had been abandoned or if it had broken down. He was just about to pass it, but he slammed on the brakes when he saw a blonde head leaning against the window. The driver could have been taking a catnap to circumvent fatigue, but when the hackles on his neck rose and his gut knotted, he knew there was something wrong.

  After making sure the road was still clear behind him, he put the truck into reverse and backed up. He parked behind the silver four-door sedan, turned the ignition off, and got out. Using his inner animal’s enhanced vision, he kept his eyes trained on the driver just in case they were up to no good. This close to the US/Canadian border, it wouldn’t surprise him if the person in the car was a criminal and pulled a gun on him.

  He stood outside the door and waited for the driver to notice him, but they were either deeply asleep, sick or dead. Once more calling on his inner panther, he used his enhanced hearing and nearly sighed with relief when he heard a heartbeat.

  Inhaling a deep breath as he prepared to tap on the window almost had his knees buckling. The amazing aroma of oranges and peaches, two of his favorite fruits, had his mouth watering. His feline yowled with excitement and leapt at his stomach, trying to get out so he could get to its mate.

  Jayson shoved his panther back and this time when he inhaled, he did so through his mouth. His cock was a hard spike in his jeans, threatening to bust his zipper out, but he ignored the fiery lust coursing through his blood. He needed to find out if his mate was all right. He suspected her car may have broken down and although he felt like a bastard for thinking it, he hoped it wasn’t an easy fix.

  He tapped on the glass of the window, but the woman inside didn’t stir, the back of her head was still resting on the glass. Jayson didn’t want to open the car door and scare the shit out of her, so he decided to walk around to the passenger side of the car.

  A roar of fury bubbled up from his chest and escaped out of his mouth before he could stop it. His mate’s face was bruised and swollen out of proportion. Her eyelids looked as if they were swelled shut.

  He didn’t even remember opening the door or climbing into the car beside her. His hands trembled as he reached for her, but before he touched her, he hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should move her or not. He could be doing more damage without even knowing it. He dug into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out and called Broden. Broden Higgins was a Kodiak bear shifter, and he also happened to be the one and only doctor in their small town.

  “Jayson, what’s up?” Broden answered.

  “I need you here, now!”

  “Where are you?”

  “On 127th Ave NW, a few hundred yards from town.”

  “Do I need my medical bag?”

  “Yes. Bring Jenson and Jordan with you. Hurry, Broden.” Jayson disconnected the call and gently placed his hand on his mate’s forehead. Her skin was hot and feverish. With a carefulness he hadn’t known he’d had, he brushed her blonde hair away from her face and gazed intently at her. The bruising was dark and new. She looked as if someone had used her as a fucking punching bag. He ground his teeth so hard his jaw cracked and wondered if he’d end up breaking a tooth.

  Her arms, legs, and feet were bare and covered in bruises, too. He wanted to lift her into his arms and tell her that she was safe, that whoever had hurt her was a dead man, but he clenched his fists instead. Jayson reluctantly shifted his gaze away from his mate and down the road toward Ambrose. A sigh of relief left his parted lips when he saw Doc’s vehicle speeding toward him. He got out of the car, leaned on the metal body, and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Broden screeched to a halt and then guided his truck onto the verge of the road. Jenson and Jordan were out of the vehicle before the doc had turned the ignition off.

  “What’s going—” Jenson groaned and stumbled before he righted himself.

  “What’s that delicious—” Jordan gasped.

  “Mate,” Jayson, Jenson, and Jordan said at the same time.

  “Who’s hurt?” Broden asked as he got out of his truck, medical bag in hand. “Did I hear y’all say mate?”

  Jayson’s panther hissed at the Kodiak bear shifter when he was close enough to the car to bend down and look in at his mate.

  “What the fuck?” Broden growled.

  Jordan and Jenson set the hackles on the back of his neck on end when they peered into the car and saw the state of their woman’s face. The growly yowling sounds they made mirrored his own anger, but they needed to keep their shit together in case she woke up. The last thing Jayson wanted was their mate fearing them because they were angry.

  Jayson scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed when his fingers encountered his eye patch. He didn’t know why he was getting his hopes up. She would probably take one look at him and his brothers and head in the opposite direction.

  He, Jenson, and Jordan had been caught in an IED explosion while they were serving in the Marines. If it hadn’t been for the faster healing they’d all no doubt be dead. It had been touch and go for a while, and their bodies had used all their reserves just to keep them alive. There was nothing left to heal them totally, hence the loss of his right eye, the burn damaged skin on Jenson’s forearms, the shrapnel scar on Jordan’s face and neck.

  None of them had a woman in over six years because of their vi
sible injuries and he’d been okay with that, but now, he wished he’d never joined up. He mentally shook his head because he wouldn’t have changed anything if he could have a do-over. He’d been proud to serve with his brothers and the other shifters to keep their country safe from fanatics and warmongers. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have met the other shifters or formed such solid bonds with them.

  He pushed his thoughts aside and met each of his brothers’ gazes. “Control your anger. We don’t want to scare her.”

  Broden was already in the front passenger seat of the car examining their mate. Jayson’s panther paced with agitation and jealousy, but he shoved his cat down deep.

  “One of you need to get me the neck collar from my truck,” Broden said. “I don’t know if she has whiplash or any other neck injuries, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Jordan hurried across the road toward Broden’s truck.

  “Fuck!” Broden snarled.

  “What?” Jayson crouched down so he could peer in through the open door, but Broden’s big body blocked his view.

  “She has busted ribs.”

  “Motherfuckingsonofabitch!” Jayson snarled.

  “Fuckingsonofawhore!” Jenson snapped.

  “Here’s the collar,” Jordan said through clenched teeth and passed it to Broden after Jayson moved aside.

  “Thanks.” Broden worked quickly and efficiently as he carefully placed the collar. “Jayson, go around to the driver’s door. I’ll make sure she doesn’t move too much when you open it. We need to get her out of here.”

  He hurried around the car and when Broden had gently moved his mate away from the door, he tugged it open. He met the doc’s gaze. “You can lift her out, but make sure you support her neck and head and don’t put any pressure on her ribs.”

  Jayson drew in a ragged breath and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pushed another under her knees. He nodded at Broden and then carefully lifted his mate into his arms. The doc made sure her head didn’t move as he climbed out the driver’s door.

  “I don’t want to jostle her too much. Can you hold her in the back seat of my truck?” Broden asked.

  “Yeah,” Jayson replied and then met his brothers’ eyes. “You’ll need to drive my truck and her car into town. Are we taking her to the clinic or should we take her to our place?”

  Broden frowned as he pondered the question. “The clinic. I need to X-ray those ribs, her face, and the rest of her body. I want to make sure she has no other breaks or fractures.”

  Jayson nodded and walked toward Broden’s truck. The Kodiak shifter held the back door open for him and he carefully climbed in, making sure his mate’s body didn’t touch the frame or the seat. He sighed when he sat and cradled her in his arms. She was so damn small her weight barely registered, yet she felt so right. She was where she was supposed to be. He just hoped that he’d get the chance to know her.

  Broden started the ignition after getting in the truck, did a U-turn, and followed Jenson and Jordan, who were driving the other vehicles, toward town.

  Minutes later Broden pulled up in front of the clinic, turned the ignition off, and opened the back door. Jayson wondered if Airen and Archer had already been at the clinic waiting, or if the doc had contacted his brothers telepathically. If so, Jayson had missed it. He’d been so intent on his mate, he’d been deaf and blind to everything but her.

  Jenson and Jordan were standing on the sidewalk with their arms crossed over their chests and fierce scowls on their faces.

  He maneuvered out of the vehicle and carried her into the clinic. Jayson was glad to see Pixie and her lion shifter mate, Tatum, in the waiting room. He was relieved to have another woman present just in case his woman woke up.

  “Put her on the exam bed.” Broden pointed to the bed after Jayson carried his mate into the room, aware of his brothers following him.

  “Who would do such a thing?” Pixie asked in a wobbly voice.

  Jayson didn’t need to look over his shoulder at the other woman to know she was crying. He could hear the tears in her voice and scent the aroma of salt water in the air.

  As soon as he’d gently lowered his mate to the table, he stepped back so Broden could work. The doc set up the X-ray machine and then pointed toward the door. “You’re all going to need to leave. I’ll call as soon as I’ve taken the images.”

  Jayson’s hackles rose with possessive jealousy. He didn’t want to leave Broden, Archer, and Airen alone with his mate. His animal was pitching a hissy fit. Thankfully, his human side was in control and he shoved his panther down onto his ass. His beast had nothing to be envious about because Broden and his brothers were already mated.

  He turned to find his brothers glaring at the three men hovering over their mate. He stepped in front of them to block their view. “She’ll be fine. They have no interest in our mate. They have a woman of their own.” He walked closer to his brothers, clasped their shoulders, and squeezed.

  The tension eased from their muscles and they sighed before they followed him out into the waiting area.

  “Who is she?” Tatum asked, caressing a hand up and down Pixie’s back as she tried to regain control.

  “She’s our mate.”

  “I got that,” Tatum said, “but who is she?”

  Jordan stepped forward. “There was nothing in the car.”

  “What?” Jayson frowned.

  “It was empty. No purse or anything else to give us a clue as to who our mate is,” Jordan explained.

  “What about registration papers?” Jenson frowned.

  “The glove box was empty, too.”

  “I could get one of the Louis brothers to run the plates,” Tatum suggested.

  “You can’t,” Pixie said as she turned in Tatum’s arms and faced Jayson and his brothers. “You need to wait and ask her what’s going on first.”

  “Pixie’s right,” Jenson said. “We want to earn our mate’s trust. We can’t do that if we start digging into her life without her knowing about it.”

  “I agree,” Jordan said.

  The door to the exam room opened and Archer meet their gazes with a stoic expression, but Jayson could see how tense and angry the man was. His hands were clenched into fists and he was grinding his teeth. “You can come back in.” He spun on his heel.

  Jayson and his brothers hurried after the bear shifter. A soft moan came from his mate. “Pixie, can you come in here please? She’s starting to wake up,” he said in a soft voice, knowing that she would hear him.

  He hurried toward the end of the bed and gazed down at her bruised and swollen face. She tensed and then tried to roll off the bed. Jayson grasped her shoulders to prevent her from moving any further and hurting herself. “You don’t need to be scared, baby. We won’t hurt you. We’re trying to help you. The doc’s already taken some X-rays and is looking at them as we speak.”

  Pixie shoved Jordan aside and said too quietly for their mate to hear, “Y’all need to back off. You’re terrifying her.”

  Jayson moved around toward the wall and leaned against it between his brothers. Pixie walked closer to the bed. “I’m Pixie. You don’t need to be scared anymore. You’re safe here.”

  “W-where am I?”

  A shiver of need raced up Jayson’s spine at the sound of his woman’s soft, husky voice. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to ignore the way his cock was pulsing and twitching as it filled with blood.

  “You’re in Ambrose, North Dakota.” Pixie glanced at Broden as he walked toward the foot of the bed. “This is Doctor Broden Higgins.”

  “Can you tell me your name, honey?” Broden asked in a low voice.

  “Kenzie.”

  Jayson frowned, hoping she’d add her surname, and sighed when she didn’t.

  “Are you allergic to any medications, Kenzie?” Broden asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  Broden nodded. “That’s good. I’m going to insert a cannula in your hand to give you some fl
uids and some pain medication. You’re slightly dehydrated and as well as being very bruised, you have a couple of cracked ribs.”

  “Okay.” Kenzie licked her dry lips and then winced.

  “What happened to you, Kenzie?” Pixie asked in a soft voice.

  Kenzie closed her eyes and sighed. Jayson’s anger surged front and center when tears leaked from under her lids and down over her bruised and swollen flesh, but once again, she remained silent. If it wasn’t for the hitch in her breathing and the tears seeping from her eyes, he would have thought she was asleep.

  Broden frowned and shook his head, but he kept his mouth shut.

  Jayson wanted to probe his mate for more information, but knew now wasn’t the time. He and his brothers needed to earn her trust as well as prove to her that she was safe with them. Whatever hell she’d been through had made her wary, and rightfully so.

  His panther was going crazy again because they could all smell the pain and fear emanating from the pores of her skin. Hopefully after Broden had treated her, the scent of her pain would diminish.

  He just hoped that she didn’t decide to take off once she was feeling more herself and could move without hurting so much.

  Chapter Two

  “Where the fuck is she?” Decha roared.

  “I don’t know,” Feng Jin, Decha’s second, replied. “We’ve looked everywhere but the slut’s disappeared.” Feng was getting worried. Decha, his boss, was getting angrier by the second, but he wasn’t the man he was worried about. He was scared shitless that the Triad leader he’d sent the picture to, was going to come gunning for him and his superior.

  Aiguo Lei was even nastier than Decha was. In fact, he made Decha look like a helpless little mouse. Lei had moved to America years ago to attend college and had loved the freedom and the country so much, he’d stayed. Lei had attained a degree in business and had made a name for himself, but it was the illegal pies he had his fingers in that had given him his renowned name. Lei was the head of the northern half of the American branch to the Triad, or Chinese Mafia, and was very bad news. If the fucker found out the woman he wanted to complete his collection was missing, their lives would be over.