She couldn’t defeat him, not on her own. He was gaining on her. She could practically feel his breath on her neck. Taking a gamble, she circled the house and leapt onto the porch. She surged through the broken door and down the hall to the office. If she was wrong, she was dead. Her only hope was that Cyrus hadn’t locked the shotgun back in the gun safe and that it was loaded.

  She skidded around the corner and slammed into the wall. Toenails skidding on the wood floor, she scrambled to her feet, shifted back to human, grabbed the gun from where it was propped against the wall, spun around, and pulled the trigger.

  The loud blast made her ears ring. She’d hit her target, but the wolf yelped and kept coming. The kick from the weapon knocked her back a step. She righted herself and fired again.

  The wolf was bleeding but not down. She needed a head or heart shot for that. The beast leapt at her. Ignoring the burn from the heated barrel, she wielded the shotgun like a club, smashing the stock against Duke’s skull. The gun snapped into two pieces. Dropping them, she shifted as she ran. With him blocking the only exit, she ducked her head and crashed through the window. Glass shattered. Several shards sliced through her fur. Landing hard, she tumbled head over heels.

  Duke flew out the window behind her. She rolled, barely avoiding his massive jaws and razor-sharp claws. Panting heavily, heart pounding, she spun around to face him. She couldn’t outrun him, and they both knew it. There was no reasoning with him at the best of times. Now he was totally out of control.

  He stalked toward her, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The bastard was enjoying himself. Made her wonder if Nash had gotten his taste for hunting humans from his daddy. She growled, unwilling to back down.

  Duke shifted to human, the familiar smug smile on his face. “Your protector is dead.”

  Pain split her heart. Eli! She shook her head, refusing to believe him. She’d know if something had happened to him, wouldn’t she? Duke lied. He’d say anything to hurt her.

  “My son is dead because you refused to do your duty.” How like him to blame her for his and his son’s shortcomings. Nothing was ever his fault. It was always someone else’s. She growled again and snapped. He skittered back a step before he caught himself.

  “You’ll pay for that.” He shifted back to his wolf form and pounced.

  Expecting it, Kinley sprang to the side but not fast enough. Powerful jaws gripped the back of her neck and shook her, rattling her bones. Breathing became more difficult. Blood scented the air. She dug her claws into the ground, desperately trying to scramble away. Duke’s larger, heavier body pushed her down, making escape impossible.

  Then the weight was suddenly gone from her. Gasping, she lay on the ground, bleeding and exhausted. “I killed her. You’re too late,” Duke screamed. Inch by painful inch, she turned her head, needing to see what was happening.

  A silent and swift harbinger of death, Eli straddled Duke in his human form. Claws ripped out from the tips of his fingers. Lips pulled back in a feral snarl, he rammed them into Duke’s chest and ripped out his heart.

  Kinley closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the warm earth. Eli was safe. Nothing else mattered. Then he was kneeling in the dirt beside her. “Kinley, look at me.”

  Her eyes were heavy. It was a struggle, but she managed to open them, wanting to see him one last time. Strength waning, she somehow managed to shift back to human form. “Kept.” She tried to swallow and tasted blood. “Vow.” As the last word left her, so did her breath. Her world went black.

  Chapter Twenty

  “No.” The ragged whisper was ripped from his throat. Kinley’s lifeless body lay before him. Too late. It had taken too long to dispatch his enemies. “No,” he repeated, this time more determined. Kinley was a wolf, not a human.

  He gently turned her onto her back. Several long gouges ran down her slides. Her heart was intact but wasn’t beating. He pressed his hands against the center of her chest and began CPR. He’d never done it before, but he’d seen it done in movies and on television. “Come on. Come on.”

  “Shit!” Zach fell to his knees beside them. “What can I do?”

  “Take over for me.” When Zach moved into position, Eli counted down. “In three, two, one.” He lifted his hands and his brother swapped places without missing a beat.

  Eli lowered his head and caught the fresh scent of blood. Duke had caught her around the back of the neck. He hadn’t crushed her spine because she’d turned her head. Pressing his mouth to hers, he began to breathe, he and Zach working in tandem. He sensed the rest of his brothers returning. He didn’t look up, didn’t stop.

  “Eli.” Cyrus’s hand gripped his shoulder. He shook it off.

  “She’s not gone.” She couldn’t be. He’d only just found her. A tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto her face. He swiped it away and kept going, filling her lungs with his breath, willing her to live. Another minute passed.

  He was no stranger to death. He’d lost both parents, killed his share of bad men, but this? Kinley had given him a glimpse of something beyond cold duty and his role as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. She’d given him hope.

  “Eli.” This time he didn’t shake off Cyrus’s hand.

  “I can’t stop.” If he did, it meant he’d given up, that she was truly gone. Every tick of the clock was a death knell. Time was an enemy he couldn’t fight.

  “Let her go,” Cyrus murmured. “There’s nothing more you can do.”

  Eli shook his head, tears rolling unchecked down his face. Zach sat back and hung his head in defeat. It was over.

  Throwing back his head, a mournful howl was ripped from the depths of Eli’s soul. Six other howls joined his in a sorrowful tribute, the Seven Deadly Sins united in life and death.

  A faint, barely detectable whisper of a howl joined in. Eli’s head snapped down. The others fell silent. Kinley’s lips were parted, her chest rising and slowly falling.

  “Kinley.” No response. He pressed his ear against her chest and caught the slight beat of her heart. “She’s alive.”

  “Get her inside.” All business, Cyrus began to direct them. “Zach, you’re with Eli. The rest of you, I want every trace of those fuckers gone from our mountain. Collect keys, phones, and wallets. After we’ve dealt with the bodies, find and move all the vehicles to the field a half mile up from the house where I stashed Ridge’s truck. They’ll keep until we decide what to do with them.”

  Leaving his brothers to deal with the aftermath of the battle, Eli carefully slid his arms under Kinley and lifted her. She was light in his arms, delicate, yet she’d been tough enough to hold her own against an alpha wolf, strong enough to come back to him. He watched every inhalation, every slight rise and fall of her chest, afraid if he looked away she might stop breathing.

  Zach went ahead of him and shook his head. “Damn.”

  The front door was wide open and hanging by a single hinge. It had almost been ripped clean off. Eli’s jaw tightened at the sign of how badly he’d failed her. There was no telling what else they’d find.

  “I need to clean her up.” There was so much blood, it was impossible to see the extent of her injuries. They didn’t have much in first aid supplies. They’d never needed them before.

  “I’m on it.” Zach hurried ahead leaving him to follow.

  They all had private bathrooms with showers, but their parents’ old suite, the one they’d converted into an office, was the only one with a tub. Their mother had enjoyed her long soaks and their daddy had enjoyed making his mate happy.

  The smashed window and shards of glass along with the broken shotgun and acrid scent of gunpowder lingering in the air told their own tale. “He’ll never hurt you again,” he murmured.

  All this death and destruction set squarely on the shoulders of a man who should never have been an alpha. Duke Wright had sown the seeds for this day of death.

  Water was filling the tub. The separate shower was also on full blast. Zach held out his arms. “Give her to me.”

  Eli growled at his brother. “Back off.”

  “You’re covered in Duke’s blood, man.”

  Shit, he’d forgotten his hands were coated in the dried blood of the man who’d tried to murder her. Not enough time had passed for it to fully disintegrate and turn to dust. “I’ll be fast.”

  Zach carefully took her and stood right beside the shower door as Eli lathered his hands and arms. Blood pooled at his feet and disappeared down the drain. He made a half-hearted swipe at his chest and considered it done. He cranked off the water and held out his arms. “Give her to me.”

  After the transfer, Zach shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “What else can I do?”

  “Round up any bandages you can find.”

  “You got it.”

  Since she was as naked as him, due to shifting, he stepped over the rim and sank down with her in his arms. Her thick reddish-brown hair was wet with sweat and blood. She wouldn’t like that. With her supported against his chest, he scooped water into his palm and poured it over her head, careful it didn’t run into her eyes.

  She was limp and still. Only the low thump of her heart reassured him she was indeed alive. He grabbed the washcloth Zach had set out and began to clean her stomach and sides, his mouth tightening at the sight of the long slashes. They’d finally stopped bleeding, but they were a vivid reminder of how badly he’d failed her.

  I should have been there.

  Duke Wright was a coward. Everything he’d heard and learned about the man had led him to believe he’d run away rather than risk himself. Eli hadn’t factored in his fury at the death of his son or that he’d blame Kinley for it. That mistake had almost cost Kinley her life.

  A soft whimper jerked his attention back to the task at hand. There’d be plenty of time for recriminations later. “I’ve got you.” He leaned forward long enough to turn off the water before settling back. “You’re safe.” He had no idea how much she heard or understood in her current state, if anything, but he reassured her anyway.

  Her eyelids fluttered. “Eli?”

  His throat tightened, and he clutched her closer. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re safe.” He’d repeat it a thousand times if necessary. It was as much to convince himself as it was to reassure her.

  “You’re okay?” Her blue eyes were unfocused, her voice weak.

  The lump in his throat made it impossible to speak. After everything she’d been through, that her first concern was for him moved him to the depths of his soul. He nodded, his throat tight. “Yeah,” he managed to get out.

  Her eyes began to flutter closed, then shot open. “Duke!” She tried to sit upright, splashing water over the side of the tub onto the floor. He caught and held her before she could further injure herself.

  “He’s dead. He can’t ever hurt you again.” The mournful wailing sound she made broke his heart. He palmed the back of her head and settled her against his shoulder. Her salty tears mingled with the water droplets on his skin. Tenderness welled up inside him. If he could take away her pain, he would. All he could do was be here for her. “I’ve got you.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of movement in the doorway. Zach set the meager first aid supplies on the vanity, gave him a nod of understanding, and left them alone. God, he’d won the jackpot when it came to family. Kinley hadn’t been nearly as lucky.

  Rather than try to get her to stop, he let her weep. She needed to release the fear, anger, and poison from her system. It was the first step toward healing. When it finally ceased, he lifted her off his lap and set her in the tub in front of him. “I need to wash your hair.” And check the back of her neck. Duke had done his damndest to kill her.

  The puncture marks were still seeping, an indication of how deep they’d gone. It was a miracle there were no broken bones. More likely it had been intentional. Duke hadn’t wanted her to die fast, had wanted her to suffer, to suffocate her slowly. That need for prolonged vengeance had saved her life.

  Eli pressed his lips against one of the wounds. “Are you able to tip your head back? I need to wash your hair.”

  She drew her knees toward her chest and wrapped her arms around them. When she started to tilt her head back, what little color remained in her face vanished. Sweat beaded on her brow. “Can’t.”

  There would be extensive muscle and tissue damage that hadn’t had nearly enough time to heal. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s try it another way.” Eli hoisted himself out of the tub and knelt beside it, uncaring of the water dripping off him to soak the floor. He released the stopper on the tub, letting the water level lower. Kinley began to shiver. “Not much longer. I have to get rid of the dried blood.” When the water was the right level, he put the stopper back in. “Let me know if this hurts.” Supporting her shoulders and neck, he lowered her into the tub. The water lapped at her body but not her face. More importantly, her hair floated out around her.

  With a sigh, she closed her eyes. Bruises dotted her limbs. The smaller cuts on her arms and legs, likely from the shattered glass in the office, had stopped bleeding. With time, they would fade, not deep enough to leave lasting scars.

  Goose bumps rose on her exposed skin. She was too exhausted to lift her head. It was taking huge amounts of energy to heal. Her body would prioritize, targeting the most critical injuries first. There wasn’t anything more severe than battling back from death. Even for a wolf, it would be days, maybe weeks before she was back to normal.

  As gently as he could, he washed her hair, using his fingers to distribute the shampoo through the thick locks. It wasn’t perfect, but it did the job. When he was satisfied there was no blood left, he slipped his arm beneath her. “I’m going to ease you upright. Stop me if it hurts.” At her slight nod, he got her into a sitting position with only a minor wince.

  Shivers racked her entire body, her teeth chattering. The shock, coupled with the blood loss and adrenaline dump, was too much for her system to handle. He lifted her out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her hair, and draped another around her before settling her on top of the vanity. “I need to bandage your neck.” He flipped open the first aid kit and rummaged around.

  “I’ll heal.” Eyes closed, she slumped forward.

  “Those puncture marks are deep.” With her hair tucked under the towel, he studied them. He couldn’t say if they looked better or not but was taking no chances. His hands were clumsy as he ripped open several packets of sterile gauze and secured them with medical tape. There wasn’t much else he could do. It felt wholly inadequate.

  Leaving the mess for Zach to clear away, he carried her, towels and all, out of the bathroom. There was no sign of his brother as he took her up the stairs to his room. For the first time in his life his duty to his family wasn’t his priority.

  ****

  A bone-deep cold permeated every cell of her body, a chill that not even Eli’s presence could dispel. Teeth chattering, she gripped the towel tighter.

  So much blood.

  Her stomach churned, threatening to revolt. She inhaled through her nose, filling her senses with the clean earthiness of the soap and Eli’s masculine scent.

  Duke had tried to kill her, would have succeeded if Eli hadn’t arrived. She owed him her life twice over since he’d also saved her from Nash. And what had she given him? Death and destruction. Hardly a fair trade.

  “Your brothers?” It was unforgivable she hadn’t asked sooner. Although she doubted he’d be here if one of them was in trouble.

  “Cleaning up the mess.” He set her down on the bed and tugged away the towel. “You were the only one seriously hurt.”

  Relief flooded through her, followed by a violent shudder when the cool air hit her bare skin. Eli quickly pulled the covers over her. “Thank God.”

  “Thank God,” he repeated, sounding more pissed than relieved. Seated beside her, he planted his hands on either side of her head and leaned down until their noses almost touched. She was momentarily distracted by his thick eyelashes and straight dark brows. “Is that all you have to say?”

  She blinked and refocused on the conversation. He was right. She owed him more than could ever be repaid. She licked her lips and took a steadying breath. “This is my fault. There’s no apology that will make up for today.”

  “I don’t want your damn apology.”

  She flinched in the face of his anger, even though he had every right to it. He’d saved her life, destroyed her enemies, cleaned her up, and bandaged her wounds. All because it was the right thing to do, and he felt responsible for her because they’d made love. It was a wonder he could bear to look at her. Nothing she could say or do would compensate for all she’d put him and his family through.

  Pain squeezed her heart. There wasn’t any part of her—body, mind, or spirit—that didn’t ache. Fatigue pulled at her, but she couldn’t give in to it, knew what she had to do.

  “I’ll get my things and leave you in peace.” She had no idea where she’d go, hadn’t thought much past surviving.

  “What?” The softly spoken question was more terrifying than if he’d yelled it. Eli wasn’t merely angry, he was beyond furious, but being Eli, he controlled it.

  “I know you don’t want me here.” She blinked hard. She wouldn’t cry, at least not until she was far away from here. It was time to be strong. “I know you don’t want me to say I’m sorry, but I am.”

  “Listen carefully, sweetheart.” Her heart leapt at the endearment. “You died.” His voice broke and he took a breath. “You died in my arms. I didn’t protect you. I failed you.”

  Her brows lowered into a deep frown. “But I’m alive.” Yet Eli wouldn’t lie to her. That meant... She swallowed. “I died?”

  Everything was murky from the time Duke caught her around the back of the neck to choke her until she was in the tub. Like a half-remembered dream.

  “Your heart stopped. You weren’t breathing. Zach and I worked on you for a long time, trying to bring you back. I gave up.” He said it as though admitting some deep, dark secret. “I gave up,” he repeated. “Then your heart started beating and you began to breathe on your own.” His gaze turned fierce. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.”