Unstoppable Force (Force of Nature Series) by Kathi S. Barton Page A

they entered what would be the main
doorway. “I’ve made some adjustments to the original plans. When I started
this, I didn’t have a mate and figured that I could add on later.”
    Austin nodded. Connor thought there was
something odd about his brother being here, but he was too tired to try and
work it out. Besides, Austin would eventually get around to whatever brought
him out here this late in the day. Yawning again, they walked toward where the
kitchen would be.
    “Do you think she can cook? Lou, do you
think she knows how to cook?”
    Connor shrugged.
    “I’m betting she can if given the right
motivation. She probably hasn’t had a great deal of stove time being on the run
like she has been.”
    Connor nodded. He was simply too tired
to do this. “Spill it. I’m exhausted, pissed off, and need to eat. I’d like
nothing more than to go on a run and not stop until I’m so far away no one can
bother me.”
    “She’s gone.” It took Connor’s mind a
couple of seconds to figure out what he was saying. Then he clarified. “Lou. She
wasn’t working so I had her taken back to the jail. She left a few hours ago.”
    “You did what?” He turned to his older
brother and felt his beast snarl at him. “You sent my mate back to jail? What
the fuck for?”
    Austin stretched. He was bigger than
Connor and his wolf was master over his. He started to back down, but he had
taken his mate. No one touched what was his.
    “Does she know what you’re doing? Does
she know where you are?”
    Connor heard him, but wasn’t capable of
answering. All he could think of was that she was gone.
    “Connor, answer me.”
    “No. I was going to tell her. You had no
right.” He moved closer only to hear the low growl from him. “You get her now. Bring
her back to the house. If you don’t want to help me with her then I’ll do—”
    “Do what? What is it you’ll do with her?
Bring her here so she can sleep in the cold with you? How will you keep her
wound clean? Spit on her?”
    Connor lunged. He didn’t like what was
spewing from Austin’s mouth. Not that Austin wasn’t right in what he was
saying, he just didn’t like it. He shifted in mid air and it still wasn’t as
fast as Austin.
    It was over almost as soon as it
started. Austin had his wolf down and his powerful jaws clamped tightly around
his throat in no time. And every time he moved or tired to throw him off, he
would simply bite a little more. His wolf snarled, but Connor knew he had lost.
His brother spoke to him through their connection.
    “I’ll let you up if you behave.” Austin sounded
like he was reprimanding one of his children. “I mean it, Connor. I can hold
you here all night if you want.”
    “She’s mine. You had no right.” He hated the way
he sounded . “What the fuck were you thinking letting her go?”
    “That you didn’t want her.” That brought
him up short. He told Austin he would behave and he backed off. They both lay
there panting for several minutes. “Do you want her? As far as I can tell,
you’ve never mated with her. She doesn’t even have your scent on her. So far as
I can tell, the only thing that you’ve done is carry her to the bed. There is
no reason for us to keep her around when she didn’t want to be here in the
first place if you have decided to abandon her.”
    Abandoned her. He supposed that, in a
way, he had. He’d known that his mom would make sure she was fed. After this
morning, he knew that she’d been making sure of that. He had felt like shit
when she’d told him that the girl couldn’t eat anything. But he had thought he
didn’t have time to deal with it right now.
    “She’s going to have to come back here. I
can’t…I fucked up.”
    Austin’s wolf nodded then snorted.
    “Can you have her brought back here?”
    “No. You want her, then you go and get
her. But know this. If you don’t do something toward making her welcome or at
least knowledgeable about us, then I’ll send her back and