Midnight Orchids Read online

  Ezra snorted at her. “Kylie belongs to me. If this supposed ‘mate’ tries to get in my way, he’s a dead man.” His grip tightened on Kylie’s arm. “Let’s go. We’re going home,” he hissed at her. “Any of you get in my way and you’ll regret it,” he snarled at the women Kylie had been with.

  Emelise was texting Remy as fast as her fingers could move while

  Lily moved as if she was going to intercept them.

  Ezra snarled at the wolf. “Get in my way, bitch, and you’ll regret it.”

  “Lily, don’t.” Kylie knew what Ezra was capable of and he didn’t care about attracting attention. “Just leave them alone. I’ll go with you.”

  “That’s the first smart thing you’ve said yet.” He dragged her toward his car. “Did you fuck him? Is that why that little bitch said you had a mate? Don’t you fucking lie to me. You fucked him like the slut you are, didn’t you?”

  Kylie cringed at the rage in his voice. “No, no, Ezra. I haven’t slept with anyone.” When he shoved her into the car and slammed the door, she scrambled to try to get out only to find the door wouldn’t open. Oh God, oh God, Oh god. He was going to kill her. When he got her alone, away from everyone, he was going to kill her. Or make her wish she was dead.

  Remy

  Remy was in his studio, working on the plans for the resort hotel when his phone went off. He started to ignore the text—he could always respond later—but decided it might be important. What he saw when he looked made his heart stop for a moment before he saw red.

  Remy, you need to get to Little Eden Cafe NOW. Kylie’s ex is here; he’s dragging her to his car! Lily is texting Declan for help!

  A roar ripped from him and it echoed in the building.

  “What? What’s happened?” Gage came tearing out of his own workroom at his brother’s roar.

  “Kylie’s in trouble,” Remy threw over his shoulder as he tore down the hall to the front door. He needed to get to her. That bastard put his hands on his mate, he was a dead man.

  Gage was right behind his brother and barely made it into the passenger side of his brother’s truck before Remy was speeding through the streets of New Orleans. He didn’t pay a single bit of attention to lights or his speed. All that mattered was reaching his mate.

  He pulled up in front of the cafe to find Emelise, Lily, and Shelli shaken and no sign of Kylie. “Where is she?”

  “He took her. I tried to stall him, I tried to stop him, but…he threatened me and Kylie told me not to get in his way.” Lily felt like she’d failed her friend.

  “FUCK!”

  “Calm the fuck down, Remy. We’ll find her.” Declan came up on them just as Remy nearly lost control of his temper, and his leopard. “They got his license plate and Sasha is already running it. He has to pass through Baton Rogue and I’ve already alerted Ryan Vallier. He’s got his cats out looking for his car. We’ll find them and you’ll get your mate back.”

  “Dat fucker raped and beat her; what do you tink he’s gonna do to her to punish her for leavin’ him?” Remy snarled.

  “We. Will. Get. Her. Back. Get your ass in your truck and let’s do this. Some of the Pack is already out tracking them too, but everyone knows the bastard who took your mate is yours.”

  Remy was shaking with rage, but he forced himself to calm down enough to follow Declan out of the city. When he got his hands on the leopard who dared to touch his mate, he was going to enjoy killing him.

  Kylie

  Part of her wanted to curl up and die but the other part of her wanted to rage at Ezra. How dare he come down there and force her into his car? She didn’t belong to him. “You’ve made a really big mistake, Ezra. You should have just let me go.”

  Ezra’s hand came up and he gripped a fistful of her hair. ‘The one who made a mistake was you. You brought this on yourself. When we get home, you will never set foot out of the house again. You won’t be able to, once I make sure you can never walk again.” He shoved her head against the passenger window hard enough her vision was blurry.

  “He’s going to kill you,” she whispered.

  “Keep dreaming, sweetheart. If the little fucker you shacked up with tries to come after us, he’ll be the one dying.”

  Kylie closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Remy to catch up to them soon. They’d left New Orleans behind, and she knew Ezra thought he was safe when he slowed down enough to not attract unwanted attention.

  She knew that either Lily or Emelise would alert Remy about what happened, but they had such a big head start. She instinctively knew Remy would follow them all the way to Frenchville, if need be, to get her back. Her biggest concern was what would happen to her in the interim. Would Remy be able to catch up to them before Ezra did something more than shove her head against the window?

  As the miles flew by, and they put more and more distance between them and New Orleans, Kylie could see Ezra relaxing even further. She kept looking out the side mirror, hoping to see Remy’s truck barreling down on them. As time passed, and the sky began to darken, Kylie tried to keep the doubts at bay, but she couldn’t help but wonder why Remy hadn’t caught up with them, yet.

  They neared the turn off to the last rest stop before crossing the state line into Mississippi, and Ezra slowed down. The sun had set, darkness had fallen, and the stars shone brightly overhead. “Still think he’s coming after you?” Ezra sneered. “Don’t even think about trying to run. Your punishment is already going to leave you hurting for days.”

  Kylie swallowed but she didn’t respond to his taunt. His words made the doubts surface and she tried to ignore them. When he opened the door for her, she slid out of the car. She kept her head down as he led them toward the bathrooms. He pushed her into the women’s restroom, checked to see if anyone else was in it, and then locked the door.

  “Strip.”

  Her head snapped up at his words.

  “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

  Her hands shook as she removed her clothes. She closed her eyes and tried to block out his touch. When he shoved her so her upper body was leaning against the sink, she bit back a sob. By the time he was done and she was dressed again, Kylie had all but shut down. Her feet dragged as they left the bathroom to head back to his car.

  Remy

  Remy and Declan had stayed in constant contact as they’d headed north on the I-10, following Ezra’s car. As the sun had set, Remy’s rage had increased. There was no telling what the bastard was doing to do to Kylie. She’d just started to open up to him; she’d just started letting him in. He hoped to hell this didn’t destroy all his hard work.

  “Heads up. Sasha said the car isn’t moving. There’s a rest stop up ahead.”

  Remy was pulled from his thoughts by Declan’s words. Finally. He couldn’t wait to get his claws in the bastard. He’d watched as two members of the Pack drove to the other end of the rest stop and maneuvered their vehicles to block anyone from leaving. He pulled into a spot, got out of his truck, and stalked toward the car with the Maine license plate. “They’re not in it.” His voice came out a growl.

  “Incoming.” Declan nodded toward the bathrooms.

  Remy saw red when he saw the male walking next to his mate, hand wrapped around her upper arm. They’d just exited the women’s bathroom and Remy could only imagine what might have transpired in there. Especially considering the way his mate was moving. Kylie’s head was down and it looked like she was having trouble walking. The bastard was practically dragging her beside him.

  “We’ll surround them,” Declan said and he and the others moved into the shadows.

  Remy didn’t take his eyes off Kylie as he strode toward them. He knew the guy caught his scent seconds before he let his fist fly, catching the guy off guard. “You put your fuckin’ hands on my mate, feet pue tan, you goddamn son of a bitch; you’re a dead man,” he snarled.

  Ezra let go of Kylie’s arm and within seconds he and Remy were fighting.

  They were roughly similar in s
ize, but Remy had an edge to him. First, he’d been on both the football team and the wrestling team, in high school and college. Second, he’d grown up in the bayou where he’d tangled with alligators a time or two. Ezra charged at Remy, trying to grapple with him, but soon found himself flat on his back. Remy was straddling the other leopard’s waist, pounding his face with his fists, when Declan intervened.

  “Not here, Remy. Too many risks. Too many potential witnesses. We’ll take him back to the compound. Your mate needs you right now.”

  The haze cleared from Remy’s eyes at those words and he looked to where Kylie was huddled in on herself with Sasha’s arms around her. He backed off and let Declan tie the leopard up. He didn’t think about anything else as he slowly approached his mate. When he was close enough, he smelled the other leopard’s scent and knew the fucker had raped her. He was going to make the leopard suffer for this. “It’s all right, Kitten. You’re safe now,” he crooned and gently took her in his arms.

  Ezra was bound and tossed into the trunk of his car. “Steele.” Declan tossed the leopard’s keys to the other wolf. “Get this piece of trash to the docks. Holden, go with him. We’ll meet you there just as soon as Kylie’s able to travel.”

  “You got it, Boss.” Steele slid behind the wheel and once Holden got in the passenger side, they were gone.

  “Come on, Kitten, let’s get you home.” Remy kept an arm around her as he guided her to his truck.

  “I’ll drive,” Gage said as he headed to the driver’s side of the truck.

  “Thanks.” Remy didn’t want to let go of Kylie for even a moment, but he had to in order for them to both get into the truck. He put her in the middle, between him and Gage, and slid in next to her. She still hadn’t said anything and that had him worried. “Talk to me, Kitten,” he murmured next to her ear, and waited for a response.

  Kylie

  She was stuck in a daze. She’d watched Remy pound on Ezra, and she’d tried to pull herself together enough to say something, but it was as if she’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. By the time she was in the truck, tucked close to Remy’s side, she was shaking. Her fingers curled around his shirt and she clung to him. Even if she couldn’t pull herself together enough to reply to his gentle urging, she was lucid enough to cling to him.

  Kylie could feel the tension in his body—she was certain it was because he was worried about her—but she didn’t know what to say to help him. She felt…dirty…unworthy of his attention. Why would he want her now? Sure, she’d told him about the things Ezra had done to her in the past, but this was different. “It’s my fault.” Her voice was such a soft whisper, she wasn’t sure even Remy could hear her.

  “What’s your fault, cher?”

  “I let him take me. I didn’t…didn’t fight. I just…let him take me.”

  “Shh. It’s not your fault, Kitten. You were afraid for your friends. You didn’t want him to hurt anyone. It’s over. He’ll never touch you again.”

  Kylie fell silent. He didn’t understand. He didn’t know what Ezra did. Once he did, he wouldn’t want her anymore. She stared out the windshield but she wasn’t really seeing anything. She couldn’t focus.

  Kylie was pulled from her daze when the truck stopped and Gage turned it off. She blinked several times to try and clear her head. It felt fuzzy, as if she’d been drinking. When Remy reached in to help her out of the truck she flinched. The look that crossed his face had her shoulders slumping.

  “It’s all right, Kitten.”

  His voice was soft and his grip on her elbow was gentle as he guided her to the boat. Ezra was awake and when their eyes locked she hesitated. There was such rage in them that it made her quake in fear, despite the fact he was bound and both Declan and Holden were gripping his shoulders to keep him still where he knelt at the bottom of the boat.

  “I can’t…I can’t…”

  “Can’t what, cher?” Remy’s arm wrapped around her when she started shaking.

  “Can’t…him…”

  “Y’all go on and take dat bastard to da compound and come back for us.”

  Remy’s words seeped in through the terror that had gripped her and Kylie lifted her head to look at him. “Thank you.”

  Her words were barely a whisper but Remy was close enough to hear them. “No’ting to thank me for, Kitten. You don’t need to be sharin’ da boat wit’ da likes of him.”

  “You got it, Remy. I’ll be back right quick,” Gage said before he took the wheel and headed into the bayou.

  Remy

  Remy was careful as he moved to wrap his arms around Kylie. She was still shaking, despite the fact the boat was out of sight. He didn’t need to ask what happened to her. Her reaction, and the leopard’s scent on her, gave him all the answers he needed. All he wanted to do was hold her and make it all disappear but he knew he couldn’t. The bastard sexually assaulted her. Remy didn’t have to be a genius to know it was going to be an uphill battle helping her to heal from it. When Kylie stiffened, briefly, he paused and leaned his head down close to her ear. “It’s goin’ to be all right, cher. I’ll do anyting you need to help you heal.” As she relaxed, his hold on her tightened and he breathed her in.

  Remy wasn’t sure how long they stood there like that before the faint sound of the boat returning reached his ears. He was reluctant to let Kylie go but he loosened his hold on her all the same. “He’ll never touch you again, Kitten. I can promise you, dat. No one will ever touch you like dat, again.”

  When the boat came to a stop next to the dock, Remy waited until Gage had it secure before he guided Kylie to it. He helped her in, then followed her. She hadn’t said anything else since the boat left earlier and his worry was beginning to increase. “Don’t shut me out, Kitten. Please. We can get through dis, together, but only if you let me in.”

  Still nothing. He saw the look of concern in his brother’s eyes and knew Gage was probably worried for both of them. If Kylie shut down completely, Remy wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep it together. They weren’t even a couple yet and he already felt like his world was going dark due to her silence. “When we get back to da compound, I’ll take you right to Caine and Emelise’s,” he murmured. He didn’t want her to be present when he confronted her ex. She didn’t need to see that side of him.

  “Okay.”

  That single word wasn’t much, but at least she was talking. He kept his arm around her shoulder as the boat made it’s way through the bayou. By the time they’d reached their destination, she’d stopped shaking. Remy moved so he could look her in the eye. “I meant what I said, cher. We can get through dis together, as long as you don’t shut me out.” He watched as her gaze cleared and she focused on his face.

  “You won’t…think that way, when you know…”

  “When I know what, Kitten? Dere isn’t a damn ting you could say dat would make me not want to be wit’ you.”

  “I didn’t fight him. I just…did what he said.”

  Remy lifted his hand to her cheek and brushed his fingertips along her skin. “I know, cher. And it doesn’t change a ting. You’re my mate. No’ting is goin’ to change dat. What he did to you, dat’s on him, not you. Come on, Kitten, let’s get you inside.” He knew both Caine and Emelise would be waiting on the front porch of their home.

  He was gentle with her as he helped her out of the boat. Once again, he kept an arm around her as he escorted her through the compound. Just as he’d expected, Caine and Emelise were waiting for them. He was reluctant to let go of her, but once they were on the porch, he stepped back. “You try to get some rest, cher. I’ll check on you later, yeah?”

  He heard her swallow before she lifted her gaze to him. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon but…I’ll try.”

  “Dat’s all I ask, Kitten.” He traced her jaw a moment before he handed her off to Emelise, who escorted her inside.

  “I had Declan take da bastard, who took her out, to where we fought wit’ da Red Moon Clan. He’s waitin�
�� for us.”

  “Us?” Remy cocked a brow at his Alpha.

  “Da bastard kidnapped a member of my Pard, a’course I’m gonna be dere, Remy. Let’s go.”

  Remy nodded at Caine. It made sense that his Alpha would want to be present. “Just as long as I get to make him pay for touchin’ my mate,” he growled as he fell into step with his Alpha.

  “Don’t worry, Remy, da bastard is all yours,” Caine assured him as they made their way through the compound and out into the surrounding swamp.

  Chapter Eleven

  Remy

  Remy stalked through the swamp to where Ezra waited for judgment, nay, punishment, for not only kidnapping a member of the Pard, but for daring to put his hands on Remy’s mate. The moment his gaze fell on the other leopard, he saw red.

  “Untie him,” he growled, voice thick with the rage building in him.

  No one questioned Remy’s order. Declan pulled a knife from a sheath on his hip and cut the bonds keeping Ezra from moving too much. Then he stepped back, as did everyone else who was gathered there. This was between Remy and Ezra.

  Caine held up a hand. “You came, uninvited, into territory shared by da Black Water Pard and da Ghostpoint Pack, threatened da Alpha females from both da Pard and da Pack, and kidnapped a member of my Pard. You’ve already been judged for your crimes against da Pard and da Pack, but what’s about to happen to you, dat is purely personal. Remember, coullion, dat you brought dis on yourself when you touched the mate of another leopard.”

  Ezra stood there glaring at the leopard that claimed to be Kylie’s mate before he turned the glare on the Alpha. “You’re a coward. How the fuck have you managed to keep control of a Pard if you’re too much of a coward to deal out punishments yourself?”