Free Roaring for Him (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Wicked in Wilder Book 1) by Celia Kyle Page A

time. She’s not like you .” She said the last word as if it were a curse, spurring his anger and Marcia whimpered in response.
    Dammit.
    “Alpha.” Kade stepped near. “You need to—”
    “I need to help my mate.” Tilly whimpered and he ignored his beta’s pleas. His gaze clashed with her pain-filled eyes and he leaned into the SUV, stroking her head once again. “You’re mine, Tilly McBride.” Another whine. “I’m gonna take care of you.”
    “Alpha, you need…”
    “To help my mate.” He finished the sentence, refusing to listen to anything else. Tilly nudged his palm, pushing his hand from her face. “What do you need, baby?” She prodded him again, brushing off his touch. “Tilly?”
    “She wants you to go to your pack,” Phoebe growled low and his wolf didn’t rise to the bait. It recognized not just the fact that Phoebe was their mate’s sister, but also she was extremely protective of the lioness. Which was a good thing, even if she was a pain in the ass.
    “How the hell do you know that?”
    Phoebe snorted. “Nearly eighteen years of living with her? She needs time to heal and she, more than anyone, knows what it’s like to have responsibilities. If Seth is spouting crap and you took him down, that’s gonna have repercussions.”
    “See? The bear gets it,” Kade cut in and he caught Phoebe’s glare at his beta.
    “We’ll get her home and patch her up. No need to worry yourself, Alpha .” Another sneer, but his wolf still didn’t object to the teen’s behavior. It was as if the animal already accepted her as part of his family and didn’t care about her disrespect.
    “You’ll take her straight home?” he murmured, refusing to tear his gaze from Tilly.
    “Straight home. Meat. Water. Bed.” Phoebe repeated his mate’s needs by rote, and it made him think this wasn’t the first time an injured Tilly had been cared for by the young girl.
    “Do you need supplies?”
    “No. We always keep extra meat in the freezer and she’s got a couple of roasts defrosting in the fridge. We’ll be fine.”
    They’d be fine. “I’m sending over a delivery from the grocery store anyway.” He’d call them on the way to the pack house to make sure Tilly—and Phoebe—got what they needed. “I’ll be by later tonight to check on you.”
    Mitchell leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her furred forehead, a kiss of comfort and caring. Fuck. He wasn’t a “caring” kind of guy, but with Tilly… he was.
    He stepped back and gently closed the back door before he faced the two women. “Drive slowly and don’t stop. Food should be at the house in an hour. Marcia, stick with Tilly and Phoebe while I deal with this bullshit.”
    Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Yes, Oh Lord and Master.”
    Sarcastic pain in the ass. Yeah, she was, but she didn’t hesitate to snatch the keys from Kade and circle the SUV without another word. She climbed behind the steering wheel while Marcia slid onto the passenger seat. He and Kade stepped back as the vehicle roared to life and Phoebe navigated the SUV with ease. It wasn’t long before she was roaring down the road.
    “Was that smart? Sending Tilly off with the girls?” Kade murmured.
    Despite the pain in his heart and worry over Tilly, he smiled. “You forget it’s not a seventeen year old girl driving that SUV, it’s a fully grown bear. She may be immature, but she’s deadly. With Tilly hurt, I have no doubt Phee will go momma bear on anyone who tries to get near her.”
    Most likely, me included.
    He’d deal with that drama when the time came. “Let’s deal with Seth’s bullshit. I let him live the first time,” he faced off against Kade, letting his wolf’s rage push forward. “I can’t promise I’ll do it a second.”
     

Chapter Five
     
    By the time he’d settled the pack, publicly censured Seth, and made sure everyone in the pack knew Tilly and her sisters were not only allowed on pack lands, they were welcome , it was pushing three