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  A sour feeling rolled through her stomach as she thought about Spark being at

  Striker’s mercy. If the wolf thought for one moment that Spark and Mina had mated, he would lose what little sanity he had left. Mina feared for her mate more than herself. At least she knew what Striker wanted from her, but if he got his hands on Spark, it could get bloody fast.

  As she crept through the kitchen, she paused long enough to ease a butcher knife from the block on the counter. Gripping it tightly, she held it in front of her as she neared the back door. It was wide open, a gentle breeze blowing in, bringing with it the stink of insane wolf and her mate. Mina didn’t know what to expect when she entered the backyard, but her heart stuttered in her chest as she saw Spark lying on the ground, a knife wound to his side, his arms cut to hell, and a slice across one cheek.

  His eyes were closed and she prayed that he still lived. She watched intently, not daring to breathe until she saw his chest rise and fall, albeit in shallow breaths. Mina looked around but didn’t see Striker anywhere. She nearly ran to Spark and fell on her knees beside him. The knife clattered to the ground as her hands fluttered over him, not sure where to touch him, yet wanting to assure herself he was all right.

  “He’s alive. For now.” Striker stepped out of the shadows, not three feet from

  her.

  Mina reached for her knife, but he was too quick and kicked it away. Her nails

  bit into her palms as she closed her hands into tight fists and rose to her feet. She knew that one on one, she was no match for the crazy wolf, but she wouldn’t back down and leave her mate to die. No matter what Striker said, she knew he had no intention of leaving Spark alive.

  “Why did you attack my family and my mate?”

  “Mate,” he sneered. “You were supposed to be mine! My rightful place is beside

  your father, and you took that from me by mating with this…this…creature. He isn’t even a wolf, Mina! How could you think to dilute the pack blood like that? You’re the pack princess and you deserve a prince, not some commoner you picked up along the way. He was your bodyguard. That alone should tell you his status isn’t anywhere near good enough to be with you.”

  “Whether you like it or not, he is my mate.” She lifted her chin. “And we’re having a baby. My father already knows and he’s thrilled about becoming a

  grandfather, despite the fact this child may not be a wolf. Do you think my father really cares about bloodlines?”

  “No, but he does care about power, and that pathetic excuse of a man at your feet doesn’t have any.”

  Mina scoffed. “As if you do. The only thing you have is a few screws loose. No

  one would ever want you as a mate, much less me. You think you’re worthy of me? You aren’t fit to lick my feet.”

  Striker growled and backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

  Mina knew it was a gamble, that there was a chance she could lose the baby, but if she didn’t protect Spark and save her own life, the baby would be dead anyway. Lucky for her, Striker didn’t realize he’d knocked her close to the knife he’d kicked away. Her hand wrapped around the handle and she hid it with her body.

  Striker wasn’t done with her though and gripped a handful of her hair, dragging her to her feet. When he wasn’t paying attention, she slammed the knife back and into his thigh, giving it a twist after she buried it to the hilt, and then she jerked it free.

  He screamed and tossed her aside. “Bitch!”

  “I’ll never willingly go with you, Striker. My place is by my mate’s side.”

  “Have it your way, princess. You want to be by your mate?” He brandished a

  knife. “Then let’s put you beside him…in a grave. When Shadow comes to, he’ll have two graves to dig. Assuming he even bothers burying that stupid maned wolf. I’d just let him rot in the sun.”

  He lunged at her and Mina watched, waiting until the last moment to dance

  away. She twisted her body and slammed her knife into Striker’s back, then pulled it free so she could attack again. He spun toward her and charged again, waving his knife like a madman. Mina ducked under his slashing arm and shoved her knife upward

  between his ribs. Striker stumbled back and she attacked again, slamming the knife into him over and over, until he fell to the ground, blood bubbling from his lips.

  “I’m not some weak wolf you can impose your will on,” Mina panted. “I’m the

  princess of this motherfucking pack and you’d best not forget it, asshole.”

  As Striker slumped, his eyes staring up at the moon, glassy and vacant, Mina

  gave a cry and ran to Spark. She cradled his head in her lap and wished she had a phone to call for an ambulance. Howls could be heard on the front side of the property and moments later she was surrounded by her father’s most trusted men. She fought as they tried to take Spark from her, but eventually they pulled her away and tended to his wounds.

  The wail of a siren pierced the night air and Mina gave a sob, covering her face with her hands. She gasped for breath, suddenly unable to take in enough oxygen, and then the world began to fade. Someone slapped her across the cheek, jolting her and bringing her back to reality. She scrambled across the patio to Spark and cradled his body in her arms, not letting go until the paramedics arrived.

  She started to climb into the ambulance with her mate, but her father held her

  back.

  “Give them some time to work on him,” Shadow said. “You’ll only be in the

  way. Besides, you need to get cleaned up before he sees you. I doubt that Spark wants to see his pregnant mate covered in another wolf’s blood.”

  She looked down at her blood splattered robe and rubbed her fingers together.

  The slickness she’d felt on her hands finally registered and she winced. Perhaps a shower was in order. She didn’t want Spark to worry when he woke, and seeing her looking like a mass murderer might do it.

  Mina allowed her father to lead her through the house and up to her room. As

  she shampooed her hair, she realized there was a slight tremor running through her body. Now that the adrenaline was leaving, the fact she’d killed someone was finally sinking in. Mina knew it had been a matter of Striker or them, but it didn’t lessen the queasy feeling. She’d never taken a life before unless you counted the deer she hunted as a wolf. Even knowing that Striker was going to kill her didn’t make it any easier.

  She finished washing, dried off, and pulled on the first outfit she grabbed. When she went downstairs, wet hair trailing down her back, she found her father sitting at the kitchen table. The look on his face said it was business as usual, but she noticed a tenseness to his shoulders that wasn’t normally there.

  “Did the hospital call?” she asked, suddenly worried that something had

  happened to Spark.

  “No, honey. No one called. I’m sure Spark arrived and is being taken care of. I thought we’d head that way in just a moment. But first, I’d like to talk to you. Come have a seat.” He used his booted foot to shove a chair out for her.

  Mina sat and faced her father. She didn’t know what he wanted to discuss, but

  she didn’t like the fact they weren’t rushing off to the hospital. Spark needed her! What if he woke and she wasn’t there?

  “You know I wasn’t too happy about the idea of you taking a mate without

  permission,” Shadow said. “But I think I need to tell you what happened tonight before you ventured out of bed. The only mistakes Spark made were underestimating Striker and not locking you in your bedroom. Then again, if he’d locked you in, who would have saved our asses?”

  She smiled.

  “Your Spark was the one who figured out there was something wrong. His

  sneaking down the hall woke everyone and we fanned out to check the house.

  Unfortunately, Striker was already inside by then and he managed to take us out one at a time. If Spark hadn’t mout
hed off about protecting his mate, then Striker probably would have just knocked him out like he did the rest of us.”

  “But he wanted Spark dead, so I wouldn’t have a mate any longer.”

  Shadow nodded.

  “Once he knew I was pregnant, surely he understood there was no way for him

  to win,” Mina said.

  “Unless he got rid of the baby. I’m just sorry I didn’t realize sooner how power hungry he’d become. If I had known months ago that Striker was sick and twisted, then I could have saved us all some pain. Instead of banning him from the club, I should have taken him out completely.”

  “You did what you thought was best, Daddy. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

  What’s done is done, and Striker won’t be hurting any of us anymore. Now…can we please go see my mate?”

  Shadow smiled. “Now we can go see your mate. You might want to grab him a

  change of clothes, even though they may keep him overnight. Something tells me he isn’t one to stay down for long, regardless of what the doctors say.”

  They took the SUV so there would be plenty of room for Spark. It didn’t take

  long to reach the hospital and Mina dashed inside. She could hear Spark yelling so barreled past the stunned nurse at the front desk and went in search of her mate. Mina found him standing beside an ER hospital bed with a fresh set of stitches in his side.

  “I’m not putting on that ridiculous gown because I’m not staying,” Spark

  shouted. “Move the hell out of my way!”

  Mina couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips. If he was feeling well enough to stand up and argue with the doctor and nurses, then he was going to be just fine. Maybe his wound had looked worse than it really was. She approached and knew the moment he’d spotted her. He gave her that slow, sexy smile of his that made her knees weak and she reached for his hand, too fearful of hugging him in case she caused him pain.

  “You aren’t supposed to argue with the medical staff,” Mina said. “They only

  want to help you.”

  “I want to go home, where I can sleep with you in my arms. They can’t force me

  to stay here.”

  Mina held up the bag of his clothes. “You might want to change then. You look

  like you escaped a horror movie. You might want a waterproof bandage too, so you can shower when we get home. I doubt you want to go to bed like that.”

  He looked down at the smeared blood on his body and winced. “You’re right.”

  A nurse took a hesitant step forward. “I can put a waterproof bandage on it. If you’ll let me.”

  “Make it quick,” Spark growled. “I want to go home.”

  Mina wondered if he even realized he was calling her father’s residence his

  home. Or maybe he just figured wherever Mina would be sleeping was considered

  home. She wouldn’t argue, either way. As long as she had Spark sleeping beside her tonight, she would be happy. They could figure out their future later.

  She watched as he was freshly bandaged, then waited for him to change his

  clothes. When he was ready, she led him out to the waiting room where her father was sitting, and then they went home. The police had never been called, but the pack security had finally cleared out. She assumed the she-wolves had taken her brothers under their wings, nursing them back to health for the night, which meant it was just Shadow, Spark, and her in the house for the night.

  Mina led Spark upstairs, ushering him into her room, and then fetched his

  clothing from the spare room while he showered. No way was she going to let him sleep in another room, not after everything they’d been through tonight. Never again would they ever sleep apart from one another, not if she had anything to say about it.

  Epilogue

  Spark ached where he’d been stabbed and sliced, and his head throbbed from

  being bashed with one of the metal deck chairs. Striker had sure as hell not played fair, but from what Shadow had told him on the way home, he no longer had to worry about the insane wolf…and it was all due to his feisty mate. She’d saved all of them by taking out the rabid wolf on her own. He wasn’t sure if he was proud of her, or furious that she’d put herself in harm’s way.

  He finished showering then dried off and pulled on his boxer briefs. If they

  stayed at Shadow’s house often, he’d have to invest in some pajama pants. It was bad enough he’d spent most of yesterday fucking the man’s daughter, but he didn’t have to flaunt the fact. Right now he ached too much and was way too weary to even think of doing much more than holding his mate.

  When he stepped into the bedroom, Mina was already propped up in bed with

  the lamp on. He crawled under the covers next to her, waiting for her to switch off the light, before gathering her in his arms. She sighed and snuggled closer.

  “You promise he didn’t hurt you?” Spark asked.

  “I told you. He hit me once, but I’m fine. My cheek is a little sore, but it didn’t even bruise.”

  “You should have let them check you out at the hospital, make sure the baby is

  okay. What if you miscarry because of what you went through tonight? It’s a lot of stress and strain for your body.”

  He felt her smile against him.

  “I’m fine, Spark. If you want to talk, let’s discuss something else.”

  “Like what?”

  “When are we going home? You’ll need to officially introduce me to your club as your old lady. And I’ll need a property patch. We already know you’re in trouble for mating me without permission, but surely they’ll get over it. Especially when they find out I’m pregnant.”

  “The doctor told me to stay off my bike for a week. He’s worried I’ll rip out my stitches and end up making the wound worse. I’ll call Blitz tomorrow and let him know what’s going on. And I’ll ask for a cut to made for you. Or do you prefer a jacket?”

  “Surprise me.”

  “There’s something else we should discuss. It’s something I’ve wanted to tell you before now, but I didn’t think the moment was right. I didn’t want you to think I was saying the words just because we’d had sex, or because we’re having a baby, or because I accidentally mated you…”

  Mina laughed softly. “Just spit it out, Spark.”

  “I love you, Mina. The weeks away from you were the worst of my life. I want

  you in my life always, and the fact we’re having a baby together fills me with joy. I hope this is just the first of many.”

  She lifted onto her elbow and pressed her lips to his.

  “I thought I’d never hear you say those words, not after the way you took off

  after mating me. But I’m glad you feel that way…because I love you too.”

  “The doctor said no strenuous activity for a week, but the moment these stitches are gone and I have the all clear, you’d better believe I’m going to strip you bare and make love to you until you can’t walk straight.”

  Mina kissed him again. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “Goodnight, princess.”

  She snuggled close.

  “Mina?”

  “Yeah, Spark?”

  “Promise you’ll never leave me again. I don’t think I could handle it.”

  “I’ll stick to you like glue.”

  Spark had always abhorred weakness in any male, but while Mina was his

  weakness, she was also his greatest strength. He hoped they had many years together, with many children and grandchildren. His beast had recognized their mate right away, even if the man was a little slower to catch up. No matter how long he lived, he would be forever grateful that Mina had swept into his life. She was his perfect match in every way, and he would spend the rest of his life loving her and proving to her that he was worthy of her love in return.

  Thank you for reading Spark! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you’d

  like to find out about
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  About the Author

  What happens when you get two artistic romantics together? An

  impulsive marriage proposal – and a woman who says yes (on the first

  date)! While Jessica’s husband may not have intended for the words

  “marry me” to pop out on their first date, she surprised him even

  more by saying yes! That was in 2000 and they’re hoping for many

  more years together.

  Jessica Coulter Smith began writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until 2008 that someone convinced her to have one of her stories published. When she received her acceptance letter in August 2008, it set her on an incredible journey, one she hopes will never end. In 2010, she decided to stay home with the kids and write full-time. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted, and one that will hopefully result in many more stories to come.

  Jessica loves to interact with her readers on Facebook and Twitter! But if you send her a friend request, be prepared for cute kitty pictures and kids getting into mischief, as well as updates on her writing.

  Visit her website: http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com