Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

didn’t even know about them until I hacked his computer. As far as cover goes… We should be in the woods so hopefully there are plenty of trees around.”
    Ben turned and opened the hatch, and Jacqueline had to throw her arm over her eyes as the bright sunlight flooded in. Ben yelled and covered his own eyes. If the sunlight was bright to her, she knew Ben had to have been in pain from it. He had been locked in that bunker for almost three months without seeing daylight.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to tell you to shield your eyes.” She hovered over Ben, afraid to touch him.
    “It’s okay. I just needed a moment to let them adjust.”
    Jacqueline didn’t believe that Ben was all right, but she didn’t say anything as she followed him out of the exit and into the woods. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they were completely surrounded by trees and no guards. “We need to walk straight ahead about a mile to get to the car.”
    Before Ben could answer, he collapsed on the ground. She ran over to him and had to use all of her strength to roll him over on his back. “Ben, come on, you have to get up. There is no way I can carry you.”
    Ben’s face was pale and covered in sweat. His lips were tinted blue, and Jacqueline knew he wasn’t moving any farther on his own. She knew he was going to hate her and probably try to kill her, but she had no choice. She had to get him up and moving. Pulling the last syringe out of her pocket, she yanked the safety cap off the needle with her teeth.
    She hesitated when she heard a growl rumble from Ben’s chest and looked up to see his half-closed eyes glowing amber through his lashes. “I’m so sorry, Ben, but I have to. I can’t carry you, and I can’t leave you here.” Ignoring the tears running down her face, she lifted her arms and slammed the needle into his chest as hard as she could.
    When Ben’s back bowed off the ground and a deep growl began to vibrate through his body, Jacqueline quickly stood and backed away as fast as she could. She held her hands out in front of her when Ben stood and began to stalk toward her. Her back slammed into a tree and she closed her eyes. She had no doubt he would follow through on his threat to kill her. Jacqueline gasped when she felt his breath against her cheek.

Chapter 4
     
    “What the hell did you just do to me?” Ben tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but he was tired and in pain. He was also tired of his mate injecting him with god knows what, although whatever was in that last injection had worked wonders on his body.
    “I basically gave you a shot of adrenaline that I designed for shifters,” his little mate squeaked out.
    “When this is over, and we are someplace safe, you and I are going to have a long talk about this needle fetish and the need to stab people with them that you seem to have.”
    Ben heard his mate gasp, but he ignored her as he pinned her against the tree with his body. He ran the tip of his nose along her neck and took a deep breath of her scent. She smelled like warm cinnamon, and it was enough to make his mouth water.
    “If you aren’t going to kill me, then we really need to go. That drug won’t last long. Your body will burn through it fast, and then we will be right back where we started with you on the ground. We need to be in the car before that happens.”
    Ben knew his little mate was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. Her warm body felt too good against his. He felt the drugs coursing through his veins, giving him strength he hadn’t felt since before he was captured. Unfortunately, along with that much-needed energy came one hell of a hard-on, and his mate’s scent was not helping.
    “Can you run, little mate?” he asked as he stepped back. Jacqueline paused and frowned at him. When she finally nodded, he grabbed her hand and took off in the direction of the car.
    Ben felt his strength leaving him with each step he took. The pain in his side was almost unbearable, but he kept moving. His wolf was no longer responding, so shifting to heal himself was not an option. He would have been worried if he hadn’t been able to feel his wolf, but he felt the pup in the back of his mind. It seemed he was just as weak as Ben at the moment. The fact that he could still feel his wolf was the only thing that had kept him from killing his mate when she had injected him.
    The helplessness he’d felt as he watched her plunge the needle into his chest was