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

there with Ben the night they had attacked her father and he had been captured. This man in particular had been there, and he had seen Jacqueline with her father. As far as he knew, she worked for Percival and couldn’t be trusted. He had no idea that she’d helped Ben escape. Now, as black spots invaded her vision, Jacqueline could only hope he didn’t kill her before she had the chance to explain.

Chapter 5
     
    Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Ben’s wolf pounced around in his head.
    “Not now, pup. Just let me sleep a little longer. I hurt too much.” Ben tried to turn over, but he was in too much pain to move. Plus, the weight on his chest was stopping him. Cracking his eyes open, he came face to face with a pair of small ice-blue eyes staring back at him.
    “Hey, Nico.” Nico smiled and leaned down to hug him. Ben held back his grunt of pain and squeezed the boy tight. He had become close to Nico and his mom when he guarded them, and it felt good to see the boy again. He’d never thought it would happen again once he’d been captured by Percival. “I missed you too, little man.”
    “Nico, what did I tell you about waking your Uncle Ben up?” Tessa, Mitch’s mate and Nico’s mother, fussed as she came in the room. Instead of moving Nico, she came over and sat on the side of the bed and wrapped her arms around them both. “Oh God, Ben. I’m so glad you’re back and safe. We were so worried about you.”
    When she pulled back, Ben wiped the tears from her cheek. It felt good to know someone cared enough to be concerned about him. He wasn’t used to that. Aside from Mitch, Ken, and Ryan, Ben had no other family. He had left his pack and family a long time ago when he realized they would never understand him. They considered him defective because of the relationship he had with his wolf. They didn’t think it was natural that his wolf would rather play chase than hunt and kill. The fact that Ben didn’t see anything wrong with it, and even encouraged the playfulness in his wolf, made him an embarrassment to his family. They had asked him to leave the pack because it was making them look bad. Ben had been hurt that they didn’t stand up for him, but he’d left and never looked back.
    “What the hell do you think you are doing to my mate? Why is she crying?”
    Ben rolled his eyes at Mitch’s statement. The man was always in a bad mood. “Jeez, a guy goes missing then returns home injured and he doesn’t even get a hello. Speaking of mates, where is mine?” He knew she hadn’t been in the room because her scent wasn’t there, but he needed to see her with his own eyes to make sure she was safe.
    “You mated the enemy?”
    “Well, we haven’t technically mated yet, but she is my mate, and she saved my life.” He had forgotten that Mitch had been there the night he’d met his mate. “Her father is Percival, but she went against him to help me escape, and she kept me safe until we got here. Now, where is she?”
    “Wait, how is she that asshole’s daughter? She smelled completely human, not shifter,” Mitch asked, completely ignoring Ben’s question.
    Ben stopped the growl starting in his chest. “I didn’t get a chance to ask that question while I was fighting and running for my life. Now, tell me where my mate is.”
    They locked her up. I watched her for you while you were sleeping, but when we got here, the big cat knocked her down, and the bear took her away.
    Ben felt his wolf’s irritation. He wasn’t angry, just annoyed at being separated from his mate. The anger came from Ben. He was angry at the fact that someone had dared to touch his mate, even if that someone was his best friend, who was only trying to protect him. He gently lifted Nico from his chest, ignoring the pain in his side, and sat him on the bed.
    “Where are you going? You need to stay in bed until you finish healing,” Tessa said as she tried to get him to lie back down.
    “I need to see my mate.”
    “Well, if you insist on being stubborn, then at least let Mitch help you.” Tessa stepped back and motioned for her mate to move to Ben’s side.
    Ben wanted to laugh at the annoyed look on Mitch’s face as he did exactly what his mate wanted. For someone who had been so solitary for most of his life, Mitch had become a completely changed man when Tessa had come into his life. For once he was following orders instead of barking them out. Ben kept his mouth shut though. He valued his head too much to