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

thought of never seeing him again.
    “Don’t do anything stupid, Jacqueline. I will kill you if I have to.” Percival grabbed her arm in a painfully tight grip and began leading her toward the woods. Jacqueline rubbed her chest over her heart when it felt as though it was being squeezed with each step she took away from the house and Ben.
     
    * * * *
     
    Ben grinned as Ryan moaned next to him. They were both watching Ken finish off the last of the rogues, and it seemed watching his mate fight had turned Ryan on, judging by the smell of lust the wind was blowing his way.
    “Damn, that’s sexy,” Ryan whispered, confirming Ben’s guess.
    Ben laughed and looked down to see Ken, who had been toying with the rogue, deliver the killing blow. The fight had been too easy in his opinion. Mitch had been right about the shifters never suspecting they would be on the roof sniping. He and Ryan had taken out quite a few before they had even known what hit them, allowing Mitch and Ken to take out the rest in record time. Now, all they were waiting on was Mitch to give the all-clear. The lion had run off through the woods to make sure there were no stragglers left behind.
    Ben reached down to rub his chest. Now that the fight was over and the adrenaline was wearing off, he was starting to feel strange. He frowned as he felt his heart beat speed up. He started to pant because it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
    “Ben!” Ryan shouted, shaking his shoulders. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”
    All he could think was that something was really wrong, and he had no idea what. At first he thought something had happened to Mitch, but his wolf’s snarl caused him to freeze. In his sixty-five years, Ben had never heard his normally easygoing wolf make that noise. There was a reason he called the wolf pup.
    Mate! His wolf shouted louder, and Ben knew he was correct. The hair on the back of his neck and arms started to stand, and his nails started to lengthen into claws as his wolf tried to force his way out. Everything Ben had been feeling and his wolf’s unusual behavior was a warning that something was wrong with his mate.
    Ben ran to the trap door leading to the roof. “Something’s wrong with Jacqi,” he yelled over his shoulder as he jumped down into the opening, not bothering with the ladder. The thud behind him let him know Ryan was following, and Ben was grateful. He had no idea what he was about to walk into as he headed for the basement safe room. All he knew was his mate was in danger, and he appreciated all the help he could get.
    Ben’s agitated wolf paced and snarled in his head. Calm down, pup. We need to stay clear-headed. Ben tried to soothe his wolf, but in the back of his mind, he was blaming himself for not personally escorting his little mate to the safe room and locking her in himself. If something had happened to her, he knew he would never forgive himself.
    Nothing seemed out of place when they reached the basement, but Ben’s sense of urgency increased. There was a strange scent in the room that didn’t belong there. He hurried over to the door and tapped the code on it. The click of the locks being released seemed to take forever, and as soon as he heard the last one, he grabbed the handle of the door and wrenched it open. Tessa’s tear-stained face was the first thing he saw, and Ben knew Jacqi wasn’t in the safe room with her.
    “Her father took her,” Tessa answered before he could even ask the question. “Nico and I had made it to the safe room, but he caught Jacqueline before she could make it in. She gave herself up to save us.”
    Ben sagged to his knees, threw back his head, and allowed his wolf to let out the howl it had been holding in since he’d first felt something was wrong. He felt hands on his shoulders trying to lift him, but he couldn’t be bothered because his world was crashing down around him. He had failed his mate.
    I want her back. Get up, Ben. She’s ours, and we have to get her back.
    The calm, serious tone of his wolf broke through the fog in Ben’s brain. He was normally the one comforting his wolf and calming him down. This was the first time the roles had been reversed. His wolf was right though. He could sit there and wallow in his grief, or he could get up and go get his mate back.
    Ben chose the latter. He climbed to his feet and wiped the tears that he hadn’t even known he shed from his face and turned to his friends. “I’m getting