Racing up the stairs of the porch, he broke through the front door as if it were made of toothpicks, wooden splinters raining down around him. The precious seconds it took for him to follow the noises of fists connecting with flesh and bones snapping under a boot felt like hours. Declan found the basement and practically flew down the stairs. A man, hulking and muscular, stood over the prone form of Declan's young mate, screaming at him. "You stupid, good for nothing, excuse for a son! You're nothing but a whore's cast off. You hear me!"
Declan could barely hear his mate's heart. With a mighty roar, one which shook the house on its very foundation, sending plaster and loose dirt raining down on top of the occupants of that sad little room, he launched himself at the son of a bitch. He aimed for the man's jugular, intending on ending it quickly. The man swung around, eyes widening in horror at the sight of a full grown tiger coming at him, too frightened to move out of the way in time, or too drunk from what Declan could smell. Declan hit the man going full speed, slamming him into the wall and bringing him down with deadly accuracy, his powerful teeth sinking in and wrenching away the meaty part of the fucker's throat.
He didn't take the time to savor watching the bastard die, instead shifting and rushing to his mate's side. Sean was barely breathing. Declan gingerly lifted him into his arms, wincing when Sean moaned. "Don't you dare die on me," Declan begged, soft and broken, eyes tearing up. There was too much blood saturating Sean's hair for Declan to tell the true color, and his fingers were immediately coated with it, bright red against the pale white of his mate's skin. "Not after I just found you, damn it!"
Victor and Ronnie clamored down the stairs right then, coming to a halt when they saw what lay before them. Victor shifted and crouched beside him, placing one hand on Declan's shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Alpha."
Declan growled, fangs flashing at Victor, who immediately backed away. "No. NO! He will not die! Not now!"
The last came out almost unintelligible, a part of his animal breaking through. Declan rocked Sean, holding him as close to his chest as possible, his heart breaking as Sean's arms hung limply, one at an odd angle, clearly broken. If the bastard wasn't already dead, he'd kill him all over again for daring to hurt such a fragile being. Sean's lungs were laboring and Declan could hear Sean's heart stuttering, a broken rib bone most likely having pierced it. There were others crying nearby, a female sobbed Sean's name, but Declan didn't pay attention to any of it. His entire focus remained on the man in his arms, praying for a way to save his mate. He barely registered the sounds of the other shifters being released and urged upstairs by his beta.
"Alpha," Victor began hesitantly, clearly reluctant to face Declan's wrath once more, "there ma-may be a way."
"How?" Declan demanded, swinging a deadly glare around at Victor.
"It's risky, Alpha."
"I don't care!" Declan roared.
Victor visibly swallowed. "If you were to share your life force with him, Alpha..."
Declan knew sharing his life force with Sean would tie them together irrevocably. If one of them died, the other would, too. It wasn't the same as being mated. It would mean if something were to happen to Declan, if some other alpha were to ever challenge him and he were to lose, Sean would die, too. Declan hesitated, but only for a breath of a second, and then he struck, sinking his teeth into the junction of Sean's shoulder and neck, drinking only long enough to get the taste of his mate's blood, one which set his body on fire and his cock swelling beneath the gentle curve of Sean's backside. He broke free, gasping, and allowed one claw free to slice at the same juncture on his own body.
Lifting Sean, he forced Sean's mouth against the cut. "Drink, baby," he murmured, "drink."
At first, he worried Sean would not be able to do so in his unconscious state, but his animal side must have sensed the importance of the moment for Sean's mouth latched onto his shoulder and began sucking, drawing weakly, but enough to imbibe the necessary blood. Under the guidance of his long dead ancestors, Declan closed his eyes and chanted the words to bind their life force as one. "Hear my words, hear my cry, take my soul and split asunder. Half remains, half be gone, two halves as one, until one is no longer."
Declan felt something rip inside of himself and bit back a cry, hands tightening momentarily on his mate's broken body. He slumped over Sean slightly and breathed, deep and even, trying to get a hold of himself. He could never regret what he'd just done, but something felt different, and he didn't feel right inside his skin, his tiger prowled beneath his human form, yowling unhappily. One thing he did notice, Sean's heartbeat had grown stronger and his lungs were no longer labored. Declan smiled, sweat running down his face. He brushed the blood-soaked hair back from Sean's face and pressed a kiss to Sean's forehead. His mate would survive.
Victor sighed. "Alpha."
Declan shook his head. "It's done."
"You know you can never tell anyone. Not even him."
"I know."
"Alpha-"
"Enough. It's done, Victor. Now please... go back upstairs and wait for the others to arrive. We'll transport the cubs back to the compound and decide what to do about them there."
Victor bowed his head. "As you wish, Alpha."
When Declan lifted Sean's still laboring, but recovering, body from the floor and ascended the stairs, Ronnie approached him cautiously. "I-is Sean going to be okay, Uncle Dec?"
"Yes, Ronnie, Sean is going to be okay," Declan replied, smiling at his nephew and holding his mate as gently as he could.
3
Sean
Sean felt like he was floating, enveloped in warmth and softness, as though on a giant cloud. Death had claimed him and he rode along on a fog of happiness. Until he moved and pain slid along his nerves. Sean's good eye flew open, the other swollen shut from the severe beating, and he gasped, loud and sharp into the stillness. When he could breathe again, he found himself lying in the middle of a huge four poster bed surrounded by plush white pillows and covered by a stark white down comforter. Panic set in. Where was he? Where were the others? Sean struggled to sit up, sweat popping out along his forehead and upper lip as his body protested the movements.
Shh, lay still, love. Everyone is fine. If you keep moving around like that, you'll hurt yourself further. Shock held Sean immobile. What the hell... no... who the hell was that? The door of the bedroom Sean lay in opened and Sean's eyes widened, his breath catching. At first, he couldn't make out the features of the man standing there, but the sheer size reminded him of his father and he thought Carl had returned to finish the job. Sean bit back a whimper and once more attempted to get away.
A whispered oath came from the doorway and then warm, strong hands gripped Sean's shoulders. "Stay still, Sean. No one here will hurt you. I promise."
The voice, the hands, they didn't belong to his father. Sean stilled and blinked up into the face, the gorgeous face, of a man who definitely wasn't Carl. Golden blond hair hung down around the man's features, jagged, but neatly so. Sean's fingers itched to stroke them and he gripped the sheets to keep from doing so. Strong, high cheekbones gave the stranger a regal, almost royal look, and reminded Sean of a prince he'd once caught a glimpse of on television in the rare times he'd been allowed upstairs while his father had been watching the news. Full lips were firm above a slightly cleft chin and as Sean's gaze dipped lower, he realized the man wore only a white tank top which barely covered the man's very tan, very muscular body. He noted an image of a tiger on the man's bicep before jerking his stare back to the man's face once more.