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

mate inject him again. He knew what it felt like to be cut off from his wolf, and he would fight tooth and claw to keep that from ever happening again. Ben knew mates were meant to be cherished. Not only that, he believed women and children were meant to be protected and kept safe. Unfortunately, his mate was the enemy. It would kill him to attack her, but she had left him no choice. His wolf whimpered at the thought, but Ben ignored him. He would do whatever he had to do to keep them safe.
    “Please, mister, you have to get—”
    The moment his mate laid her hand on his arm, Ben pounced. Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by his hand around her throat as he leaped off the bed and slammed her into the wall. It took all of his strength to hold her there, but he didn’t show it.
    “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just snap your neck right now.” Ben growled to let her know how serious he was as he warred with himself about roughing his mate up. Her face was turning from red to purple as she clawed at his hands, trying to remove them from her throat. It took all of his willpower to not let her go. He could feel his wolf’s displeasure, but he was too weak to put up any kind of protest so it was all up to Ben to decide the next step.
    When a pair of violet eyes looked into his, Ben gasped as a memory of seeing those same eyes swimming with tears invaded his mind. He heard her voice in his head telling him to hold on a little longer. He immediately released his grip on her throat. Their mate had been trying to help them.
    The woman fell to the ground, gasping for air and it killed Ben to know he’d been the one to put the look of fear into his mate’s eyes. His wolf whimpered, too weak to do anything else.
    “Why?” It was the one question Ben desperately wanted to know the answer to. He knew nothing about the woman, but from what he saw, she did not seem like the type to willingly go along with Councilman Percival’s plans to take over the world.
    “I had no choice,” his mate rasped out. “My father would have killed me if I had disobeyed him.”
    The tears streaming down his mate’s face threatened to bring Ben to his knees, but he held on by a thread. He needed answers, and he had a feeling the woman crouched on the floor had them all.
    “Why are you helping me now?”
    His mate opened her mouth a few times to answer, only to close it again before anything came out. When it seemed as though she had finally decided, she answered. “Because you are the only one who has been able to fight the drugs. That makes you unbelievably strong.”
    Ben smelled the scent of his mate’s fear receding as she slowly climbed to her feet before she continued.
    “Everything you need to know about my father and all of his plans are in that bag,” she said, pointing to a bag next to the door. “You are strong enough to stand a chance at escaping this place, and I want you to take me with you.”
    What do you think, pup? Do you think this is some kind of trap?
    Maybe, I just want to go home.
    Ben agreed with his wolf. They had to get out of there, and their mate was offering them a chance to escape.
    “Please. I can’t do this anymore. You saw what he did to me. I’m his daughter and the man didn’t hesitate to use me as a human shield so he could get away.”
    The scent of despair coming from his mate helped Ben to make up his mind. “When we get someplace safe, you have a lot of explaining to do.”
    Not waiting for a response, Ben ignored his mate’s flinch as he reached toward her and gripped her arm. He pulled her over to the door and slung her bag over his shoulder.
    “Before I open this door, I need to know everything about this place. How many guards, exits, anything you think is important to helping us escape.”
    Ben leaned against the door and waited for his little mate to answer. He tried to keep the panic he felt off his face so he didn’t scare her, but he had a feeling he wasn’t very successful. The rush of adrenaline he had felt when he woke up to find his mate standing over him was slowly starting to wear off, and he felt his body starting to shut down again. Each breath seemed to become harder and harder to take, and Ben felt sweat starting to slick his skin. He knew there would be no help coming from his wolf, who could barely manage a whimper, so it was all up to Ben to get them out of wherever they were and someplace safe until he could call his friends in to