Page 67 of Crimson Heart

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Byron entered the foyer, where Francisco was lurking near the open door to the living room, from which tense voices emanated. He walked up to Francisco and dropped his voice.

“What’s going on? I saw a car that doesn’t belong to us.”

Francisco tipped his chin in the direction of the living room. “The alpha of the Leon pack is here with his brother.”

Byron recognized the name instantly and cursed, “Fuck!”

“You know who they are?”

“Charlotte told me that she’s supposed to mate with the alpha’s son.”

And it appeared that they were here to take her back with them. Yeah, over his dead body!

“I figured that much from what they’ve been saying,” Francisco replied.

“I’ve gotta find Charlotte. Do you know where she is?”

Francisco shook his head. Fuck! He couldn’t risk Charlotte running into them. Byron headed for the stairs. Maybe she was in her room. He ran upstairs, taking two steps at once. On the second floor, he rushed toward Charlotte’s room and ripped the door open without knocking. The room was empty. He ran back outside and looked down the long corridor. He noticed that the door to the master suite was ajar. Maybe Charlotte was with Danielle. His heart pounding out of control now, he charged toward the door. He didn’t even bother knocking, because he knew both Charlotte and Danielle would forgive him for his intrusion once they knew that the Leons were on the property.

He flung the door open and barreled into the room. “Charlotte? Dan⁠—”

Danielle’s name got stuck in his throat. A man he’d never seen before was pinning her with her face pressed against the wall, while she tried to push him off and defend herself. But the position she was in disadvantaged her.

“Fucking bitch!” the man ground out. “I should have taught you that you don’t say no to the alpha’s son. But don’t worry, I’m gonna tame you now.”

He didn’t need to hear more to realize that this was Steve Leon.

“Let go of my sister! Or I’ll rip your fucking throat out!”

He barely realized that this was the first time he’d called Danielle his sister, and that he felt the need to protect her. Blood was thicker than water after all.

Steve whipped his gaze to him, stunned. “Get the fuck out! Don’t you see this is a private moment?”

Danielle looked at him with pleading eyes. “Help me!”

Without hesitation, Byron ate up the distance between him and Danielle’s attacker with a few steps and lunged at him. He jerked the bastard back, making him lose his balance. He took advantage of it and slammed him to the ground, then jumped on his chest and pinned his arms.

“Steve Leon, I assume?”

He didn’t wait for an answer and instead punched the jerk in the face, whipping his head to one side. Steve tried to fight back, but despite his efforts, he couldn’t manage to free his arms.

“Nobody hurts my family and gets away with it!”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Danielle as she peeled herself away from the wall.

“You alright, Danielle?” he asked with a quick sideways look.

She nodded, but didn’t speak, still looking shellshocked. To his surprise, it actually hurt him to see her in obvious distress. For that, Steve had to pay. Without warning, he landed another blow to the asshole’s face. Blood seeped from his nose, and the scent of it filled him with satisfaction. But just for good measure, Byron dealt a few more blows, making sure Steve’s face would swell up and turn black and blue in a few hours.

“Get off me, you fucking bastard!” Steve yelled, wiggling beneath him, trying to kick his legs out.

Still full of rage, not just for what Steve had tried to do to Danielle, but also for what he would do to Charlotte if she mated with him, he punched the asshole once more before he lifted himself off him. Before Steve could get up, Byron grabbed his feet and turned back to the door.

He froze for a second. Charlotte stood there with her mother, both of them gaping at the scene. How long had they been standing there? He hoped long enough so that he didn’t need to give any explanations.

“Take your hands off me!” Steve now griped.