Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5)(94)

The only thing concerning Ryan, the only thing capable of distracting him, was that he could feel his mate was half feral. Sure, it would give her an edge. It could also make her ignore her smarts. Lead her to make mistakes. Mistakes meant losing. Losing meant death. That wasn’t acceptable to Ryan.

“She should have stayed out of this,” Remy went on. “That was all she had to do. You should have stayed out of it too. Did you know that while you’re here fighting me, young Zac’s old Alpha is leading an army of wolves to your territory?” His smirk fell when Ryan lashed out, carving deep grooves in his chest. “You do know. How?”

Ryan’s only response was to aim a punch at his opponent’s nose. Remy jerked back, avoiding the blow. Then he came at Ryan with claws and fists again. His wolf was raring to surface and tear Remy apart. He wanted to destroy this male who had put his mate in danger and led Zac’s old pack right to him. The scent of blood mixed with the corruption and cruelty that wafted from Remy only increased his wolf’s thirst for vengeance.

A hard kick from Remy caught Ryan’s thigh. He grunted as Remy’s heel raked over what was sure to be a f*cking colorful bruise. Makenna would be pissed. Pumped up on adrenalin, Ryan only felt a quarter of the pain. He retaliated by snapping out his leg, booting Remy’s side. Something cracked and the breath whooshed out of Remy.

The Alpha’s eyes flashed wolf. “Son of a bitch.” Remy tore off his jeans and shifted forms. He was fast.

So was Ryan.

The wolves crashed into each other in a fury of teeth and claws. The dark wolf had hungered for this. Longed to confront and battle this male who would have seen his mate dead. He was merciless. Vicious. Stabbed his claws deep into his opponent’s sides.

The gray wolf snarled and tore a strip out of the dark wolf’s flank. Blood soaked his fur, filled his nose. But the dark wolf didn’t back off. He fought harder.

He sank his teeth down into the gray wolf’s shoulder and shook him. His fangs tore through skin and muscle. Scraped bone. Made satisfaction flood the dark wolf. He didn’t want to defeat his opponent. Didn’t want him to submit. He wanted him dead. Wanted more of the gray’s wolf blood on his tongue.

Chests heaving, the wolves fiercely fought again. Growling. Snarling. Clawing. Biting. Body slamming. The Alpha was strong like his human side. Ruthless and without honor. So it didn’t take the dark wolf by surprise when dominant, oppressive vibes slammed into him. Vibes that tried to force him to submit.

The dark wolf shook his head in an effort to shake off the weight pressing down on him. He would not submit. He would not lose. But the pressure was heavy and thick, it—

Wolves burst into the room, growling and snarling. The dark wolf recognized their scents, knew some were his pack mates. The sight distracted the gray wolf, made his vibes ease away. The dark wolf took advantage and barreled into him. He wrestled the Alpha onto his back, pinned him there and—

“NO!”

A hard force slammed into the dark wolf, knocking him off the Alpha. The dark wolf slid along the floor and hit the wall with a thud. The man within the animal pushed hard for supremacy, and the wolf didn’t have the strength to resist.

Ryan got to his feet, ready to fight off the crazed female baring down on him. He didn’t have to. A growled, “Not a f*cking chance, bitch!” was followed by Selene crashing to the ground as a weight hit her back and took her down. Makenna.

“This time,” snarled Makenna, fisting the female’s hair and yanking up her head, “you won’t get up.” She sliced the female’s throat open, just as Selene had done to Colton.

“Selene!” The agonized cry came from Remy, who was back in his human form. He crawled to the female, slipping in her blood.

Moving to Ryan, Makenna stared at Remy. “You knew she was your mate, didn’t you?”

“She should have been given someone better than me,” he replied, only then seeming to realize the battle was over and his wolves were dead. Some of the residents that Dawn and Madisyn were tending to looked badly hurt, but Ryan couldn’t tell if any were dead.

Makenna snorted. “I won’t argue there.”

Upper lip curled back, Remy leaped up. Like a flash, Ryan, Dante and Jaime were blocking his path and Ryan had a hand wrapped around the Alpha’s throat.

Remy managed a pale imitation of a laugh. “You’re protecting her? Really? Then you mustn’t know about her past. You must have no idea what she did to be banished from her pack and forced to run for her life. I do.”

It was a total bluff, Makenna knew. Clearly he had no idea that Ryan had already discovered the truth about her pack. Ryan would know that Remy was talking bullshit, but would the others? Would they give a female who was once a loner the benefit of the doubt?

Remy spat out blood. “Do you want to hear it?”

“No,” said Dante just as Ryan thrust his claws into Remy’s chest.

“She’s a Phoenix wolf,” added Jaime. “One of us. That’s all we need to know.”

And, for the first time, Makenna understood what Ryan was trying to tell her. She wasn’t alone anymore. Didn’t have to be so emotionally reliant. Didn’t have to hold back. She was part of a pack. This pack. And being part of the Phoenix Pack meant something very special.

The breath left her lungs as pain lanced her head and chest. Then it was gone, and she could feel Ryan everywhere. In her. Around her. She felt his heartbeat, felt his surprise, relief, and satisfaction. Their mating bond, despite being new, wasn’t by any means weak. It was strong. Complete. Probably because it had been ready to form for so long.