Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(97)

Jesse looked at Madisyn, jaw clenched. “Bracken will hate me for life if I don’t at least ask you to stay here.”

“I know, but I can’t,” said Madisyn. “If we don’t hold them off, they’ll spread all over our territory like ants and find me anyway. I can’t go to Bracken because that would just put me in Shaw’s sights. Plus, Archer’s come here for me. He’s more likely to stop in his tracks if he sees me than if he comes across a group of you.”

Gwen walked out of the room, stride purposeful.

Harley frowned at her back. “Where are you going?”

Within moments, Gwen was back, carrying a huge box. She looked up at Madisyn as she opened it. “I got you a little collection of my idea of treasures as a housewarming gift.” Pulling out a handgun and a box of ammo, Gwen said, “All I need is a comfy tree.”

Madisyn and her cat stiffened as they sensed . . . “Bracken just shifted.”

Shaya slapped a hand to her stomach. “So did Nick.”

“Zander’s done the same,” said Gwen.

“And Derren,” began Ally, “which means a fight has broken out, and they won’t be joining us anytime soon.”

Cursing, Shaya waved at the patio door. “We don’t have time to talk about this anymore. Let’s just go. Ally, where exactly did you see the Mavericks and their allies?”

“They were coming up behind the gnarled tree that Harley likes to climb,” replied Ally as they all quickly filed out of the lodge.

“Then that’s the direction we’ll head in,” said Shaya.

Madisyn twisted her mouth. “We could head right for them and confront them as a group . . . or we could try something else.”

Shaya blinked. “Like what?”

Sharp teeth dug into the gray wolf’s rear leg and dragged him off his dazed opponent. With a menacing growl, the wolf whirled and viciously slashed at his attacker’s muzzle. Yelping, the white wolf bounded backward, blood splattering across the ground.

Wanting more of that blood, the gray wolf snarled, stalking him. Circling him. Ears flattening, they sprang. Collided hard. Fought like they were caught in a frenzy.

The Tundra wolves were strong. Quick. Cunning. They attacked in pairs. Just when the gray wolf would take down one, another would appear, stopping him from making the killing bite. A clever trick. It only made the Mercury wolves fight harder. Faster. Dirtier.

The air rang with snarls, growls, yelps, and grunts. Blood matted the gray wolf’s fur—some of it his, some of it not. The stench of it was heavy, along with the scents of sweat, fear, and fury.

His injuries stung and burned. But adrenaline coursed through him, dimming the pain. It enabled him to keep fighting hard.

The gray wolf body-slammed his opponent, unbalancing him. Legs going out from under him, the Tundra wolf crashed to the ground. Before the male could rise, the gray wolf pinned him flat and sank his teeth down hard into his neck, severing arteries.

Leaving his enemy to choke on his own blood, he turned to see that his other opponent had stumbled to his feet and was preparing to pounce. The gray wolf growled, goading him. Together, they lunged.

The gray wolf savagely slashed, bit, and mauled. Tore into his opponent again and again, overpowering him. Weakening him. Slowing him down.

Yet another enemy joined the fray, biting into the gray’s wolf flank. He ignored the pain. Focused instead on the wheezing opponent in front of him. The other wolf was now badly wounded and weak with blood loss. But then razor-sharp teeth ripped through the gray wolf’s flesh and scored bone, sending little reverberations down his leg.

Lips peeled back, the gray wolf spun sharply, dislodging his attacker. It was the Beta they called “Joe.” Leg burning, the gray wolf swiped at his muzzle, scoring deeply.

The Beta bit into his ear and yanked, eliciting a yelp from the gray wolf. And then they were lunging at each other. They crashed, furiously clawing and biting and growling.

The gray wolf fought hard. Brutally. Showed no mercy. Refused to submit. Sank his teeth past fur and flesh, clawed through muscle, scraped bone. The Beta was every bit as vicious, targeting existing wounds, deepening them.

The gray wolf blinked, startled, as a blinding rage vibrated down the mating bond. His mate was alive, she was unhurt, but she was facing down something or someone. The wolf felt her determination to kill them. His legs shook as he fought the drive to rush to her and—

A hard weight slammed into the gray wolf, blindsiding him. He landed hard on his wounded shoulder, and white-hot pain lanced through him. And then the Beta was standing over him, teeth bared.





CHAPTER TWENTY



Sitting on the grassy bank near the creek, listening to the relaxing sound of water trickling over rocks, Madisyn subtly caught Shaya’s attention and slid her eyes to the left, indicating that she was detecting movement from that direction. The redhead gave an almost imperceptible nod. Madisyn was about to give the same signal to Kathy, but she saw the female pause in chewing a berry she’d picked from a bush, eyes briefly flicking to Madisyn’s left. Yeah, she’d heard them.

Their phones had received an alert a mere minute ago, notifying them that the sensors had been tripped, so they’d known that Archer and his companions would arrive soon enough. At Madisyn’s suggestion, she, Shaya, and Kathy had selected a little spot and settled there, planning to let the bears happen upon them. If Archer thought he’d caught them unawares, it would make him cocky and lower his guard. Hopefully.