Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(59)

He didn't want to destroy her. She felt that in everything he did. But he was too determined a leader to shy away from whatever must be done.

They reached Jag's Hummer just as the first of the draden were about to descend.

"The cars are warded against draden attack," Lyon told her, as Jag put the car in gear and took off. "They can't even sense you in here, so they shouldn't follow us."

She hadn't asked, though her question had been there. Had he felt it, that question? Was he that attuned to her now?

"That's good," she murmured. "I lost the radiance."

"You've lost contact with the Earth."

She was wedged tight between Lyon and Paenther, the two huge males taking up far more than their share of the seat. But Lyon's arm was around her and stayed that way for the drive back to Feral House.

Jag drove right up to the front door, and they ran into the house without incident. As Lyon predicted, the draden hadn't followed them.

If she'd thought she was returning to a house as dark as the one she'd left, she was mistaken. Kougar, Hawke, and Vhyper stood in the various doorways of the fully lit foyer, watching her with dark, menacing eyes. Mage meant enemy to them and, dear God, she couldn't think of any group she less wanted as her enemy.

She sidled closer to Lyon and he snatched her hand, pulling, her against him.

Vhyper pushed away from the wall where he'd been waiting, fury in every line of his body as he entered the foyer, stopping inches from Lyon's face.

"You mated with her, you bastard. I can smell it. She's mine!"

Lyon growled, deep in his throat. "She's Mage. She's no one's."

"Like hell. The Pairing was true. But you couldn't keep your hands off her. You took her for yourself. And now you're trying to make excuses. She's mine."

Lyon snarled. "No one touches her but me until we get this sorted out. No one!" He looked at Paenther. "How soon until the Shaman gets here?"

"A couple of more hours."

Lyon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him, tugging her with him as he pushed past Vhyper. "Everyone in the war room. Now. I'll meet you there in five."

"Where are you taking her?" Vhyper demanded.

"I'm locking her up where she can't escape again. And where she'll be safe until we make a decision." Sliding his arm from around her waist, he took her hand and led her down the same narrow set of stairs he had on their way to the Pairing. The basement of the house.

But they passed the ritual room and crossed the wide gym to a mirror on the far side. With a press of his hand, the mirror opened to reveal a long, dimly lit hallway, both the walls and the floor, paved in stone.

The ceiling was high enough for Lyon to stand easily, but the passage itself was barely wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side. It reminded her of the dungeons of a castle.

Deep inside, she heard the growling and thrashing of an animal.

The passage opened onto a wide room filled, as Lyon had warned, with cages built into the walls. Cages separated by two feet of solid stone walls, each with a door made of thick massive steel bars.

Real torches hung on the walls outside the cages, the smoke darkening the air.

Wulfe's glowing eyes peered out from one of the doors, his fangs visible as he snarled.

A chill of foreboding snaked down her spine. "You're going to lock me up with him?"

"With him? No. But I'm putting you in one of the cages."

"Lyon…" She didn't like it down here.

"It's for your safety, Kara. The discussion upstairs is going to get heated. With everyone already on the edge of control, more than one may go feral. Especially if you're in the room. I'm not sure I can protect you from them all, especially if I, too, lose control."

He opened one of the cages, ushered her inside, then followed her. He took her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly until she was soft and melting against him.

"I won't let them hurt you, little one." His eyes were earnest.

Kara shook her head. "Don't make me any more promises, Lyon."

His jaw tightened, but he nodded. He brushed her cheek with his knuckles, then retreated, locking her into a tiny cage, barely large enough for her to lie down in. He'd just turned away when the sounds of a commotion reached her ears.

"Dammit to hell," Lyon muttered.

She watched as Tighe and Paenther carried a struggling Vhyper between them, Hawke walking close behind.

"He lost it, Roar," Tighe said. "I don't think he's getting it back this time."

Lyon nodded. "Lock him up." He disappeared from her line of sight as they got a snarling, spitting Vhyper into the cage. The door slammed shut on him with a clang.

As he reappeared, Lyon met her gaze briefly, the weight of the world in his own amber depths. Then he turned away and followed the other three Ferals down the long hall that would lead them back into the house.

Anything could happen to her down here, and he'd never hear it. Never know.

In the cage next to hers she heard Wulfe thrashing and growling like a wild animal. She shivered, glad for the robe that covered her from head to foot but knowing it wouldn't do a thing for the fear that was freezing her soul. The fear that her own strange heritage was going to wind up dooming her. As she glanced down, preparing to sit as she waited for her sentence, a movement outside her cage caught her eye, then was gone before she could be certain she'd seen something.