Rapture Untamed (Feral Warriors #4)(63)

"No." No way in hell was he letting the others touch her.

"Dammit, I said let go of me!"

He released her, and at once she moved away from him. As if she couldn't stand his touch.

Ice formed in his chest.

Go,Olivia , Lyon said, the animal releasing a fierce, dangerous growl.Before I change my mind.

Olivia hesitated only a moment before starting for the open space between the huge Bengal tiger and the big gray wolf. As she approached, Tighe sat back on his haunches, Wulfe following his lead, as both let her pass.

Jag started to follow her, but the lion bounded into the circle, blocking his path. With a furious growl, five hundred pounds of angry cat launched at him, knocking him flat on his back on the ground.

In a spray of light, Lyon shifted, already feral. His claws clamped around Jag's neck, digging deep into his throat.

"How long have you known?" he snarled between wicked fangs.

"Long enough." His words gurgled from the blood in his throat.

"You brought her into Feral House, endangering everyone. Endangering your Radiant!And you knew? "

For once in his life, he felt no prick of the old desire to rile Lyon further.

"I can feel when she feeds, Roar. Every time. She can't feed without my knowing, and she would never hurt us even if she could. She isn't a danger."

"Like hell she isn't. She could kill Kara. She could kill any of us."

"If she chose to, yes. Just as Kara could kill Delaney or Skye by pulling radiance on them. Just as any of the Ferals could kill any of the women. None of us issafe, Roar.

We're all deadly if we choose to be."

For long moments, he stared up into those furious lion eyes, the blood running down his neck and into his throat. But he didn't fight. He'd known there would be hell to pay if Lyon found out. And he was more than willing to pay it.

With a last growl, Lyon yanked his claws from Jag's throat and stood.

Jag rose to his feet, watching his chief. "I'm going after her, Roar. I love her." The words startled him. His mind tried to recoil from the declaration and failed. Because, dammit, he'd told the truth. Deep inside, his animal growled with approval.

Lyon stared at him, his fangs receding, then scowled. "Goddess help us." But he didn't tell him not to go, and that was all the invitation Jag needed.

He took off on two legs, in the direction Olivia had gone, unwilling to lose his pants, and his free pass into human society, unless he had to.

Olivia's life was over, and it was his fault. Guilt flayed him. He might not have meant to betray her, but dammit, hehad meant to hurt her. She'd told him things he hadn't wanted to hear, and he'd lashed out at her.

Because they'd hurt. Because deep down he knew she was right. Cordelia's death had f**ked him up good. He couldn't get past it. He hated himself for what he'd done that day.

Now he had the rest of his life to hate himself for what he'd done this day, too.

Cordelia would never have won any awards for best mother, but in her own way she'd loved him.

Now Olivia claimed to care about him.

And he'd destroyed them both.

The guilt was almost more than he could bear. But he heard Olivia's words in his head again.

You're being incredibly selfish,making everyone else miserable just to punish yourself.

And that was the crux of it, wasn't it? Exactly what his leader had said all those years ago when he'd called him a selfish, coldhearted bastard. He wasn't coldhearted. But selfish? Yeah. How many lives had he darkened because of his inability to stop wallowing in his own guilt? How many had he destroyed?

But not now. Not this time. The Jag he'd been before Olivia walked into his life wanted to slink off and castigate himself for failing, for the second time, the most important woman in his life. But he wasn't that Jag anymore.

Olivia needed him. For once, it wasn't about him. It was about her. Because he loved her. And because he was goddamn tired of hating himself.

He followed her scent through the yards of one multimillion-dollar home after another. A dog barked. Jag growled, and the dog whimpered and ran the other way.

Not until he reached the cliffs high above the Potomac River did he finally spot her.

Walking now, she glanced back, as if sensing him, her expression hunted.

His hands curled into fists as he longed to carve out his own heart for doing this to her. The self-hatred swirled within him, raking him with sharp, painful claws. But he fought it. He had to deal with what he'd done. Look forward, not back. He couldn't undo what had happened, and goddess knew there was no making it right, but he could stay at her side. He could damn well protect her.

Deep inside him, his animal howled with pain.

Her pain. Because her pain had become his.

Always before, his guilt had been about him, the ultimate selfishness. This time, he could think of nothing but her.

He caught up with Olivia as she trailed across the rocks, her breaths shallow and erratic, her skin white as snow.

The guilt tried to rise inside him, and he beat it down. This wasn't about him anymore.

"Olivia.Liv. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen, you know that."

He might as well have been talking to the wind for all the response he got from her.

He didn't deserve a response. He didn't deserve anything from her. This was his fault, his goddamn royal f**ked-up...