Lyric's Accidental Mate (Iron Wolves MC 1 ~ Bite of the Moon) (11 page)

Lyric grabbed his hand. “Is Rowan okay?”

“Oh, your mate is fine. Pissed beyond belief, but fine.”

Dread coiled within her as she pounded up the walkway back to the club. No doubt they’d be facing an army of wolves out for blood, whether they were ready or not. Fear was like a knot in the pit of her stomach. The other wolves took up places in front and behind her, acting as protectors.

Bodhi’s face could’ve been carved in stone. “Don’t even think to move from the spot we put you. If I tell you to stay put, you stay put. If I say jump....” He raised his eyebrow.

“I’ll say, how high,” she answered.

He took a step closer, handsome features darkening as his body towered over her. “No, you will already be jumping. I say this not to be an overbearing ass, but because it could be the difference between life and death. Kellen and Xan have entrusted me with your life, and now your mate has done the same. I will see to your safety, and you will do as I say.”

She swallowed what she worried was the beginning of a sob. All these wolves would give their lives before they allowed anything to happen to her. “Bodhi, I will hide in a box if it means I am not a distraction. I promise you this, though. I am a fighter. Both Kellen and my brother made sure Syn and I could fight off an amorous wolf.”

Arynn’s voice interrupted them. “The codes are changed.” He looked around the large bar. “Every exit has been blocked, which means they have to come at us from the front. Or we will know when they breach the inner sanctum.”

The tables were bolted down for the occasional—or frequent—brawl. While they waited, the guys gathered the chairs and stacked them against the walls, clearing the space for the upcoming battle. Several men had already shifted, using their heightened senses.

Lyric shifted from one foot to the other. Hesitation and concern increasing her worry for all their safety. Most of the men who’d been called in were unmated and had vowed to always put pack first. What had happened in the first place that could cause an all-out war?

“Should I shift?” she asked gravely.

Bodhi frowned at her; his need to take action burned through his gaze. “It doesn’t matter what form you take, you will be no match for a dominate wolf, chérie.”

The usual pain knifed through her, but she wouldn’t allow it to defeat her purpose. They had never seen her in action. She and Syn were always treated as cosseted princesses, so his words didn’t surprise her. She lifted her chin. “Tell me what you want me to do and then go do your thing. I can and will fight, Bodhi. Surely they will be beating down the doors any minute.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, a sure sign he didn’t like her words or her actions. “Go behind the bar. If they make it through the front line, you get into the safest position you can, and you do your damndest to stay alive. You hear me?”

“I hear you.” she snapped.

His voice dropped to a low timbre. “I lost my baby sister years ago. I won’t let that happen to Xan’s if I can help it.”

Though her heart ached for his loved one, Lyric wouldn’t stand back and allow the men to die while she hid in fear. His eyes held the misery of years, and she silently vowed to stand her ground.

Thunder rumbled outside, almost drowning out the noise of incoming feet. Flashes of lightening lit up the windows, allowing the shadows of their enemies to be seen for seconds at a time.

Everyone inside the club took up position, watching the silent figures slither closer. Not a soul dared breath. They had enemies coming from two sides. If her nose was correct, over fifteen shifters approached, ten from the front, five in the tunnels. They were outnumbered.

She saw what Turo, one of the bartenders, called the equalizer, strapped under the counter. He’d probably want to beat her ass when he learned she used his precious AR-15, what the hell ever it was, but Lyric could give two shits. All she cared about in that moment, was that he always kept a full magazine in it, and Turo said that it was thirty percent more accurate than his AK-47. The lightness of the weapon almost caused her to drop it. She’d been shooting rifles for years and felt secure that her aim was good enough.

When the first door collapsed under the barrage of wolves, chaos reigned like the storm outside. Like the hounds of Hell they were, spittle falling from their jaws, they attacked en masse.

Lyric sat with her back to the wall. Her one glance around the corner had sent her scuttling back with her borrowed gun in her lap, and she felt like a coward. The sound of growls and battle was louder than the booming thunder outside, drowning out the sound of her beating heart.

A crash alerted her to the front door breaking down; the scent of moisture blowing in with the wind combined with the stench of their enemies. Her body jerked with each of her pack members’ howls. Alerted by murmurs of approaching wolves coming around the bar, she tucked herself into a tight ball, inwardly cursing her cowardice.

One hand clasped the gun while she peered out of the small space. Not two feet from her was a mangy wolf that looked diseased. His yellow eyes rotated this way and that, before he lifted his lips in a snarl, distracted by the smell of liquor. Behind him, another wolf looking just the same nudged him, swiping at his side with claws not quite as deadly as her own. The biggest challenge was shooting the gun in a half shift.

Eventually, they moved away, returning as if they sensed something was amiss. Taking a deep breath, Lyric made sure the gun was ready to fire.

The sound of howls and growls increased.

Even through the mayhem, the two wolves now stalking her weren’t deterred from their search. It was as if they’d been given her scent. A knife came sailing by, impaling the wolf closest to her. He jerked, and his fetid breath reached where she sat. Turo stomped past, coming from the opposite direction, twisting the downed wolf in one beefy arm before jerking his knife out of the carcass. The other wolf reared back on his hind legs as Turo motioned him forward, his big body between her and the wolves. He grunted as the deranged wolf attacked, the small claws leaving a trail of blood across his forearm. And still she kept to her corner and stayed motionless and quiet.

“You stay down and keep my baby safe. Fire at anything that looks like those fuckers. However, I’m gonna have your brother buy me the next box of bullets.” His gravelly voice was barely above a whisper.

Turo leapt over the counter in one smooth move. Whatever had drawn his attention howled in pain and then went silent.

The sound of large claws clacking against the cement flooring had her swiveling to the left. She raked her gaze from the black claws of a male wolf up to the towering face of pure evil. He was clearly an alpha with no sense of morality, and he knew exactly where she was. His eyes didn’t skitter back and forth searching, just zeroed in on her hiding spot, she jerked back, hoping he didn’t see her, but knew it was useless as the sound of his footfalls came closer.

Lyric jumped up, abandoning her sanctuary, with the AR-15 pointed straight at his chest, which was eye level with her head. Fuck, he was bigger than Kellen and Xan. Keeping her back to the wall, she looked expectantly off to the side.

No savior in sight.

Two more leapt over the bar, startling her. The gun wavered and then her will to live and fight kicked in. She smiled the same shit-eating grin that always got her in trouble, a look that set her brother’s back teeth on edge. The big bad wolf snarled while his two minions scrabbled for purchase. Lifting the gun to her shoulder, she fired, her aim true. The kick knocked her off balance for a moment, a distraction that cost her leverage.

A rousing chorus of howls rent the air.

Her grip on the machine gun didn’t ease, even as the larger wolf jumped on top of her, with the barrel pointing toward the wall, she eased off the trigger not wanting to accidentally hit one of her pack. His hatred for her was palpable. Blood dripped onto her from a wound in his side. She wanted to cheer at the damage she’d caused.

“You’re a coward, wolf. You may be the alpha of your pack, but you will never be a real alpha. You can kill me, but what does that get you?” She spoke to the wolf, knowing he could hear and understand her. “I won’t turn my neck. You don’t deserve that distinction,” she spat.

* * * *

R
owan’s heart was threatening to burst out of his chest. The Iron Wolf Club looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. The truck he’d been riding in hadn’t come to a complete stop when he’d jumped out, the scent of death and blood assaulting his senses.

Seeing the doors ripped off, he and the other men ran through, some shifted, others half-shifted. Rowan searched for Lyric through the fighting. Kellen had told him to follow his nose. He wasn’t sure what the other man meant until he’d come face to face with an onslaught of wolves he’d never met. Instinct and scent told him which were on their side.

He ducked as a wolf came sailing over his head. The lifeless body one of the enemies made him breathe easier.

Abrupt gunfire brought everyone to a grinding halt. The sound was one he was familiar with from his combat days, but wasn’t sure who had fired the deadly weapon until the petite form of his mate was the only one near the sound still firing. She held the black gun, shooting at two large wolves as they charged her.

His eyes widened when another wolf, larger than any he’d seen, leapt on top of her.

Rowan would kill the wolf. He shifted, uncaring of his clothes ripping. The brown wolf had Lyric caged beneath him while she taunted him. Oh, he was so gonna spank her, or bite her. The big gun looked ready to bend beneath the pressure of the wolf, a sinking feeling of being too late entered his mind. He wouldn’t allow it. She’d saved him. It was his turn to save her. Then he’d bend her over his knee and spank her beautiful heart-shaped ass, after he made love to her.

His wolf pushed the human side of him back, snarling a warning at the larger wolf. With Xan coming at the wolf from behind, Lyric was in a very precarious position. He could see the metal giving, her strength no match for man or beast as she used the gun to keep the wolf from getting to her throat. And then she shocked him by shifting. The swiftness of the action startled the wolf, as well, allowing Lyric a chance to shimmy out from under him.

Lunging across the space, Rowan slammed into him head on. The gun went off, causing everyone to jump except Rowan. Blood oozed from wounds on the other wolf; he swung his head back and forth, looking for a way out. With Xan blocking one end and Rowan the other, he had no chance of escape.

Rowan flicked his wolven tongue out and licked his fangs, taunting the other beast. His focus narrowed down to what the other would choose to do now that he was cornered. His opponent’s hind legs shifted, a slight twist. A bullet had hit him in the left leg, making the leap over the bar almost impossible. He looked to be thinking of trying, and then turned toward Xan, barreling into Lyric’s brother with all his might. The action was swift and vicious as he swiped a huge paw aimed to take out Xan’s jugular, only his mate’s brother was faster.

Xan’s growl was chilling. He knocked the brown wolf to the side, but fell in the pool of blood.

Rowan glanced around to check on Lyric. Her wolf stood proud, shaking debris from broken bottles from her fur. Acceptance of what he had to do shone in her amber depths.

Stalking the beast that tried to kill his mate across the cement floor, Rowan snapped his teeth, growling out a challenge. A huge man, with tattoos on both arms, and two other men, equally as big blocked the door, grins on their faces that did not make them look any less menacing.

The brown wolf turned around, his gaze taking in what was left of his crew. A howl of rage flew from him. Rowan’s howl was louder.

Not knowing protocol on wolf fights, uncaring how they should go, Rowan charged the wolf. His injuries too severe, the brown wolf didn’t put up much of a fight. The light of battle had already began to dim as Rowan locked his jaws around the other’s throat. He took pleasure in ending the wolf’s life, not repulsed by the blood in his mouth. His wolf shook its head back and forth, making sure the enemy wouldn’t get up.

“You can let go now, my love.” Lyric stood behind him, her face streaked with grime.

“You, little missy, owe me an AR-15. Do you know how much they cost?” Turo walked up holding the pieces of his gun.

Rowan wanted to smile, but, in his wolf form, found it didn’t quite look the same.

“You scared of being naked in front of all these boys?” she asked, scratching his head.

Yeah, his woman was in so much trouble. He shifted, uncaring of his nudity.

“I’ll get you the newest model.” Rowan looked up at the man standing far too close.

“Rowan, this is Arturo, but he goes by Turo. Turo, this is my mate.” She shifted from foot to foot as she realized what she’d called him.

Her words caused his wolf to settle.

“Dude, put some clothes on. You’re gonna make Xan jealous and shit.” Kellen slapped him on the back, a pair of sweats landing at his feet. They obviously kept supplies of extra clothes everywhere. His shoes were trashed, but he’d walked over a lot worse.

“Pretty sure I ain’t heard no complaints, bro. As a matter of fact—” he stopped laughing as Lyric tossed a piece of metal at him.

“If you value your manhood, I suggest you don’t finish that.” Lyric glared at him.

Turo nudged Xan aside. “Shut it. This guy was just explaining how he was replacing my baby.”

The light that shone in the otherwise harsh face was almost comical.

“I can get you a replacement. No problem.” Rowan waved away his concerns.

He recognized the woman with flowing black hair that would stop traffic in any major city strolling through the door. Her blue eyes reminded him of the clearest ocean. If he wasn’t already head over ass in love with Lyric, he’d have fallen in lust at first sight. As it was, his mate elbowed him in the side, a smile on her beautiful face. “That’s my best friend, Karsyn Styles, Syn to her friends, trouble with a capital T to her brother, Kellen. Oh, and here it comes.”