Mated in Mist (23 page)

They were fighting an unseen enemy from so many sides, it made Ryder’s head ache. But as long as he remembered that he wasn’t alone anymore, he could do it.

You’re alone, boy. You just keep forgetting it
.

He didn’t wince at his uncle’s words. Didn’t acknowledge them.

Leah, however, narrowed her eyes and flicked her hand in the air. Mist surrounded them, and his uncle’s voice faded away.

Ryder just smiled at his mate; relieved that she was learning how to deal with her new powers. She couldn’t control the spirits, nor could Ryder. But they were working together to not be afraid of them. As for his uncle, well, they were learning to make the asshole go away so he wouldn’t torture Ryder anymore. Maybe one day soon they’d learn to get rid of him in truth, but first, they had a family dinner to attend.

One thing at a time, he reminded himself. One day at a time.

As they made their way to Gideon’s house, Ryder’s phone chirped. Leah gave him a questioning glance and he checked the screen, only to frown.

“I need to go to the front gates,” he said slowly. “There’s someone there who is asking for me.”

Leah’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

He nodded. It was unusual, as humans couldn’t actually see the wards nor the den, though they tried. That meant whoever it was had to be at least part supernatural. Maybe. Things were changing daily so he really didn’t know anymore.

“Do you want to go on to the house?” he asked, knowing the answer before he’d even asked the question.

She just raised her brow and took the eggs from him. “Keep your claws ready, wolf boy.”

With that, he kissed her forehead and they made their way to the gates. As soon as he caught sight of who stood there, he broke out into a run. He heard Leah set the eggs down on the ground and follow him, her legs pumping as fast as she could.

“Shane?” he called out.

The human stood—barely—and raised his chin. Sweat poured down his face and he looked as if he’d been through hell and back.

“I need your help, Ryder,” the human panted. With that, Shane fell to the ground, his head slamming into the dirt.

Ryder cursed and pushed through the wards, going to his knees to check Shane’s pulse. It beat rapidly, and the man’s skin was cool and clammy. There was a gunshot wound on his side, but from the scent, someone had patched him up.

However, that wasn’t the only thing in the man’s scent. A tang he couldn’t quite place was mixed with the human scent Shane had held before. Something had happened to him, something bad.

His wolf went on alert, ready to see if this were a trap, but he had a feeling Shane was on his own.

“Dear goddess, what’s wrong with him?” Leah asked.

Ryder met her gaze and saw the worry etched on her face. “I think he’s dying. I…I don’t know what to do. He’s not Pack.”

Gideon was suddenly there, his hands balled into fists. “This is the man that saved you?” his brother, his Alpha asked.

Ryder nodded. “Yes, but there’s something off about his scent.”

Gideon cursed. “The moon goddess spoke to me, that’s why I’m here. I got here as fast as I could. She told me to bring him into the Pack.” He met Ryder’s eyes. “If I do this, we could bring more trouble to our borders.”

Ryder looked down at the man who had saved his life. Had saved Brynn’s life. The moon goddess rarely spoke directly to wolves. If she had done so, it was important. Far more important than he realized he was sure. “We already have trouble, Gideon. A whole shitload.”

With that, Gideon cursed and let his claws out. He slashed his palm, then Shane’s, before slamming them together. The Alpha’s power pulsed outward, and Leah went to her knees beside Ryder. With one hand on Shane, Ryder wrapped the other arm around his mate.

“It is done,” Gideon growled. “He is Pack. Now Walker can Heal him and we can see what the fuck is going on.”

The Pack bonds fluctuated and Ryder’s eyes widened as he
felt
Shane’s bonds tie to his as Heir.

“Holy shit,” Ryder breathed.

Leah tugged on his hand. “What is it?”

“He’s wolf but not,” Gideon growled out. “How the fuck did that happen?”

“He’s not fully wolf,” Ryder whispered. “He’s…something different.” He met his Alpha’s gaze. “What the fuck did the humans do?”

Leah turned in his arms and forced his gaze to hers. “Dear goddess…”

He looked down at his mate, then down at the man who had saved his life and yet might be the one thing to bring chaos to his Pack.

The world had shifted once again, and Ryder stood at the precipice, waiting for a resolution. He had his mate, he had his powers, he had his Pack. That would have to be enough. Because if it wasn’t, the Talons were lost.

Again.

THE END

Next in the Talon Pack World…

Its Charlotte’s turn in Wolf Betrayed.

Thank you so much for reading
MATED IN MIST
. I do hope if you liked this story, that you would please leave a review where you bought the book and on Goodreads. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us authors know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. I love hearing from readers and talking to them when I can. If you want to make sure you know what’s coming next from me, you can sign up for my newsletter at
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Make sure you’re signed up for my
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The Talon Pack series is an ongoing series. I hope you get a chance to catch up! The prequel, Wicked Wolf is out now and is about Gina and Quinn. Tattered Loyalties, Talon Pack Book 1, centers around the Alpha of the Talon Pack, Gideon, and his mate, Brie. An Alpha’s Choice, Talon Pack Book 2, is also out. Its about Finn and Brynn and how they found their fate. Next up in the Talon Pack world, Charlotte, Bram, and Shane deal with the very dire ramifications from what happened at the end of Mated in Mist. I cannot wait for you to see what happens.

The Talon Pack (Following the Redwood Pack Series):

Book 1:
Tattered Loyalties

Book 2:
An Alpha’s Choice

Book 3:
Mated in Mist

Book 4:
Wolf Betrayed
(Coming October 2016)

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.

Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.

www.CarrieAnnRyan.com

Redwood Pack Series:

Book 1:
An Alpha’s Path

Book 2:
A Taste for a Mate

Book 3:
Trinity Bound

Redwood Pack Box Set
(Contains Books 1-3)

Book 3.5:
A Night Away

Book 4:
Enforcer’s Redemption

Book 4.5:
Blurred Expectations

Book 4.7:
Forgiveness

Book 5:
Shattered Emotions

Book 6:
Hidden Destiny

Book 6.5:
A Beta’s Haven

Book 7:
Fighting Fate

Book 7.5
Loving the Omega

Book 7.7:
The Hunted Heart

Book 8:
Wicked Wolf

The Talon Pack (Following the Redwood Pack Series):

Book 1:
Tattered Loyalties

Book 2:
An Alpha’s Choice

Book 3:
Mated in Mist

Book 4:
Wolf Betrayed
(Coming October 2016)

Montgomery Ink:

Book 0.5:
Ink Inspired

Book 0.6:
Ink Reunited

Book 1:
Delicate Ink

The Montgomery Ink Box Set
(Contains Books 0.5, 0.6, &1)

Book 1.5
Forever Ink

Book 2:
Tempting Boundaries

Book 3:
Harder than Words

Book 4:
Written in Ink

Book 4.5:
Hidden Ink

Book 5:
Ink Enduring
(Coming June 2016)

Book 6:
Ink Exposed
(Coming November 2016)

The Gallagher Brothers Series:

A Montgomery Ink Spin Off Series

Book 1:
Love Restored
(Coming September 2016)

The Branded Pack Series:

(Written with Alexandra Ivy)

Book 1:
Stolen and Forgiven

Book 2:
Abandoned and Unseen

Book 3:
Buried and Shadowed
(Coming July 2016)

Dante’s Circle Series:

Book 1:
Dust of My Wings

Book 2:
Her Warriors’ Three Wishes

Book 3:
An Unlucky Moon

The Dante’s Circle Box Set
(Contains Books 1-3)

Book 3.5:
His Choice

Book 4:
Tangled Innocence

Book 5:
Fierce Enchantment

Book 6:
An Immortal’s Song
(
Coming April 2016)

Book 7:
Prowled Darkness
(Coming May 2016)

Holiday, Montana Series:

Book 1:
Charmed Spirits

Book 2:
Santa’s Executive

Book 3:
Finding Abigail

The Holiday Montana Box Set
(Contains Books 1-3)

Book 4:
Her Lucky Love

Book 5:
Dreams of Ivory

From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Redwood Pack Series

Wicked Wolf

There were times to drool over a sexy wolf.

Sitting in the middle of a war room disguised as a board meeting was not one of those times.

Gina Jamenson did her best not to stare at the dark-haired, dark-eyed man across the room. The hint of ink peeking out from under his shirt made her want to pant. She
loved
ink and this wolf clearly had a lot of it. Her own wolf within nudged at her, a soft brush beneath her skin, but she ignored her. When her wolf whimpered, Gina promised herself that she’d go on a long run in the forest later. She didn’t understand why her wolf was acting like this, but she’d deal with it when she was in a better place. She just couldn’t let her wolf have control right then—even for a man such as the gorgeous specimen a mere ten feet from her.

Today was more important than the wants and feelings of a half wolf, half witch hybrid.

Today was the start of a new beginning.

At least that’s what her dad had told her.

Considering her father was also the Alpha of the Redwood Pack, he would be in the know. She’d been adopted into the family when she’d been a young girl. A rogue wolf during the war had killed her parents, setting off a long line of events that had changed her life.

As it was, Gina wasn’t quite sure how she’d ended up in the meeting between the two Packs, the Redwoods and the Talons. Sure, the Packs had met before over the past fifteen years of their treaty, but this meeting seemed different.

This one seemed more important somehow.

And they’d invited—more like
demanded
—Gina to attend.

At twenty-six, she knew she was the youngest wolf in the room by far. Most of the wolves were around her father’s age, somewhere in the hundreds. The dark-eyed wolf might have been slightly younger than that, but only slightly if the power radiating off of him was any indication.

Wolves lived a long, long time. She’d heard stories of her people living into their thousands, but she’d never met any of the wolves who had. The oldest wolf she’d met was a friend of the family, Emeline, who was over five hundred. That number boggled her mind even though she’d grown up knowing the things that went bump in the night were real.

Actually, she
was
one of the things that went bump in the night.

“Are we ready to begin?” Gideon, the Talon Alpha, asked, his voice low. It held that dangerous edge that spoke of power and authority.