Savage Urges (25 page)

“Be calm, I got it.”

But she wasn’t anything even close to calm. So he cupped her nape and kissed her. “You can
feel
how calm I am, right?”

She could. He was admirably cool and collected, his mind clear and objective. “Yes.”

“Use it. Let it flow through you.” If they could feed from each other’s arousal, they could do this too.

“I don’t know how.”

“It’s already inside you. All you have to do is cling to it. Okay?”

Nodding, she reached for that calm and held tight to it.

When some of the wildness retreated from her eyes, Ryan nodded in approval. “Let’s go. Stay close.” They easily scaled the fence, not making a sound. He was about to head through the trees when he heard slight rustling behind him. It was Makenna, reaching beneath a bush. “What are you doing?”

“You want to go in through the emergency exit, right?” There was a slight grating sound, and she smiled as she flipped back the bush, revealing a downward tunnel.

Jaime’s brows flew up. “That’s seriously smart.”

“About nine years ago, a badger shifter stayed here who’d once served in the army. He was pretty paranoid. Dawn had to keep confiscating his smoke grenades—we didn’t even know where he was getting them from. Anyway, he built tunnels beneath the shelter and the forest, preferred living in his animal form.”

“So there’s a tunnel system under here?” asked Dante.

Makenna nodded. “He also insisted on building this escape route for when ‘they’ finally came for him because he ‘knew too much.’ We never did work out who or what he was talking about.” She swiftly descended the ladder and then shuffled aside to make the room for the others.

Bending to fit into the tunnel, Ryan patted her ass. “Lead the way.” As they advanced through the tunnels, he noticed the little red symbols on the wall that marked the way to the shelter. Makenna didn’t once glance at them; she seemed to know exactly where she was going.

“Almost there.” Rounding a corner, she stopped dead, causing the others to bump into her.

“Makenna!” A teenage girl grinned at the group of people with her. “See, I told you Madisyn would get word to her.”

Moving toward them, Makenna said, “I thought at least some of you would have left.”

A dark woman shrugged one shoulder. “My man’s still up there. I won’t leave without him. Besides, we figured you’d need some help when you got here.”

“Help?” asked Dante.

“You want to know how many people are here and what they want, don’t you? Remy brought about twenty to twenty-five wolves with him. He announced that he’s the Alpha now and that this is his territory. Then he started shouting names, saying they belonged to him and he wanted them back. We have no idea who he means.”

Makenna’s chest clenched. “Dawn and Madisyn?”

“They were alive when we climbed down here. But I don’t trust Remy not to hurt them.”

An elderly male tapped his temple. “He’s not right in the head.” He peeked around Makenna. “You didn’t bring many people with you.”

“Others will come soon. Did all the kids make it to the bunker?”

The dark female nodded. “We all got moving when we heard the alarm. Everyone else huddled in the cafeteria to make it look like they were the only people there.”

The teenager bit her lip. “He won’t hurt Dawn, will he?”

“No, he won’t,” stated Makenna. Her wolf growled, backing her up. The animal wasn’t interested in being calm or thinking clearly. She wanted to rip out the throats of all the bastards who’d invaded the shelter and endangered everyone in it. She kept pushing to surface, wanting to take control so she could hunt them down. Taking a deep breath, Makenna again reached for the calm echoing through her, thanks to Ryan.

“You all wait here,” she told the residents before gesturing for Ryan, Jaime, and Dante to follow her past the group. That was when they came to another ladder. “Okay, this leads to a trapdoor in one of the family rooms. Don’t be alarmed when you get to the top and realize you’re in a closet.”

Dante frowned. “The trapdoor’s at the bottom of a closet?”

“Another of the badger’s ideas. And a good one.”

“How close is this room to the cafeteria?”

“Close enough that we have to be quiet.” If they found them, they would also find the trapdoor and the people hiding below.

“I’ll go up first.” Reaching the top of the ladder, Dante pushed open the trapdoor and then, without making a sound, slowly swung open the closet door. She was guessing the room was empty, because he stepped out of the closet. Jaime went next, quickly followed by Makenna and Ryan.

Dante quietly spoke. “Whatever you see in the cafeteria, remember that killing Remy is the priority. We do that, we knock the others off balance.”

“Remy’s mine,” rumbled Ryan.

“Then we’ll attack anyone who tries to help him, because I really don’t think these shifters have the kind of honor that would make them stand back while two wolves duel.”

Makenna agreed with Dante. “How long do you think it will be before backup arrives?”

“No idea,” replied the Beta male. “The battle will have already started by now. We can’t be sure how long it will be before Trey can afford to spare people.”

Jaime winced. “Four against twenty-five isn’t great odds.”

No, it wasn’t. “Madisyn and Colton are good fighters. Dawn’s damn vicious and capable of holding her own. Most of the residents have received combat training from Colton—lone shifters have to know how to protect themselves. If nothing else, they’ll keep most of Remy’s wolves occupied.”

Looking into his mate’s eyes, Ryan knew she wasn’t quite as confident about their safety as she sounded. She had to know there was a huge difference in knowing defensive maneuvers and being trained enforcers. There were certain to be casualties.

“It might be best if we don’t shift,” added Makenna. “The residents won’t be able to tell us apart from Remy’s wolves if we’re in our other form. They know our scents, but they’ll be too hyped up to really take note of them.”

“She has a point,” said Jaime, rolling back her shoulders. “I have some experience at fighting wolves while in my human form.”

Dante looked at Ryan. “Don’t worry if you have to shift to fight Remy. We’ll be guarding you anyway.”

Makenna went to speak, but then everybody froze at the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
Shit.
The footsteps stopped a short distance away from the room.

“Did you find them?” The voice was male and unfamiliar.

“No,” said a masculine voice that Makenna also didn’t recognize. She arched a questioning brow at Ryan, Dante, and Jaime. They all shook their heads.

A heavy sigh. “I don’t think the boys are here.”

“They could be hiding.”

“I haven’t picked up their scents anywhere. You?”

“No, but Remy believes—”

“Remy’s fucking lost it, and we both know it.”

A derisive snort. “You think a guy who likes little boys has ever been sane?” That received a chuckle.
A chuckle?
Makenna barely held back a growl. How could anybody find such a concept amusing? These people knew their Alpha was twisted and they didn’t care. They weren’t just without honor; they were without morals.

Ryan held a finger to his mouth, opened the door a little . . . and fucking disappeared out of the room like smoke. Dante must have sensed Makenna’s automatic instinct to follow, because he raised a hand and shook his head. She was about to tell him to fuck off, but then he mouthed, “Listen.”

So she listened . . . and realized nobody was talking anymore. Ryan poked his head into the room and signaled for them to exit with a jerk of his chin. Her brows shot up as she spotted two males on the floor, their heads tilted at an unnatural angle. He and Dante dragged them into the room and quietly shut the door.

Well, that was two less immoral fuckers in the world.

Dante took the lead as they kept close to the wall, using the shadows as cover. She guessed he was following the voices they could hear—unfortunately, they weren’t yet clear enough for anyone to understand the words.

Approaching a T-junction, Dante raised a hand and briefly glanced around the corner. He then raised his thumb and led them around it. Still sticking close to the wall, they silently hurried down the hall. That was when the voices started to become clear.

“Don’t make me ask you again, Dawn,” growled Remy.

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know.” Dawn sounded cool and collected, but Makenna knew the feline would be nervous as hell.

“I know they’re here, so lying to me is pointless,” he spat.

“You can’t truly believe that the council left them here, in such an obvious place,” scoffed Dawn.

Reaching the cafeteria, Makenna found the door ajar. Staying within the shadows, the Beta pair moved to the opposite side of the doorframe while she and Ryan peeked through the gap near the hinges of the door. Madisyn and Colton were flanking Dawn while the residents and other staff members were grouped behind them; some looked nervous, others looked ready to kill.

Over twenty of Remy’s wolves were present, including Selene. They had kicked aside most of the tables and were circling Dawn and the others. It was a relief to see that Madisyn hadn’t gotten herself killed. But going by the way she was eying Remy with lethal precision, she sure was thinking about pouncing on him any moment now.

Pacing, Remy sniggered. “The council left them here
because
it’s an obvious place, thinking I wouldn’t suspect it.” His every movement was jerky and awkward, like a junkie needing a fix. His recently deceased pack mate was right: he’d lost it.

“You had your wolves search the entire building, and they didn’t find them,” Dawn pointed out. “The second search doesn’t seem to have yielded anything either. What does that tell you?”

“That you’re hiding them with the others.” Remy went nose to nose with her. “You think I haven’t noticed that there are no children among this crowd? You think I wouldn’t find that a little fucking suspicious? You’ve hid them somewhere, and you’ve hid mine with them. Tell me where!” Remy slanted a glance at Selene. With a wicked grin, the female sliced out her claws and pointed them at Colton’s throat. “Tell me, or he dies.”

To his credit, Colton didn’t move a single muscle. He showed no fear at all. Dawn, on the other hand, hitched a breath as her eyes rounded.

Remy snickered, smug at her slight sign of weakness. “I think we understand each other now, don’t we?”

Makenna shot a “We need to do something” look at Ryan. He then exchanged a look and some kind of weird hand signal with Dante and Jaime. They both nodded.

“Colton has nothing to do with this, Remy,” said Dawn. “Leave him out of it.”

“You’ve taken something important from me. I think it’s only fair that I take something important from you. Of course, you can save him if you just give me what I want. So I’ll ask you one more time. Where. Are. They?”

“I’ve told you, they’re not here, and I don’t know where the council took them.”

“I warned you.”

Selene sliced open Colton’s throat. Everyone froze, breaths catching. Unable to process what was happening, Makenna watched as, eyes wide with horror and pain, her friend gurgled and dropped to his knees. Then he slumped to the ground. Time seemed to slow as ice-cold fury slammed into her core and settled heavy in her stomach while heat rushed to her head. Everything inside her screamed and bled, inflating like a balloon that was destined to burst. And that calm she’d clung to . . . it went.

Sensing the storm of emotion in his mate, Ryan made a grab for her. It was too late. She charged into the room just as Madisyn launched herself at Selene. Several things then happened at once.

A hand fisted in Madisyn’s hair from behind, wrenching her away from Selene.

The residents roared and lunged at Remy’s wolves, shifting into their animal forms.

Makenna jumped on Selene’s back when the Head Enforcer tried to stab Madisyn, making Selene hit the ground hard.

Ryan, Dante, and Jaime raced into the room and joined the fight.

Remy made a dive for Dawn, but Ryan swiped his back, raking his claws over the bastard’s skin.

Then everything and everyone pretty much went crazy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

S
omewhere in the back of Makenna’s mind, she knew she was half feral. Knew she was back in that state where mercy had no place. A state that seemed to intensify every emotion—the raw anger, the terrible grief, the heart-stabbing pain, and the desperate need for vengeance . . . all of that curdled inside her and fuelled her every move.

Straddling Selene, she dragged her claws down the Head Enforcer’s back. Makenna smiled at the sound of cloth tearing, skin splitting open, and the bitch’s howl of pain. The smell of Selene’s blood made Makenna’s wolf bare her teeth in wicked satisfaction.

Yeah, she was half feral all right. But for now, Makenna didn’t have the emotional capacity to care.

As she raised her hand to stab the bitch beneath her, someone grabbed Makenna’s wrist and yanked her away. Pain rippled through Makenna’s shoulder as the move almost wrenched her damn arm from the socket. Then the interfering fucker at her back disappeared with a howl of agony.

Makenna didn’t check to see whom her savior was. She only had eyes for Selene, who had jumped to her feet. Selene, who had
killed Colton and tried to stab Madisyn
. She needed to die. And it needed to hurt.

Makenna snatched a chair and swung it at Selene. The bitch caught it by one leg. No matter. Makenna snapped off one of the other chair legs and, once Selene had slung the chair aside, whacked the leg across her face. It hit Selene’s cheekbone with a satisfying crack.

Selene stared at her, wide-eyed in pure disbelief. “You hit me with a chair.” Pure disbelief.

Yeah, yeah, shifters fought with teeth and claws. Well, Makenna fought with whatever she fucking found. She was a scrapper, not a trained enforcer. And right then, she had no care for what was fair.

“Aw, was Colton a dear friend?” taunted Selene. She kicked Makenna hard in the stomach.

The impact took Makenna’s breath away and made her stumble. The backs of her thighs banged into a table and,
shit
, that hurt. Shelving the pain, Makenna went at her with an arsenal of teeth, claws, limbs, and a chair leg. All the while, shifters howled and roared and hissed around them. The scents of blood, sweat, and anger rose in the air, inciting her wolf.

Selene ducked and dodged. Punched and kicked. Bit and clawed. It hurt, it stung, and Makenna motherfucking bled. But she was beyond caring about the pain. Beyond caring that Selene was strong and well trained. Beyond caring that her own blood was flowing. Beyond caring about anything other than ending this bitch.

The female went to skirt around Makenna, no doubt to reach Remy and help him fight off Ryan.
Oh the fuck no
. Makenna blocked her path.

“You can’t win this,” Selene hissed. “I’m a Head Enforcer.”

“Who’s hot for a pedophile—go judge me for not ranking you highly.” Makenna grabbed a tray from one of the tables and whipped it at Selene. It caught her head, making it snap to the side.

“He never touched those boys.” With a growl, Selene copied her by snatching another tray and hurling it.

Makenna raised her hand to block the tray. It smacked the tip of her little finger, making the nail snap back for a single second.
Motherfucker
. “Sure he did. He’s a twisted fuck, just like his mother.” The latter word made Selene’s lip curl back. So she didn’t like Deanne either. “Let me guess . . . she tries to keep you away from Remy.”

“Because she knows he’s my mate.”

“Your mate?” echoed Makenna, shocked.

“My
true
mate. When he finally accepts that, when he’s ready, we’ll claim each other.”

No wonder Selene was in complete denial about Remy. If Makenna weren’t half feral, she might have felt sorry for her, might have pitied her for discovering that her mate’s childhood had so warped his mind that he could never be the perfect match he otherwise would have been. But right then, Makenna only saw a bitch who’d killed her friend.

Selene once again tried to reach Remy. Makenna blocked her path and slashed at Selene’s face, catching her bottom lip. That had to fucking sting. And now she’d be able to taste her own blood. Makenna’s wolf liked knowing that. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten rid of Deanne.” Makenna would have destroyed anyone who harmed Ryan that way.

“It would hurt Remy.” Selene ran a finger over her bleeding lip. “He loves her. He says she never hurt him.”

“Because he can’t accept he’s a victim.”

Selene shook her head. “If he says she didn’t hurt him, I believe him. Now let’s get this over with so I can end you, just like Remy will end your mate.” She leaped at Makenna.

Ryan used his arm to swipe away the blood obscuring his vision. The slashes on his forehead were deep and throbbed. It was no surprise that Remy, as an Alpha, was a worthy opponent. He was strong. Confident. Well versed in various forms of combat. Careful not to telegraph his movements. And his punch was like a jackhammer.

All of which was very inconvenient.

He was also a guy who liked to go for the face and chest. Ryan’s jaw throbbed from the hard blows it had taken. His ear burned from when Remy had tried to bite it off. And his T-shirt was wet with blood and sweat.

Still, Ryan had been training since he was a child. He knew how to block pain, knew every weak spot on a human body, and knew how to defend just as well as attack. Remy, however, wasn’t so good at defense—Ryan had pounced on that weakness. Which was why Remy was in no better shape than him.

“I don’t know many enforcers who’d take on an Alpha.” Remy licked his split lip. “I guess you’re a little pissed that I sold Makenna’s identity to the extremists.”

Ryan really wasn’t sure why the guy kept talking. He actually didn’t mind that Remy was doing his best to taunt him. Talking meant he found it hard to keep his breathing steady. Besides, Ryan knew better than to let emotions, worries, or pain distract him. So he’d kept his anger in check. Didn’t let himself dwell on how this bastard had stolen the innocence of children, or on how he was made from the same cloth of the males who had hurt Zac.

The only thing concerning Ryan, the only thing capable of distracting him, was that he could
feel
his mate was half feral. Sure, it would give her an edge. It could also make her ignore her smarts. Lead her to make mistakes. Mistakes meant losing. Losing meant death. That wasn’t acceptable to Ryan.

“She should have stayed out of this,” Remy went on. “That was all she had to do.
You
should have stayed out of it too. Did you know that while you’re here fighting me, young Zac’s old Alpha is leading an army of wolves to your territory?” His smirk fell when Ryan lashed out, carving deep grooves in his chest. “You do know. How?”

Ryan’s only response was to aim a punch at his opponent’s nose. Remy jerked back, avoiding the blow. Then he came at Ryan with claws and fists again. His wolf was raring to surface and tear Remy apart. He wanted to destroy this male who had put his mate in danger and led Zac’s old pack right to him. The scent of blood mixed with the corruption and cruelty that wafted from Remy only increased his wolf’s thirst for vengeance.

A hard kick from Remy caught Ryan’s thigh. He grunted as Remy’s heel raked over what was sure to be a fucking colorful bruise. Makenna would be pissed. Pumped up on adrenalin, Ryan only felt a quarter of the pain. He retaliated by snapping out his leg, booting Remy’s side. Something cracked and the breath whooshed out of Remy.

The Alpha’s eyes flashed wolf. “Son of a bitch.” Remy tore off his jeans and shifted forms. He was fast.

So was Ryan.

The wolves crashed into each other in a fury of teeth and claws. The dark wolf had hungered for this. Longed to confront and battle this male who would have seen his mate dead. He was merciless. Vicious. Stabbed his claws deep into his opponent’s sides.

The gray wolf snarled and tore a strip out of the dark wolf’s flank. Blood soaked his fur, filled his nose. But the dark wolf didn’t back off. He fought harder.

He sank his teeth down into the gray wolf’s shoulder and shook him. His fangs tore through skin and muscle. Scraped bone. Made satisfaction flood the dark wolf. He didn’t want to defeat his opponent. Didn’t want him to submit. He wanted him dead. Wanted more of the gray’s wolf blood on his tongue.

Chests heaving, the wolves fiercely fought again. Growling. Snarling. Clawing. Biting. Body slamming. The Alpha was strong like his human side. Ruthless and without honor. So it didn’t take the dark wolf by surprise when dominant, oppressive vibes slammed into him. Vibes that tried to force him to submit.

The dark wolf shook his head in an effort to shake off the weight pressing down on him. He would not submit. He would not lose. But the pressure was heavy and thick, it—

Wolves burst into the room, growling and snarling. The dark wolf recognized their scents, knew some were his pack mates. The sight distracted the gray wolf, made his vibes ease away. The dark wolf took advantage and barreled into him. He wrestled the Alpha onto his back, pinned him there and—

“NO!”

A hard force slammed into the dark wolf, knocking him off the Alpha. The dark wolf slid along the floor and hit the wall with a thud. The man within the animal pushed hard for supremacy, and the wolf didn’t have the strength to resist.

Ryan got to his feet, ready to fight off the crazed female baring down on him. He didn’t have to. A growled, “Not a fucking chance, bitch!” was followed by Selene crashing to the ground as a weight hit her back and took her down.
Makenna
.

“This time,” snarled Makenna, fisting the female’s hair and yanking up her head, “you won’t get up.” She sliced the female’s throat open, just as Selene had done to Colton.

“Selene!” The agonized cry came from Remy, who was back in his human form. He crawled to the female, slipping in her blood.

Moving to Ryan, Makenna stared at Remy. “You knew she was your mate, didn’t you?”

“She should have been given someone better than me,” he replied, only then seeming to realize the battle was over and his wolves were dead. Some of the residents that Dawn and Madisyn were tending to looked badly hurt, but Ryan couldn’t tell if any were dead.

Makenna snorted. “I won’t argue there.”

Upper lip curled back, Remy leaped up. Like a flash, Ryan, Dante and Jaime were blocking his path and Ryan had a hand wrapped around the Alpha’s throat.

Remy managed a pale imitation of a laugh. “You’re protecting her? Really? Then you mustn’t know about her past. You must have no idea what she did to be banished from her pack and forced to run for her life. I do.”

It was a total bluff, Makenna knew. Clearly he had no idea that Ryan had already discovered the truth about her pack. Ryan would know that Remy was talking bullshit, but would the others? Would they give a female who was once a loner the benefit of the doubt?

Remy spat out blood. “Do you want to hear it?”

“No,” said Dante just as Ryan thrust his claws into Remy’s chest.

“She’s a Phoenix wolf,” added Jaime. “One of us. That’s all we need to know.”

And, for the first time, Makenna understood what Ryan was trying to tell her. She wasn’t alone anymore. Didn’t have to be so emotionally reliant. Didn’t have to hold back. She was part of a pack.
This
pack. And being part of the Phoenix Pack meant something very special.

The breath left her lungs as pain lanced her head and chest. Then it was gone, and she could feel Ryan everywhere. In her. Around her. She felt his heartbeat, felt his surprise, relief, and satisfaction. Their mating bond, despite being new, wasn’t by any means weak. It was strong. Complete. Probably because it had been ready to form for so long.

Releasing the dying wolf, Ryan turned to his mate. He’d been right. Or, more specifically, Jaime had been right. The bond had been jammed by an external issue. Now it had not only snapped into place, it was—

“Not my boy! Not my boy!”

The screech had everyone spinning to face a gun-waving Deanne. A shot fired, and something slammed into Ryan. It was like there was an explosion in the left side of his stomach. The impact made him grunt and catch his breath. Putting a hand to his stomach, he looked down. Distantly aware that Roni had disarmed and gutted Deanne, Ryan pulled away his hand. And frowned. There was no blood. No wound.

Beside him, his mate fell to her knees. His frown deepened. “Kenna?” She blinked up at him, her expression one of utter shock. Then he saw the red blooming across her T-shirt. Panic raced through him and his wolf. “Shit.” He dropped to his knees and cupped her face. “Kenna, it’s okay.”

She nodded. But she didn’t feel okay. She
hurt
. God, it was like she was burning from the inside out. Every instinct she had told her this was very, very bad. Shock gave way to panic, and she clung to Ryan’s arms—as if he could anchor her. Her wolf went fucking ape shit.

“Lay her down, put pressure on the wound,” Dante told him, all business.

Ryan gently eased her onto her back and pressed his hand over the fucking hole in her stomach. She winced. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He shoved strength down their bond, listening as Dante called their Alpha female. “Taryn’s a healer,” Ryan told Makenna, unsure if she already knew. “She’ll fix you.”