Chapter 32 The Wolf Pack
“You’re built like a tank. I can’t beat you. I give.”
Saying it aloud was almost worse than the pain. Marcus wished the ground would swallow him.
Jason stood speechless.
This was the special operations veteran? The man who boasted he could handle ten opponents? Ryan had barely done anything, and Marcus was finished.
Jason’s best weapon against him had fallen apart.
“Ryan, that was amazing!”
Chloe hurried forward and took his arm, escorting him back to the food like a returning hero. Her eyes shone.
Jason wanted to go home.
Had he arranged this trip to break them up or bring them closer? Every attempt to embarrass Ryan gave him another chance to impress her.
When Ryan sat down, the mood around him had changed.
“What did you do in the military?”
“Those moves were incredible.”
“Have a drink with me.”
He smiled. This crowd knew how to adjust. A few minutes earlier, they’d been waiting for him to lose. Now they wanted to be friends.
Chloe watched him talk with the others.
Handsome, a remarkable doctor, a superb driver. Thoughtful when he wanted to be. And apparently impossible to beat in a fight.
She felt safe around him.
What if he really were her boyfriend?
Her cheeks warmed.
What was she thinking? Was she actually falling for him?
Her father would never approve.
She reminded herself that Ryan was here to keep Jason away. Everything she did was part of that performance. It didn’t mean she had feelings for him.
After lunch, the group went fishing. Marcus stayed in a chair to rest his leg, already wondering how he would manage the descent tomorrow.
Without him for support, Jason stopped trying to provoke Ryan.
The others had wealthy families of their own. They were willing to help a friend, but Jason didn’t own them. A few drinks and an enjoyable afternoon were enough to ease them into Ryan’s company.
Marcus talked about his expertise constantly, yet around them he was careful to please. Ryan did the opposite. He downplayed what he could do, then treated everyone as an equal.
Money, family connections, political influence—none of it seemed to interest him. He joked and spoke his mind without looking for approval.
That confidence made him easy to like.
The afternoon passed pleasantly. By evening, they had enough fish to grill and make soup. Everyone gathered to eat and drink again.
Jason finished a beer, made an excuse, and moved away with his phone.
From a distance, he watched his friends laughing with Ryan.
His friends. They knew Ryan was his rival, and they were treating him like the life of the party.
Now Jason was the one left out.
Darkness settled over the camp. Eventually, his phone died, and he headed for the tents.
Two steps later, he stopped.
Green glints moved between the trees.
He stared into the darkness. The lights came in pairs. They were getting closer.
His face drained.
“Wolves! There are wolves!”
Everyone turned. Megan Ellis, a young woman with dyed red hair, laughed.
“Very funny, Jason.”
He spun and ran.
His foot caught on something, and he hit the ground. Behind him, the shapes in the trees broke into motion.
He looked back and saw them charging.
“They’re coming!”
He scrambled desperately toward the others, stumbling as he tried to get his feet beneath him.
Ryan was already standing. He could hear branches snapping and bodies crashing through the undergrowth. This was no joke.
There was no time to reach shelter.
“Backs together!” he shouted. “Form a circle. Grab a chair, a stick, a grilling fork. Anything you can use!”