Chapter 8
Ryan fought against a cyclone of forces that tore at his mind and body.
Words like “protect” and “mate” whispered through the maelstrom, but they were a pale shadow compared to the feelings that gripped him.
The meaning was the same, but the reality of his needs was so much more powerful than two tiny words.
He tried to fight the onslaught. At least beat it back so he understood what was happening.
He failed. The best he could do was ride the wave and hope to come out the other side.
He’d been on top of her—his mate—and then they’d been interrupted. He attacked, launching himself at the interloper. Some part of him heard the words. Something about getting away. Staying back. He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
He protected the female, and no rival was allowed near.
More sounds. Another male, this one a hybrid. He would take care of that one, too, but there was no need. His mate was strong, and she leapt upon the second interloper. She would dispatch him, and he would praise her with his body and his seed.
A sound cut through the air and his mate screamed. Electrical charge. A Taser. He knew the word and its meaning, but the message was drowned out beneath the fury. They attacked his mate. They would die.
He saw her crumple to the floor, her body twitching while the smell of ozone gave a bite to the air.
He roared and rounded on the one with the Taser, but he had underestimated the first one.
He’d thought the first one was defeated because the defense was weak.
But the moment Ryan turned, strong arms gripped him about the neck and squeezed.
He fought. He snarled. He meant to kill, but the two worked together to stop him. One blocked his attacks, the other continued to choke him. And they both boxed him in tight in the hallway so that there was no room to maneuver. No way to fight. And all the while there were words.
“Calm down! Ryan!”
“I’m your alpha. Shut down. Damn it, stop!”
Part of him heard the words, but the forces gripping him were too strong. He had to protect his mate and he couldn’t do that with them on him. He couldn’t save her with his breath choked off.
Stars gathered around the edge of his vision. Sounds echoed weirdly. Darkness crept in.
He surged forward. Nearly escaped.
And then electricity shot through his body. He didn’t even have the chance to scream.
Black.
Or maybe not so black because though he couldn’t see or move, he could hear. And he could smell. The interlopers were breathing hard, but they didn’t seem to be attacking. And she was breathing as well. Quiet, but strong. As if she were asleep.
He fought to make his body move, but it was like a dead weight. Nothing did as he willed, so he had to use his mind. The forces that drove him poured into his thoughts. No longer pushing his body, they helped him think as long as he protected her.
“What the fuck?” one of the men was saying. “I thought you said he was dying?”
“That’s what she said,” the other huffed, and he finally recognized the voice. It was Simon, his alpha. “She said come fast. She sounded panicked.”
“He doesn’t look dead to me,” the other one groused, and in that tone, he remembered the person. This was Vic, Simon’s beta. He was a hybrid and both men were his friends. Or so they claimed.
Why then had they attacked?
“How is she?” Simon asked.
“Fine. Coming around, I think. Do we tie her up?”
Ryan growled at that. In his mind, he bared his teeth and he tore out Vic’s throat for even suggesting it. But his body didn’t move, though there was a sound. A deep, throaty sound that he knew he’d made.
“He’s not out,” Vic said. “Ryan, can you hear me? We’re not here to hurt you.”
“Or her,” Simon stressed. “We’re not going to touch her.”
A moment’s pause, then Vic spoke again, his voice slightly more relaxed. “Is that what happened? Did we interrupt—”
“I don’t know. I thought she was hurting him. Look at her. I thought—”
“Not all hybrids are insane, you know,” Vic said. He should know. He was one of the sane ones.
“But most are. And if Ryan was hurt—”
Vic snorted. “Don’t think that was the problem.” Then Ryan felt someone nudge his foot. “Come on, Ryan. We know you’re awake.”
“Stay away from him,” she said. His mate. “Stay back.” Her words were slurred but everyone heard her.
“We’re not here to hurt him,” Simon stressed. “We’re here to help.”
“He’ll hurt you,” she said, her words getting clearer. “He’s not rational right now. Give him time.”
A pause then Simon spoke. “Why not? What did you do to him?”
She blew out a breath. “I saved his life.”
Which is when Ryan at last got some muscle control back. It came to his face first as his lip curled, exposing his teeth. Then he lifted his head. His arms and legs were still useless, but his face wasn’t. Let them see his teeth. And he would see exactly where everyone stood.
Simon was crouched over Frankie. Vic remained standing, his gun out and his gaze trained hard on Ryan. He was the one who spoke.
“Keep it together, man. We aren’t here to hurt you or her.”
Simon kept his focus on Frankie. “What did you do to him?”
“Only way.”
“What was the only way?” Simon hadn’t raised his tone one decibel, but there was threat in his voice and Ryan reacted to it. His arm twitched. It wasn’t much, but he was coming back.
“Easy, big guy,” Vic said. Then he looked at Simon. “He’s protecting her.”
Simon didn’t relent. “We need to know now. What did you do to him?”
She sighed. The sound filled Ryan’s head with the bitter taste of defeat. He didn’t know why. She’d fought valiantly; he was the one who had failed to protect her. And yet the sound he heard was painful in its darkness.
“The serum,” she said.
“What?”
She gestured weakly with a finger. Simon turned to look into the bedroom. A moment later, he stepped over Ryan’s body to grab something from the floor. A hypodermic needle.
“You shot him up with this?” Simon demanded, anger a tangible force in the air.
“You prefer him dead?” Her voice was stronger now, and she’d lifted her head.
She looked first at Simon, but then to him.
Her words were entirely for him. “You needed adrenaline. You weren’t breathing, and I couldn’t feel your pulse.
It was the only thing I had.” Then she shrugged.
“But it worked, right? You’re alive. You’re okay. ”
The last words were as much a question as a statement. Was he okay? No. He couldn’t fucking move. But he was breathing, his mind was clearing, and truthfully, he felt stronger than ever before.
He curled his fingers. They were stiff, but they moved, clenching slowly into fists.
“Keep it together, Ryan,” Vic said. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We came because she said you were dying.”
His tongue worked, as did his jaw. Which meant he was able to speak. “Stay away from her.”
“What does this shit do?” Simon asked as he held up the needle.
She swallowed, and her eyes never left Ryan’s face. “Amps them up. Like a thousand percent. But he did something more. Something I’ve never seen before.”
“What?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. One second, he was dying. The next, he was on top of me.”
“He attacked?”
She nodded. “But not to hurt me.” She moved her arms to cover her breasts. Damn it, her upper body was naked, and they were looking at her.
Ryan growled, and Simon shot him a look.
A second later, he pulled a blanket off the cot and draped it carefully around her shoulders.
She clutched it weakly, and he saw that her feet moved.
His did, too, but he held himself back. He wasn’t going to attack them yet.
Not until he had more strength. Not until he could take them both down.
“Ryan,” she said, her voice soothing. “Can you talk? Do you know what happened?”
“Tased.” Then he glared at Simon and Vic. “Stay away from her.”
Vic threw up his hands. “We got that, man. We’re more worried about you. Where the hell have you been? First thing we heard from you in a day is her begging us to come save your ass.”
He sorted through his memories. Things were coming back in focus now. “Sewers,” he said. “Shot. Saved. Wolves.” His eyes narrowed on her. “Enemy.” No, that wasn’t right. “Mate.”
Well shit, that made no sense. And the looks on both Simon and Vic’s faces echoed the thought. He remembered specifically not trusting her. And then he remembered—still felt—the burning need to claim her.
“What did you do…to me?”
She shuddered as she breathed, her eyes completely on his. They held his, grounded him. “You were dying. I gave you a stimulant.”
He looked at the needle in Simon’s hand. “The poison?”
Her gaze slid away to the floor.
“Answer me!” he bellowed.
Her eyes locked back on to his. “Yes!” she spit back. “You were dying, and it was the only way.” Then she shuddered as she clutched the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “It’s addictive,” she said softly. “You should know that.”
He stared at the needle, his mind revolting at the thought that she had shoved it into his arm.
Meanwhile, Simon dropped it into a plastic baggie that Vic held out. “How did you get it?” he asked.
She shot him a glare. “I told you. It’s addictive.”
His gaze abruptly sharpened. “You’re an addict?”
“No.” Then she winced. “Yes.” She blew out a breath. “I want it, but I haven’t had it. I’m clean.”
Simon squatted down right in front of her. “I think you better start talking. Who are you and what do you know about the serum? How did you get it and—”
Ryan surged forward. He didn’t quite have his full body together.
His movements were sluggish, his power unsteady, but he had enough to catch Simon unawares as he barreled into him broadside.
Simon stumbled, but didn’t fall. Vic reacted quickly as well, his gun out, and his eyes narrowed.
But rather than further the attack, Ryan crouched there beside Frankie. “Stay back,” he growled.