Chapter 40 #2
I caught a flash between lightning strikes: honey-brown skin, dark curls plastered to his forehead, those impossible dimples half-hidden behind a grimace.
Rhett.
Relief hit so fast it hurt. My muscles went slack for a heartbeat as a choked laugh—or maybe a sob—escaped me.
“I got you, boots,” he shouted, his voice rough and breathless but full of that infuriating, unbreakable confidence.
My fingers caught the strap of his gear, and I kicked hard, fighting the current beside him. The rain lashed our faces, the current tried to tear us apart, but we clawed for the bank together. Every inch forward felt like wrestling gravity itself.
We hit the shallows, half-crawling, half-dragging each other onto slick, stony ground. My body trembled, heat and cold battling until I wasn’t sure which would win. Rhett’s hand stayed on my back, grounding me through the chaos.
Lightning split the sky again—white and merciless—and in that flash, I saw him.
Rylan.
Standing on the shore like a nightmare given flesh, rain streaming down his face, eyes burning with something unholy.
My stomach dropped.
He moved fast—too fast—and before I could shout a warning, he kicked out, boot connecting with Rhett’s ribs. The impact sent Rhett skidding back into the water with a growl that wasn’t human anymore.
“Rhett!” I screamed, scrambling to my knees, fingers clawing at the mud.
But Rhett wasn’t down.
He twisted with the current, teeth bared in a snarl that would have frozen blood, and his hand shot out—grabbing Rylan’s ankle in one brutal motion.
The shock on Rylan’s face lasted only a second before Rhett yanked.
Both men crashed into the torrent, a tangle of limbs and fury and raw Alpha dominance, the storm swallowing them whole.
I staggered toward the edge, heart pounding, rain in my eyes, throat raw from shouting.
The water roared louder than any voice. Lightning turned the world white again.
And then I saw movement—two shapes, locked together, fighting the current and each other in a violent, swirling blur.
“Rhett,” I whispered, uselessly. My voice vanished in the storm.
But even through the fear, even through the rising panic, something else flared deep inside me. A heat not born of biology this time—something fiercer.
They came for me.
And they weren’t about to let Rylan take me without a fight.
The storm was everywhere—inside me, around me, inside them. The roar of the water drowned everything, but I could still hear them—Rhett’s snarl, Rylan’s curse, the splash and struggle as the river became an arena for something older than rivalry.
My knees sank into the mud at the water’s edge.
I shouted his name again and again, throat raw, hands trembling so hard I could barely keep myself upright.
Every flash of lightning gave me glimpses: Rhett’s arm locking around Rylan’s shoulder, Rylan twisting, throwing a wild punch that barely missed.
The current caught them both, dragging them farther downstream.
I started forward before I could think, boots slipping.
Then—hands. A grip on my shoulders.
“Stay with her!” Roan’s voice cut through everything, sharp, commanding, and for one wild second, my chest cracked open with relief because he was here.
He didn’t wait for an answer, just kissed me hard and swift. The burn of his mouth on mine a brand. Then he dove straight into the current, a blur of motion and muscle and controlled fury.
Jay’s hand found mine, fingers fisting tight, holding me to him as the storm tried to pull the world apart. His body was shaking—from the cold or the adrenaline, I didn’t know—but his grip didn’t falter. “He’s got him,” he said, voice barely audible over the wind. “He’s got him.”
Roan wouldn’t let Rhett fight alone. He’d back him. They’d get Rylan together. Jay and I moved moved together along the bank, following the violence that tumbled downstream. I could feel Jay’s pulse thundering against mine, his own scent edged with protectiveness that blanketed me.
The rain turned to ice. Literal shards of it.
It cut against my skin as the wind howled through the trees.
Downriver, two bodies broke the surface—Rhett and Rylan—crashing against the rocky edge.
Rhett was up first, mud-slick and wild-eyed, chest heaving, teeth bared in a snarl that looked more wolf than man.
Rylan pushed to his feet, spitting blood, eyes locked on Rhett. He lunged again. Then Roan was there.
He hit Rylan like a breaking wave, the force of it echoing through the storm. The sound—the impact—ripped through the air, a sickening mix of water and bone and rage.
“Roan!” I screamed, though it wasn’t fear, not exactly. It was everything at once—terror, pride, heat, love.
Jay pulled me back just enough to keep me from slipping back into the water, but my eyes never left the three figures in the downpour.
It wasn’t a hockey fight. It wasn’t even a hunt. It was primal, raw, and absolutely personal.
Rylan swung first—fast, desperate—but Roan took the hit and drove through it, using that controlled strength that made him the leader he was. Rhett came in behind him, cutting off Rylan’s retreat, a silent, brutal echo to Roan’s precision.
Two against one, but there was no mercy in it.
Another hit. A roar. Then the sound of a body hitting the rocks hard enough to make my stomach twist.
Lightning split the sky, blinding white, and when the world came back into focus, it was over.
Rylan was down.
Blood mixed with rain, running in dark streaks across his face. He was breathing—barely—but he wasn’t getting up again.
Rhett stood over him, chest heaving. Roan, soaked, shivering, and eyes burning with alpha fury, stared down at the man who’d stalked and hunted and tried to take me.
“Stay down,” Roan said, voice low and dangerous. The kind of voice that promised consequences if he didn’t.
For once, Rylan listened.
Jay’s hand tightened around mine. “It’s done,” he said, his voice barely above the rain as we hurried toward them. “It’s over, Wren.”
But my pulse didn’t slow. My body shook—heat, cold, adrenaline, and the overwhelming weight of what had just happened.
Rhett looked toward us, tracking our movements as we got closer. His dimples ghosted faintly on his face, despite his exhaustion. I could hear him clearly even if he didn’t say a word. Told you I had you.
Then Roan turned, the storm of his eyes matching the rage of nature around us, but he found my gaze as we closed in. He was steady, fierce, and so damn alive. He was promise in human form. I said come and claim me.
They were here.
They were claiming me.
I nodded once, chest tight, heart hammering.
Because I believed them. The threat of Rylan was over, but nothing between Jay, Roan, Rhett, and me ever would be.
Inside, my soul exulted.