When she swung back around the grizzly shrugged. “You bared it, which means you clearly wanted to share it.”
She opened her mouth to tell him what he could do with his baring and sharing theories when a howl cut her off. Snarling now, Fallon followed the sound. “Goddamn pushy ass, overbearing canines. I should become a lonely spinster. Get some puppies to keep me company.”
“But wait!” Ransom called from behind her. “Wouldn’t you miss my great, big, magical bear co—”
“Shaddup!”
His laughter did nothing to cool her righteous indignation. Idiots! She was surrounded by idiots!
***
The moment he heard that telltale howl he knew it was time to move. After so many years, and so many hunts on the neighboring territory that he used to know, he was well aware what a full moon meant to the Wilder pack. He was also aware of what it meant for him.
“Boys!” Mason called with a smile. “Time to move!”
As a unit his small group of followers swept out and towards Wilder land. Mason cast a glance over his shoulder at a recently beaten Aaron who stood back glaring at him. His baby brother had been awfully quiet lately. It looked as though he finally learned his place. The little shit wasn’t coming and Mason didn’t mind. He had no use for a pussy unless he was mounting it.
With a deep breath he turned and followed behind his pack. “Keep howling, bitch. Before the night is over you’ll scream too...”
***
“You’ve come for man time!”
Ransom chuckled at Anoki’s shout as he walked through the doors of the bar they’d started to meet at every full moon when Fallon and a handful of her pack went off to tear prey apart in a lovely bonding experience. “Yes and I’m hoping there are...” His words trailed off the moment a plate full of moose tacos slid in front of his face as he sat down across from Makya. “You’re my new best friend.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Maddox yelled from his place in front of a TV. “You could at least proclaim your love for another when I’m not sitting right here! Rude!”
“I know your pain, my friend.” Anoki stated sadly. “Little brothers aren’t appreciated nearly as much as we should be.”
“I let you live when Mom brought you home from the hospital. That showed my appreciation.” Makya retorted.
“What he said.” Ransom mumbled around a mouth full of food.
Anoki and Maddox ignored them both, turning their attention back to the game in front of them.
“Our reigning monarch out doing her alpha duties?” Makya asked.
“Yup.”
“You know you’re driving her crazy right?”
“Yup.”
“And yet you don’t seem to be too concerned about your life being in danger.” The wolf noted, his eyes narrowed a bit.
“You mean am I concerned that I’ve been sleeping next to an unstable bitch the last few months?” Ransom stated bluntly. “No, I’m not.”
“Heh.” The other man sat back. “Your brutal honesty intrigues me, oh giant one.”
Ransom snorted. “Why?”
“Because most would’ve run by now at seeing how committed she is to her pack.”
“I’m not most.” He shrugged. “And at the end of the day, I understand who Fallon is. She needs you all as much as you need her.”
“No,” Makya shook his head. “She needs you. I see the way her eyes follow you when you’re not paying attention. And the way she lets you touch her with an affection that never seems to make her uncomfortable. You make her lighter. You make her happy. That’s what she needs. And you know it.”
Ransom stared at the wolf for a long minute. “You love her.”
He smirked. “We all love her.”
“But you really love her.”
There went the head shake again. “I really love to see her happy. I realized a long time ago that I’m not meant for Fallon. None of us are.”
“But not from a lack of trying right?” He needed to know; on some basic level he needed to hear that he was the only one with access to the most secret parts of his mate. As chauvinistic as that may seem, she was his and his alone.
“You mean have I tried to fuck my best friend?” Makya questioned; giving Ransom back that same blunt tone. “At age sixteen my hormones kicked in and Fallon kicked me in the balls. It became suddenly clear that the line between lust and love is a lot thicker than many think.” The wolf grinned. “Does that answer your question?”
Ransom grinned back. “Yes and it saves me from having to bat you around with my paws like a toy until you softly weep and beg me to stop.”
“Nice to know.” The other man looked him squarely in the eyes when he said, “You’re good for her. And what’s good for her is good for us. All Fallon ever does is worry about the pack. We can collectively sigh in relief that she has someone to worry about her aside from us; someone that she’ll actually listen to.”
“Because apparently,” Anoki said, tuning back into the conversation. “You’re great, big, magical bear cock works wonders.”
It was at that moment when the other men started laughing that Ransom realized they were treating him like family. He didn’t exactly know if he should be terrified by that or okay with it. At the moment he was leaning towards terrified...
***
Things had been incredibly quiet lately. Brody didn’t know whether to be grateful for that or extremely paranoid. At this point he was the latter. With fall approaching and no sign of his brothers he’d been working on reconstructing the ways of the Jericho pack but he couldn’t help but remember that last glance Aaron had tossed him; couldn’t help but wonder if the pup was still alive.
Maybe he should’ve tried harder. Maybe he should’ve snatched him by the scruff of his neck and kept him here, kept him safe, kept him out of Mason’s manipulative hands. What could he do now? He could search for Aaron but he was afraid of what he’d find; afraid that his baby brother was either too far gone or resting six feet under.
“Jesus H...” He murmured, his usual spot at the kitchen table occupied as he stared at the back wall. The pack house was quiet being that it was so late but one lone howl cut through the silence and he couldn’t help but smile a bit. Fallon was a true traditionalist. The she-wolf hadn’t let go of the notion that she needed to keep the things her elders had taught her alive and well. Brody could respect that. He just wished he had the same mentality before now.
“Brody.”
He lifted his head to see Craven in the doorway. “Yeah?”
“We need you out front.”
Frowning now, he stood and walked to the front door, stopping as he reached the threshold. “Aaron?”
Brody’s arms dropped to his sides as he stared at his baby brother, not knowing if he should go to him or stand perfectly still. Aaron stepped forward and staggered, visibly shaking.
Walking down the porch, he reached out to grab the kid before he fell over but the way his sibling’s head snapped up and his eyes locked on him made Brody stop. God, he was bruised all over. Black eyes, swollen cheeks and lips. He looked like he’d been beaten for days on end and then Brody knew. He knew what had been done to the pup. They’d made him the omega and Mason had sat back and watched.
“He...he wouldn’t make them stop...” Aaron stuttered. “He never tried...he just let them...” The pup blinked a few times, shook his head. “He never made them stop...so I’m asking you...I asking you to make him stop.”
“He came through the west wing, apparently following behind Mason’s group.” Craven said.
And there it was, what he’d been waiting for all this time; the confirmation that Mason wasn’t going down easy. His eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to him. “Wilder territory is near the west wing, it’s where our lands meet.”
Craven’s head tilted. “Which means—”
“—Mason really is stupid.”
“You have to stop him.” Aaron swayed.
“Why are you warning
me?” Brody needed to know.
“Because I don’t want to be like him!” His brother’s gaze was nothing but true resentment. “I thought I did...I believed all the shit he told me about taking back what was ours but...” Aaron swallowed. “I’m not him.”
Then the kid dropped like a ton of bricks, Brody barely catching him before he hit the ground. As he sat there with his brother in his arms, shuddering, Brody once again wondered what he could’ve done to keep him safe.
He handed him off to a couple of his pack mates, barking orders to get the pack healer. Then he walked past his second and towards the trees. “Get as many of the others as you can. If my little brother wants a proper homecoming, we’ll give the motherfucker one.”
***
Fallon pulled up short from chasing a moose bull she and her pack mates had been after the moment she smelled a very familiar scent where it shouldn’t have been—on her land.
The rest of her group slid to a stop, all watching her, curious as to what had stopped the hunt. She put her nose to the air and sniffed, once, then twice. On the third inhale her hackles rose and a growl rumbled from her chest. Cree and Cade immediately went on the defensive, as did the others.
She stepped back and stared into the gaping darkness, standing still until she heard leaves rustle to her left. With a snarl she nudged Cree backwards and as one they all started to move away from what were most assuredly invaders on their territory. When the rustle of leaves came again—from all around them this time—she barked, giving her pack mates the warning to stay on the defensive. And that’s when Mason and about twenty other wolves that outnumbered Fallon and her own two to one came charging at them from every side.
***
Ransom stopped in his tracks as one powerful howl sounded through the air. True, he and the others had been hearing them all night but this one was different. This one was a call for help.
“Fallon!” He took off running from where he and the rest of the men had been walking out of the bar and followed the sound of his she-wolf’s cry as he stripped and shifted. His larger bear form dropped, fifteen hundred pounds of enraged grizzly charging off into the surrounding woods; picking up on the scent of its mate’s panic.
He didn’t have to tell Makya and the rest to follow. Ransom could hear them behind him, running just as hard. They reached the west wing, just on the edge of Wilder Land and Ransom stumbled to a stop at the sight of wolves attacking Fallon’s pack mates as she snarled and snapped at the two who were keeping her away from defending the others.
When one latched onto her hind leg and bit down while she was distracted with the other, she yelped and the distinct scent of her blood filtered through the air. That was all Ransom remembered before his boar-rage took hold.
***
Mason had ambushed them—sneaking through Jericho land and waiting until he knew she’d be nearby hunting. The son of a bitch had purposely planned this at a time when he was aware she’d be with only a few members of her pack. Because he’d lived so close for so long he was able to predict her plans and he’d done exactly as Brody warned her, he’d come to take back what he believed she’d stolen from him.
But what he clearly didn’t count on was Fallon having reinforcements. The moment she heard that roar…Ransom’s roar, every bit of panic she’d felt faded as though it were never there. Her mate was here; her grizzly. Ransom came down on the attacking wolves like the wrath of the gods; throwing Mason’s pack as though they were no more than bees in the way of his honey.
She watched one after the other fly, all yipping as they disappeared beyond the trees with one mighty swipe of Ransom’s paw. So caught up in watching her mate, and ducking the sailing canines, Fallon didn’t notice Mason coming at her from the side until she caught a flash of dark fur and sharp fangs dug past the muscle in her shoulder.
Her maw opened on a yelp as he wrestled her down to her side, not letting go of the flesh there for even a second as he tore into the tendons. When he finally unlatched, her body shuddered as as he stood above her.
He shifted and stared down at her with a sadistic smile. “Gotcha bitch.”
Ransom came running forward but before he could reach them, Mason dropped down to his knees and wrapped a hand around her throat pressing his claws to her jugular. “Ah, ah, ah, big boy. Back up.”
The bear stopped as did her pack and Maddox. They all froze, realizing how bad things had just gotten.
Mason shook Fallon. “Shift!”
She gritted her teeth and did so, determined not to give him the satisfaction of crying out when he pressed his other hand to her torn shoulder.
“Now look at this,” He murmured, petting her as though she were a puppy. “I made a mess didn’t I?”
Fallon kept her eyes on Ransom, who had shifted back, chest heaving as he clearly resisted the urge to rip Mason’s head off and crush it.
Mason pressed his claws into her throat harder. “Eyes on me, bitch. I want to make sure I’m catching every second of your pain.”
Her jaw clenched. “Fuck. You.”
He laughed. “Oh sweetheart, I really want to. Believe me I do, but how will your bear feel about that?” Mason snatched her upwards and into his chest, keeping his hands strategically placed. “What do you say Mr. Bear? Are you into voyeurism?”
“Put. Her. Down.” Makya growled, coming through the crowd.
“Hello there pet!” Mason crowed cheerfully. “Come to join the party eh?”
“You can’t win this, Mason.” Makya said. “You’ll die.”
The wolf holding Fallon sighed. “You don’t get it. It’s not about the land anymore. It’s not about living to see another day. It’s simply about. Killing. This. Bitch.” He squeezed Fallon’s shoulder and she felt her eyes well. “How much embarrassment has she caused me? How much pain? How many fucking times did I have to walk away with my dick tucked like a spineless piece of shit?!” Mason roared. “How many?!”
“If you think, this suddenly means you’re not a spineless piece of shit, you’re wrong.” Ransom snarled. “And I swear to God that when I get my hands on you, you will be spineless. Because I am ripping it from your back and using it to pick my teeth. Let. Her. Go.”
Mason snorted. “You have no power here, bear. No control. Neither does she, and that’s the worst of it, isn’t it? Going from alpha to a lowly plaything. I can do whatever I want with her right now,” He pressed his nose to her neck and Fallon shuddered. “And I think I will. Just because she smells so fucking good when she’s terrified.”
She was terrified. Terrified of the fact that she would possibly never get to tell Ransom how much she loved him; that she would never get to hear him complain about the howling; that she would never watch him slap around Maddox again; that she would never get to hear him hum Barry White at the oddest times again. She was terrified that the expressions on her pack mates faces right now, the stares of complete and total hopelessness, would be the last thing she ever saw. She was terrified that she was going to die.
“If killing her means my life also then so be it.” Mason said. “Because at least I’ll get to take my last breath knowing that I took her last breath too.” Then he pulled his arm up and Fallon heard the chorus of “No!” that erupted from the people she loved, the people who loved her back. And she closed her eyes, waiting for that last blow, waiting for Mason to take her throat because at this moment, she was too weak to fight anymore, couldn’t even manage to pull away; couldn’t even manage to scream.
And right when she felt the air shift as he swiped downwards, something fast and heavy came ploughing into both of them from the side. Fallon rolled away from Mason as they hit the ground and looked up to see another wolf pin Mason, wrap its jaws around his throat and rip it out.
Silence followed as the wolf then proceeding to gut Mason and throw his organs around like confetti before it was finally done with its carnage and shifted back into a very bloody, very naked Brody Jericho.
It could’ve b
een the trauma of her wound or the shock of the neighboring alpha coming to her rescue but Fallon found herself snorting and saying in a sing-song voice, “And I still don’t mind the naked...” right before she let the darkness take her under.
Chapter 18
“Here.”
Ransom took the coffee cup being waved under his nose along with several packets of honey from Maddox as his brother sat down hard beside him. “Thanks.” He mumbled.
“You can stop looking so doe eyed and forlorn, Fallon’s going to be fine.”
He knew that...sort of. It was a simple procedure for a shifter-run medical team to perform. Closing any major arteries that had been ripped open and sewing her back together again but still...all he kept seeing was Mason’s claws at her throat, the pain on her face. All he kept remembering was the way she’d resigned herself to death because any hope of saving her then had been pretty much lost.
The only thing that took him out of that place, out of those thoughts, was the scalding sensation of hot coffee sliding down his clenched hand and wrist. He’d completely crushed the cup and was grateful for it because the tingling between his shoulder blades was enough to let him know exactly where his mind was leading him—bear-rage.
“And I’ll just take this,” Cree softly said, occupying the seat on the other side of him as she gently grabbed the crushed cup from his hand and placed napkins in his palm. “Because obviously the violence has not ended yet tonight.”
“We’re traumatized.” Maddox announced. Then he leaned past Ransom and leered at Cree. “I feel like a group hug would do wonders and by group I mean just me and you...possibly naked.”
“I feel like physical trauma could be added to what you’ve experienced mentally if you don’t shut up and stop making jokes when your brother is clearly about to lose it.” She replied, glaring back at Maddox.
“Touchy...” Ransom’s brother sat back in the little plastic chair, his attention now focused on the whitewashed wall of the hospital hallway where they currently sat. Then he did something Ransom had never seen before, he apologized in his own runabout kind of way. “I’m not trying to be an insensitive prick, big brother. I just...” Maddox’s voice trailed off. “She’s good for you, yah know? I’ve never seen you so...content. It’s the first time in a long time and...I like her.”
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