Page 35 of Savage Games

“You’re putting other people in danger by covering for him.”Ryan warns.“You don’t have to be afraid of him.You can tell us.”

Ryan sneers.He knows damn well I’m not afraid.He’s just planting the idea into the minds of the small crowd that’s now gathered to check out what’s going on.

"What I'm afraid of," I say, stepping closer to Ryan until we're almost nose to nose, "is what might happen to someone who keeps harassing an innocent wolf."My voice drops to a whisper only he can hear."Give it up, Ryan.This won’t work.Tell Brad to leave Wyatt alone."

Ryan's face pales for just an instant, confirming my suspicion that he knows exactly what's going on.Then his expression hardens into something ugly."You don’t know what you're talking about," he hisses back.“You think you’re so clever, but you don’t have a clue what’s really going on.”

It hits me then.They really want him gone, and they’ll find any excuse to get rid of him.

He’s the strongest competitor, the one they know they can’t beat.But resorting to this?It’s low, even for selfish wannabe alphas.Trying to get him disqualified for unacceptable behaviour, or if that doesn’t work, provoking him into a fight, that’s three against one.

Except it’s three against two, because I won’t be standing by and letting them bully my mate.I take a step forward, Wyatt placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“Listen here, Ryan Williams.I’m not afraid of you.So stop looking for trouble where there is none.”

Ryan steps forward but is immediately blasted with a fierce growl from Wyatt, that has the other two males baring their necks in submission immediately.Ryan fights it, but his expression is pained, and he’s forced to take a step back.

When Wyatt falls deathly silent, daring Ryan to step toward me again, another strong voice cuts through the tension, sending the three aggressors back even further.

“That’s enough.”

Callum.And off to the side, another of the remaining contestants, Kain, who watches silently from the shade of a nearby tree.But there’s no missing whose side he’s on as he looks at Ryan with disdain.

The three men immediately shut their mouths, straightening as Dean’s beta steps closer.He’s ranked higher than them and has a say in who wins the games.They know better than to push it.

His gaze flickers between me and Wyatt, his expression unreadable.

“I’m fine.”I insist, frustration bubbling up inside me.

Then he looks at Wyatt.“You should still go.”

Something twists in my chest.

Wyatt’s entire body goes still, his wolf battling with the man just beneath the surface.I can feel his anger, his frustration, and the helplessness he won’t voice.He doesn’t want to leave me here.He doesn’t want to leave me at all.

“Naomi’s okay.I’m here,” Callum says, holding Wyatt’s eye as he struggles to obey the instruction.

I nod, telling him he should do as Callum says.

Wyatt’s jaw tightens.His lips part like he might argue, but instead, he turns his gaze to Callum.“Make sure she gets home without being bothered.”

Callum doesn’t answer.Wyatt hesitates, just for a second, but eventually swallows back whatever he was going to say.Deep down, he knows Callum will.He doesn’t need to say it again.

With a heated look to me, one that’s a mixture of hurt and longing, Wyatt turns and walks away, every line of his body taut with restrained fury.

Everyone is against him here, and I feel like he thinks that now includes me.He’s having a hard enough time at the Games, and instead of finding each other being a joyous occasion, I’m ruining it.

I hate this.

I hate that I have to watch him leave when every instinct in me screams for him to stay.

More than anything, I hate he thinks I have doubts just because he’s a rogue.

Through our bond, I feel his conflict, how every step away from me physically hurts him, how his wolf fights against the separation.The connection between us stretches taut but doesn't break.I send him silent reassurance, though I'm not sure he receives it.Not yet.Our bond is too new, too untested.

But I keep my chin high and my expression neutral as Ryan and the other wolves disappear in the opposite direction, following stern orders by Callum that left no room for debate.

“What are you looking at?”Ryan barks at Kain, who follows their retreat with his intelligent gaze.

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