Page 59 of The Night Wolf
Quinn averted his gaze. “Take Sean and go, please. I… I was going to help him escape. I know it was wrong, because Master said so. But he’s my brother. When my parents sold him, I couldn’t believe they’d done that. I was angry and hurt and wished them dead. Then when Sean got away, I was so happy, I thought I’d burst. Until I came home and found Master waiting for me. He… he shackled me and dragged me from my home, while I screamed for my parents to help me. They didn’t move. Ryker brought me to his house and had Kristopher….” Quinn swallowed hard and reached up to trace the skin on his stomach. “Kristopher gave me my mark.”
So now there were two people on Gareth’s list who needed to die. That was fine with him.
“Listen to me. If I leave without you, Sean would never forgive me.” That wasn’t right. He needed to make Quinn understand how important Sean and Quinn were to him. “No,Iwould never forgive myself. You have a choice to make. Come with me on your own, or by Mother Moon, I will carry your ass out.”
Quinn’s lips quivered as he glanced to the door, then back to Sean. “You swear you’ll take me with you?”
“Yes, I promise on my life that you’ll be safe. But we have to go now.”
“But Master—”
“He isnotyour master. You are Sean’s brother, which makes you my brother-in-law. Who should you trust more, the man who loves your brother, or the man who is keeping him against his will?”
Quinn’s hands fluttered as fat tears streamed down his cheeks. “I—I don’t…. I—Sean, I’m scared. Please, tell me what to do.”
“Sean wears my Alpha bite. What do you think he’d want you to do?”
Though he tried to be patient with Quinn, it wasn’t helping. Quinn was near panic, and Gareth didn’t have any more time. Quinn screamed as Gareth grabbed him around his much-too-thin waist and tossed him over his shoulder. As soon as he was positioned, Quinn’s body went slack. He was breathing, so Gareth assumed he’d passed out. That was probably for the best. The kid was too near a meltdown to keep it together. The problem now was if someone saw them, Gareth would have to drop Sean and Quinn to protect them. Still, that was a bridge to cross if necessary. It was a mile to the Escalade, and they needed to move, now.
He rushed out the door, then zipped around the buildings. He made it as far as the front gate before the alarm sounded. It didn’t surprise Gareth that instead of rushing to Ryker’s aid, his people hid in their homes, probably cowering in fear, or maybe they were hoping someone had finally come to rescue them. He swore he would be back.
Gareth was rushing down the road when he was tackled from behind, knocking him and his precious cargo to the ground. Gareth pushed up off the ground and spun to face the man he believed was the monster of Sean’s dreams. He was enormous, at least seven feet tall, with long dark hair that flowed to the middle of his back. His eyes were… maniacal. That was the only word Gareth could come up with to describe them. Dark, nearly black, they glinted in the moonlight.
“You son of a bitch. You come ontomylands and try to takemyproperty?”
He stalked closer, his gaze locked on Sean.
“They’re not your property. Sean is my pack and my mate. You’re not going to get him back.”
From behind came another gargantuan man. Not quite as big as Ryker, but definitely not someone Gareth would want to tangle with. The two of them together would be…. As much as Gareth hated to admit it, he was outclassed, overpowered, and unless he learned to fight in the next few seconds, he was a dead man. Sean would become Ryker’s slave, and their baby would belong to this bastard.
“Is that fear I see in your eyes,Alpha?” Ryker swiped at Gareth, his hand a claw. Gareth was shocked at the fact that Ryker could transform bits of himself. “What do you say, Kristopher? Can you smell his terror? In a few seconds, he’ll probably wet himself.”
They approached from different angles, and Gareth’s mind went blank on how he could fight both men. His wolf howled that they had to protect their mate, but against these men, Gareth feared it would be impossible.
From behind them, down the long dark road, came the sound of vehicles, moving fast. Fuck, what if Ryker had more people? Gareth cursed himself. He’d always been a thinker, the one who solved problems, and right now, he had no fucking clue what to do. He positioned himself between Sean and Ryker, but that left Quinn unprotected, which Kristopher took advantage of.
He grabbed Quinn’s leg and hauled him off the ground. “You can’t take my toy.” He rubbed Quinn’s ass. “Though yours will probably be a lot more fun to play with.”
Gareth opened his mouth to say something, but then the headlights of dozens of cars illuminated the area. Doors slammed, and the sound of feet rushing toward them had Gareth whirling to face the new threat.
“Need help, Alpha?”
Lyram strode forward, larger than life. He moved fast, crossing the distance before anyone could register it. He nailed Kristopher with two sharp jabs to the stomach, shocking him into dropping Quinn. When Kristopher stepped closer, Lyram snarled, which had Kristopher stopping in his tracks.
“No one touches any of them.”
Relief swept through Gareth as Lyram stood his ground against Kristopher. When Gareth glanced over his shoulder, he was shocked to find the entire pack shifted and stalking closer.
Gareth rose to his full height. “This is my pack, Ryker. Where’s yours?”
Ryker sneered. “I don’t need them. You’re trying to take my property.”
“Sean is ours, you fucker.” Lyram’s eyes narrowed. “We protect what belongs to us.”
Dark eyes became slits as Ryker’s lip curled back to show off some wicked fangs. “Then kill us now, because if you don’t, we’re going to keep coming.”
Lyram stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. “If that’s what you want.”
