The recruit book five, p.29
The Recruit (Book Five), page 29
Kragen shifted as well and grinned at him. “Roll over and show me your throat, and I’ll let you live the rest of your pathetic life as my pet.”
There was a scream of pain from behind him as Chen thrust his blade into the chest of the Lycan attacking him. Kragen paid no attention to his dying packmates. He grinned at Ryder again, his teeth coated with Ryder’s blood. “What do you say, Ryder? It’s a good deal. I suggest you take it before I rip out your throat.”
Ryder scanned the room. Neither Will nor his mate was in the room, and Anden was missing. Fear trickled down his spine, and Kragen sniffed in his direction before laughing.
“I always knew you were a coward.”
Ryder was barely listening to him. He needed to find his mate before Anden did. If she died…
His wolf went berserk at the thought of Miranda dying and surged forward. He shifted to his wolf form, and Kragen immediately did the same. Ryder’s wolf growled in annoyance, and Kragen’s howl cut out when Ryder suddenly attacked. Ignoring the pain radiating through his shoulder and leg, he pinned the smaller Lycan to the ground and whipped his head back when Kragen snapped at him.
Kragen squirmed and twisted beneath him, his back claws digging into Ryder’s stomach. Ryder’s wolf howled with impatience, and as Kragen twisted to the right, Ryder buried his face in his exposed throat and sank his fangs deep into his flesh. With a quick twist of his head, he ripped open Kragen’s flesh. Thick salty blood flowed into his mouth, and Ryder lifted his head and howled triumphantly. He backed away on three legs, grinning at Kragen as the Lycan shifted to his human form. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he clutched his throat, red blood coating his fingers.
Kragen reached for him, his bloody fingers swiping weakly across Ryder’s fur. He shifted to his human form and smiled at the beta. “Goodbye, Kragen.”
Kragen made a final gurgling noise, his fingers brushing against Ryder’s calf before his body slumped and his hand fell away.
Ryder turned away. Hannah and Chen stood in the middle of the room, staring at the splatters of blood and guts on the walls and the bodies of the dead Lycans.
“You okay?” Hannah asked.
“Where is my mate?” Ryder said. “Where is -”
Reid ran into the room, pulling up short when he saw the carnage. “Oh my God, it’s like a goddamn Jackson Pollack painting in here. Jesus Christ, how did that guy’s head get impaled on the deer antlers?”
He stared at the Lycan’s head dangling from the antlers before turning to Chen. “That was you, wasn’t it?”
“It might have been,” Chen said.
Reid shook his head. “Fucking badass, Chen. We’ve killed the other Lycans. Selena’s helping Mannie and Olivia with crowd control, but they could use some help keeping the rest of the pack away, and -”
“Ryder, wait!” Hannah said.
Ryder pushed past Reid and headed for the doorway. “I must find my mate.”
“Yeah, about that,” Reid said, “Will’s behind the lodge fighting the biggest fucking Lycan I’ve ever seen, and Red is there too.”
Ryder muttered a curse and ran out of the room.
Miranda aimed her gun at Anden’s head, cursing when he danced back, and Will’s head appeared. She lowered her weapon. She couldn’t get a clean shot, not with the way the two Lycans were fighting.
She watched, her hand clenching around the grip of her gun as the two wolves bit and tore at each other. Anden might have been bigger, but Will was the more skilled fighter. He circled Anden and darted in to sink his fangs deep into Anden’s hip. The Lycan squealed with pain and tore free before spinning to face Will. He charged forward, ignoring Will’s teeth snapping at his face and bit him on the shoulder.
Will howled and twisted away before biting Anden in the side. He tore out the fur and flesh, and the sound of bones cracking made Miranda grin savagely. Anden collapsed on the ground, and Will backed away and shifted to his human form. He was bleeding from various bite wounds, but he bared his fangs at Anden. “Shift.”
Anden shifted, clamping one hand on his bleeding side before staggering to his feet. Miranda could see the jagged edge of a broken rib sticking out through his flesh, and Anden winced when he tried to straighten.
He gave Will a baleful look. “What now, traitor? You don’t have the balls to kill me.”
“Perhaps not,” Will said. “But she does.”
He stepped back, and Miranda took his place.
“Half-breed bitch.” Anden spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You killed my family,” Miranda said.
“They weren’t your family,” Anden said. “You’re nothing, you’re a piece of garbage, and you cannot defeat me. I am born Lycan, and I am more powerful than you ever will be.”
“That’s true,” Miranda said. “But I’ve got a really big gun.”
Anden howled piercingly and leaped for her. She raised her gun, squeezed the trigger, and Anden flew backward, landing on his back in the tall grass. His body twitched once, and Miranda, her ears ringing from the gunshot, prodded his body with her foot. She had shot him in the forehead, and she stared at the silver liquid dripping into his empty eyes before turning away.
“Miranda!” Ryder sprinted around the side of the lodge. His left arm hung by his side, but he pulled her against him with his right arm. “My mate, are you all right?”
“Fine.” She pushed away from him, ignoring her wolf’s sulky whine, and turned to the others. “Everyone okay?”
Hannah had removed her jacket, pressing it against the wound in Will’s shoulder. “We’re good.”
“Miranda,” Ryder said again. “just let me explain, okay?”
“You should go to the rest of your pack and explain what happened,” Hannah said, “before Mannie and the others have to use force.”
“Little wolf,” Ryder said. “Come with me.”
“No.” She stared at Anden’s dead body, weariness sinking into every bone. She rubbed at her throat. It was swollen and hot, and it hurt like a motherfucker to swallow.
“Ryder, go,” Will said.
“Yes, my alpha.” Ryder turned and jogged away, holding his left arm to steady it.
“Miranda?” Hannah touched her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah, my nose is broken, and my throat is-is….”
Tears started to flow, and she didn’t object when Hannah turned her and pulled her in to hug her. “It’s okay, Miranda. It’s over.”
Miranda stared at Ryder’s retreating back. “Yeah, definitely over.”
“Miranda, I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Liv.”
“You’re not fine. It’s only been three days.”
“Yeah, but I’m a Lycan, remember? I’m completely healed. You can’t even tell that my nose was broken, and the swelling and bruising in my throat is gone.” Miranda stared into the fire. They were sitting in the recruit’s common room, and she didn’t react when Amara squirmed out of her hair and patted her cheek.
The firefly sighed and sat on her shoulder. “Miranda, sad.”
“I’m not worried about your injuries,” Olivia said. “I’m worried about you and Ryder.”
“There is no me and Ryder.”
“Yes, there is.”
“No, there isn’t. If there was, would I be considering going to Jordan and telling him exactly what Ryder did?”
Olivia gave her a look of horror. “We all agreed not to tell Jordan what happened. Besides, I know you wouldn’t do that to Ryder. You’re angry with him and have every right to be, but you still love him.”
“Go away, Olivia. I want to be alone.” Miranda growled at her friend.
“Stop growling at me, and no, I won’t leave you alone. You need to talk to Ryder. The others have forgiven him and -”
“The others weren’t in love with him!” Miranda snarled.
Olivia took her hand and squeezed it. “You’re still in love with him. Give him a chance to explain and to apologize.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Miranda, look at me.”
She growled before sighing and turning her head to stare at Olivia. The vampire was giving her a look of sympathy, and she reached out and brushed a strand of Miranda’s hair back from her face. “You need to try, at least. You’re miserable without him, and he’s miserable without you.”
Miranda pressed her lips together as tears slipped down her cheeks. Amara flew up and kissed her cheek. “Ryder sad. Please, Miranda.”
“Go see him. You’ll regret it if you don’t,” Olivia said.
“Dammit.” Miranda wiped the tears from her face and scowled at Olivia and Amara. “Fine, I’ll talk to him, but I want it on the record that both of you are the worst best friends ever.”
Olivia smiled, and Amara flew up into the air and spun around in a circle, her wings fluttering madly as she clapped her tiny hands.
Miranda left the common room and headed toward the instructor’s wing. For the first time in three days, her wolf stopped its moaning and bitching. Instead, it whined happily as she turned the corner.
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “Don’t get your damn hopes up. He lied to me and -”
She turned another corner and almost ran into Ryder. She backed away as Ryder gave her a small smile. He was holding a folded-up piece of paper in his hand, and when her gaze dropped to it, he tucked his hands behind his back.
“Hello, little wolf.”
“Hey.”
There was a moment of awkward silence before Ryder cleared his throat. “How do you feel?”
“Fine. Completely healed. You?”
He raised his left arm. “Healed as well.”
“That’s good.” She scuffed the toe of her shoe against the smooth floor. She had been avoiding him since they’d returned. It was easy enough to do, considering how large the facility was. Only Olivia was right. She’d been miserable without him and hated that she was miserable. Hated that she wanted to forgive and forget what he’d done and just be with him.
“Miranda, I’m sorry for -”
“Where are you going?” She didn’t want to hear him say he was sorry anymore. She knew he was. She could smell it on him, the shame and the guilt that clung to him like a thick coat. Her wolf whined sympathetically, and she had to stop from touching and trying to soothe and comfort him.
“Uh, just to see Jordan.”
“For what?”
“Nothing important.” He cleared his throat as the scent of his guilt increased.
She gave him a suspicious look. “What’s that piece of paper you’re holding?”
“Nothing.”
She held her hand out. “Then let me see it.”
“Miranda, I -”
“Let me see it.”
He sighed and handed it to her. She unfolded it and scanned it before staring up at him. “A letter of resignation? You’re fucking quitting?”
He tried to take the paper back, and she crumpled it into a ball and threw it at him. “You coward.”
He growled at her. “Watch your tongue, little wolf.”
She stared at the floor in submission as a soft whine of apology slipped from her throat. “Why are you quitting?”
“Because I can’t be here anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” He gave her a look of disbelief. “Because I love you, Miranda, and I can’t stay here and not get to touch or be with you.”
“So, it’s my fault that you have to quit?”
“No! That’s not what I’m…” he ran a hand through his thick hair in a frustrated swipe. “Look, all of this is my fault, and I understand why you can’t forgive me, okay? I do and will do my best to accept that I’ve lost my mate forever. But I can’t do that when I’m here in the same goddamn building with you every day. I love you, Miranda. I know this isn’t an excuse, but I grew up being repeatedly told that bitten Lycans were inferior, weak and disgusting and didn’t deserve to live. Only then I met you, and I realized I’d been told lies my entire life. And yeah, I should have come clean about it, but it meant disobeying my Alpha and the thought of doing that….”
He stared at the ball of paper on the floor between them. “I didn’t find out that Anden killed Travis until after it happened, and I didn’t know that he would kill Theresa. I swear to you. If I’d known, I would have stopped him. I would never allow my mate to be hurt in such a way.”
He stopped and took a deep breath. “I should have told you the truth that night of your birthday. I should have told you who I was and what I was doing here so we could’ve gone to Will and asked him to help us stop Anden. But I didn’t, and I will regret that every day.”
“Why that night?” she whispered.
“Because that night in the bathroom, when we kissed? That’s when I knew I loved you.”
She took a shaky breath as Ryder crouched and picked up the paper. He smoothed it out with his hand. “I love you, Miranda, but I won’t torture myself or you by staying here any longer.”
He stepped past her. She stared at the empty hallway as her wolf whined at her. She loved Ryder, and Olivia was right. If she let him go, she’d regret it forever. She took another deep breath. “What if I don’t want you to go?”
He stopped, and she turned to face him. “You’re my mate, Ryder. I love you, and I miss you, and my stupid damn wolf will not stop bitching at me to go to you.”
A small smile crossed his face, and she stepped toward him. “I forgive you for lying to me, and I want to be with you.”
He picked her up and kissed her. She cupped his face and returned his kiss before resting her forehead against his.
“I am so sorry, my mate.”
“I know.” She kissed him again. “I know you are. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He set her on her feet but kept his arms around her waist.
“Will you do something for me?”
“Anything.” He smiled at her.
“Stop feeling guilty for what happened to Theresa and Travis.”
The smile dropped from his face, and she reached up and stroked her thumb along his jawline. “You didn’t kill them, Ryder. Anden killed them, and I got my revenge for it. It’s over, okay?”
He nodded, and she rested her head on his chest. “What happened with your old pack? Do they have a new alpha?”
“Yes. Erros is the new alpha. He’s a good man and will be a good leader for them.”
She kissed his chest. “If you want to return to your pack, we can.”
He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head. “You don’t want that, do you?”
She shrugged. “I want to be with you and my mate to be happy.”
“I want my mate to be happy as well,” he replied. “And I’m pretty certain what makes her happy is killing leeches.”
She grinned at him. “I am really good at it.”
He laughed and took her hand, kissing the knuckles. “Yes, my mate, you are.”
“Hey, guys.”
They both turned. Hannah, with Gavin in a sling against her chest, was walking down the hallway toward them. “I was just looking for both of you.”
“Oh?” Miranda said.
“Yep. I was about to lock both of you in the same room and not let you out until you realized how much you needed each other.”
Ryder laughed, and Hannah grinned at him. “You can imagine what Will thought of that plan. He told me I needed to stay out of it, that the two of you would work it out, but I disagreed.”
She glanced at their entwined hands. “I guess I owe my mate an apology. Why don’t you guys drop by the apartment in an hour or so? Douglas is feeling better and having dinner with Will, me, and Gavin. There’s plenty of food, and we’d love it if you joined us.”
“That would be nice,” Miranda said. “Thank you.”
Three cell phones rang simultaneously. Miranda pulled hers from her pocket as Hannah and Ryder did the same. She read the text message before glancing at Ryder. He grinned at her and pocketed his cell phone. “Looks like we’re hunting tonight.”
Hannah made a happy little growl. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to call my Mom, stuff myself into some leather pants and grab my swords.”
Miranda laughed as Hannah slipped by them and hurried down the hallway. “I need to get my guns.”
“I’ll meet you at Jordan’s office.” Ryder pressed a kiss against her mouth.
She walked a few steps before turning. Ryder was still staring at her, and she gave him a saucy grin. “If I kill more leeches than you tonight, I get to tie you to the bed and have my dirty way with you. Is that clear?”
A slow smile crossed Ryder’s face. “Crystal clear, my mate.”
Keep reading for an excerpt from “The Recruit” Book Six
THE RECRUIT BOOK SIX EXCERPT
“I need you to work another few hours.”
She turned and clutched her robe closed when Terry’s gaze dropped to her tits. “I’ve been working since five. My shift is done.”
“Too fucking bad, Amber. We just got in a shitload of customers, and a few want some girls for private dances.”
“No,” she said. One of the new girls, Samantha, slipped by her. She wore a teeny blue bikini top that barely covered her giant breasts, a cowboy hat, and a pair of ass-less chaps. As she walked by Terry, he reached down and goosed her, wheezing laughter when she jumped and made a startled shriek.
She scurried away as a booming voice said, “Next up on the stage is Samantha. She’s a feisty little cowgirl looking for a cowboy to ride. Give her a hand, boys!”
The scattered applause was light and apathetic.
She scowled at Terry. “I’m tired, and I want to go home.”
“Like I said, too fucking bad. Both Dana and Goldie called in sick. Get your ass to the private room with Lisa and Jolene, or you’re fucking fired. You get me?”
She nodded, trying not to flinch when Terry touched her long blonde hair. “You’ve been working here long enough to know how this works, little girl. If you’re nice to Terry, Terry’ll be nice to you. He reached to cup her breast through her robe, and she shoved his hand away.
