Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (17 page)

 A few minutes later a
clean and thankfully dressed Ronan emerged from the shower. Somehow Kat had
found the strength to remain on her side facing away from the bathroom when she
heard the water turn off. Hearing his footsteps on the carpet Kat rolled over
to see what he was up to. She was surprised to see him putting his boots back
on.

 “Are you going
somewhere?” Kat asked in surprise.

 “I have to make a
phone call and grab some supplies.”

 Kat looked at him in
confusion. “There’s a phone in the room over there.”

 “It’s… private. I need
to grab a couple things anyway.”

 “Um, okay.” Was he
really going to leave her alone? Kat could feel her heart rate pick up at the
idea. Should she try to get away? Even though she now knew that she was a Lykan
she still needed to escape him… Right? Before she had a chance to sort out everything
that was rushing through her mind she saw Ronan reach into his backpack and
pull out that dam rope.

 Kat shrank from him as
he stood next to the bed looking down at her. “I need your promise again.”

 “W… what?” Kat’s mouth
suddenly went dry.

 “I need your promise
not to run while I am gone.” Kat could see by the expression on his face that
he was deadly serious.

 Surely after all this
time he wouldn’t actually tie her up again. Kat took a deep breath and shook
her head. “I’m sorry Ronan I can’t do that. Honestly, I don’t know what to
think anymore. From the moment you took me all I wanted was to go home and
pretend none of this ever happened but… things are… different now. I need to
know who I am and I don’t think that I will get those answers if I were to go
back home at this point. My head is such a mess right now. I can’t make that
promise to you.”

 With a sigh Ronan
stepped closer to the bed and sat down next to her. He was secretly please that
his little female had been so honest with him. He could feel a piece of the
wall he had built to keep her out crumbling at his feet. Clenching the sheet to
her chest, Kat waited to see what he would do.

 With regret in his
eyes he leaned in closer to her. “You leave me no choice then.” Taking one of
her wrists in his hand he began to tie one of the ropes around her wrist. Kat
tried to jerk her hand back but he held it tightly. She braced herself for a
fight but was shocked when he gently pulled her closer instead.

 Holding her hand close
to his chest he placed the other on the other side of her hip and leaned in
close to her. Kat suddenly found herself surrounded by warm Lykan male. “I don’t
want to fight you sweet.” Kat was startled at his endearment and for a moment
her curiosity prevented her from taking a swing at him. Who was this new softer
Ronan? He lowered his head to her ear and nuzzled his face in her neck. Kat
held her breath but she could hear Ronan breathe deeply of her scent.

 The hand he had
trapped against his chest suddenly clenched his shirt tightly instead of
pushing him away. Nuzzling the sensitive skin just beneath her ear, Ronan
trailed his lips across her skin. Goosebumps shot down her arm as his tongue
came out to swirl hotly against her skin. Tilting her head to give him better
access, Kat surrendered to the sensations pulsing through her system.

 Tenderly Ronan’s teeth
sank into her neck without puncturing her skin and Kat began to melt beneath
him. “Ronan, no.” Kat groaned. Realizing too late what he was up to, Kat could
feel her body responding to his tender domination.
No! No! No! Fight back! He’s
cheating.
Kat’s body betrayed her long before her brain did but it was too
late. She had missed her chance. Instead of her muscles preparing to fight him
she instinctively bared her neck in submission.

 While Kat was
softening beneath him, Ronan fought a fierce battle with his beast. It would be
so easy to bite down and leave his mark on her neck. After marking her neck he
would mark her body. Every inch of her would be covered in his scent. He had
seen her jeans on the foot of the bed before he approached her and knew how
little she wore beneath the thin sheet. He could have her bare wildflower
scented skin pressed against him in moments.
Take her, she is mine! Finish
the mate bond! It is your right. Claim her now!
Ronan knew going into this
that it would be hard to stop but at the time he had felt it was the best way
to subdue her. God she felt amazing beneath him, his mate, instinctively
submitting to his hold on her.

 With control he didn’t
know he had, he took his mouth away from her sweet skin. Ronan looked down on
Kat’s soft form beneath him. Sweat dotted his forehead and he found himself
panting with the strength it had taken to pull away from her. Blissfully
unaware of his struggle, his little female looked up at him through sleepy
emerald eyes. Although fighting sleep she still reached her arms up to wrap
around his neck.

 For just a moment he
considered sliding into the bed next to her and losing himself in her soft
body. It would be so easy to just give in and join her. Maybe if he was with
her just once his beast would be satisfied and this fire that ran through his
veins would settle. He knew better though. He knew one taste would never be
enough.

 Reaching around his
neck he pulled her wrist in front of him and quickly finished tying the lengths
of rope to each one. Leaning over her he secured her tightly to the oak
headboard of the bed. He needed to get moving, she wouldn’t stay cooperative
for long and when she came too she was going to be one pissed off little
female. He would have to make sure he was back before then or she might shout
for help and cause all kinds of unwanted trouble.

 Running one shaky hand
through his hair he took one last look at her before securing the door and
stepping out into the cool night air. Nothing stirred in the parking lot as he
checked the shadows for any threats. Walking over to the truck he shrugged out
of his shirt and loosened the belt on his pants. Walking around to the side of
the building he gave rein to his beast.

 Fully shifted, Ronan
checked the perimeter of the building. Satisfied that all was as it should be,
he shifted back and jogged back to the truck. Starting up the truck he pulled
out of the hotel parking lot and drove three miles down the road to the closest
convenient mart. Praying the pay phone actually worked he got out of the truck
and picked up the receiver.

 Dialing the number, he
waited to hear the voice he hadn’t heard in almost four years.

 “This is Thomas.” His
dad answered on the second ring.

 “It’s Ronan.” Stunned
silence hung on the phone line.

 “Ronan? Son is that
you?”

 “Ya. It’s me.” Ronan
tried to sound impassive on the phone but it was a struggle. Ever since Kat had
crossed his path his emotions had been volatile.

 “It’s been a long time
son. How are you feeling?” Ronan knew that his pack feared he had gone feral by
now and his father’s question was not just meant as small talk.

 “I’m okay. Darrin is
dead.” A deep sigh of regret echoed over the phone line.

 “We had tracker’s
hunting him but he got away from them. I’ll let the others know. Was it by your
hand?”

 “Yes, sir.” Ronan
grumbled, he knew what was coming.

 “Alone?” Thomas
McLaren practically roared over the phone line. Only a man with a death wish
would hunt a feral alone.

 Ronan thought of Kat
fighting for her life on that awful day, his hand clenching the phone receiver
dangerously tight.

 “Not exactly. Darrin
was hunting a female Lykan, a pureblood. He attacked her and she managed to
shoot him several times during the fight.”

 Ronan’s father was deadly
silent as he processed what he was hearing.

 “What do you mean a
pureblood? Where did she come from? Why the hell is she outside of the pack’s
protection?” A low growl entered his voice and rumbled over the line.

 Ronan’s voice grew
tight with what he was about to reveal to his father. “Dad… it’s Katianna.” For
a moment stunned silence was the only response he got from his father.

 “What?”

 No longer able to hide
his emotions, Ronan’s voice shook as he answered. “I don’t know how, but it’s
Katianna. I’m bringing her in. We should be there by tomorrow evening.”

 “Gods, Ronan. Have you
completed the mate bond?” Ronan closed his eyes in frustration. His father
would be furious when he discovered that Ronan didn’t plan on completing the
bond. “No… we can talk about that when we get there.”

 Thomas knew that Ronan
was keeping something from him but decided that now wasn’t the time to push. “Ronan,
where are you?”

 “We are about thirty
miles outside of Montgomery.” Thomas was quiet again as he suddenly formulated
his plan.

 “Ronan, we may need
you to delay coming in. It’s Teagan.”

 Ronan froze at the
mention of his brother’s name. He could tell by the tone in Thomas’s voice that
it was bad.

 “What’s wrong?” Tingles
of alarm ran across his skin.

 “Ronan, your brother
has gone feral.” The strong pack leader’s voice cracked with emotion as he
spoke. “The vampire Guardians were having trouble with a powerful rogue by the
name of Salvatore Guerra and Teagan and Daniel went to Claymore to help them
track it. While Teagan was there he was injected with a serum the rogue was
using to build a rogue army with. The serum suppresses the humanity of its
victim and lets the beast take over forcing them to go rogue.

 Ronan was injected. He
took off his medallion and is holding his own mate captive. He hasn’t harmed
her as of yet and the vampires have recovered his medallion. There is a
possibility that if he isn’t too far gone, we may be able to get him to put the
medallion back on once the drug has run through his system.

 He isn’t going to let
the vampires anywhere near him. Maybe he would let you though.”

 Without hesitation
Ronan responded. His brother needed him and he would be there. “Okay, I’ll take
care of it.”

 “He doesn’t have much
time. The vampires have agreed to give the medallion a chance but if it doesn’t
work they are going to be forced to take him out.” Ronan could hear the anguish
in his father’s voice. With self-loathing Ronan realized he had already lost
one son, he needed to make sure he didn’t lose two.

 “We are not very far
from Claymore. We’ll head straight there in the morning. It will waste too much
time if I try to bring Katianna to you first. She will be safe at Claymore and
if I can’t bring her to you then you can send someone to pick her up there.” Ronan
deliberately didn’t mention the only reason he wouldn’t bring Kat to them
himself. He shouldn’t have survived the last feral he went up against and even
though Teagan was his brother, he wasn’t sure he would survive this one either.

 There was one thing
though that didn’t make sense. “So… Teagan is holding his mate captive?”

 “Yes, he mated with a
newly turned vampire while at Claymore.” Ronan could tell by his father’s tone
that now was not a good time to delve any deeper into his brother’s newly mated
status. Part of him was relieved because there had been a good chance that his
pack would want Kat mated to Teagan. It still didn’t set him at ease though. Now
he didn’t know who she would be mated to. He would have to make sure he was
long gone before that happened.

 “Okay then, I’ll be in
touch.” Ronan grumbled into the phone.

 “Be careful son. I
want
both
of you back in one piece.” Thomas’s voice became rough with
emotion.
He wasn’t just Ronan’s alpha he was his father and he had
always cared deeply for his two sons. It was good to hear Ronan’s voice. He had
feared the worst when his son had left the pack years ago. He had been so close
to the edge when he had set out on his own. The fact that he had somehow found
Katianna was nothing short of a miracle.

 Thomas felt a flutter
of hope deep in his chest. Just maybe the little female could bring his son
back to him.

 Hanging up the phone
Ronan ran one shaky hand through the long hair that hung over his eyes. As if
things were not already complicated enough; now he was going to have to save
his brother. What the hell had Teagan gotten himself into this time? Mated to a
vampire and turned feral to top it off. He was always bailing his little
brother out when they were kids. Looks like some things just never changed.

 He could tell by his
father’s voice just how worried he was. This was going to be ugly. He wasn’t
sure if Teagan’s feral mind would even understand what needed to be done. Since
he also had his mate in his possession it was going to be even harder to get
near him. There was no way he was going to want another male anywhere near her,
even his own brother.

 Ronan knew very well
the powerful pull of the beast. Once it had control it was hard to regain your
humanity. Teagan would not want to give up his beast. Sometimes if the feral
was mated they would even turn on their mates. Not wanting any connection to
their humanity. It was a good sign that Teagan was keeping his mate close but
hadn’t harmed her. Maybe he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t be brought
back. After all, this wasn’t a choice Teagan had made for himself but something
that had been force on him. Ferals were usually a lost cause but maybe this
time would be different. Bottom line was Ronan would give his life to save his
brother, he would bring his brother back or die trying.